Istanbul, Nov 27 () - Domestic and international press institutions and political figures have condemned the Nov. 26 arrest of daily Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Can Dündar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gül for their news report on Syria-bound intelligence trucks.
Turkish Journalists’ Association head (TGC) Turay Olcayto said arrests “should not be the cost of this story,” vowing to continue their struggle to achieve a modern democracy in Turkey.
Press Council head Pınar Türenç said the free press and the right to access information had been arrested with Dündar and Gül.
The Turkish National Committee of the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) also strongly condemned the arrests, saying they were another black mark in Turkey’s democracy and press freedom history.
“It is the duty of politicians to observe ‘political interests, not journalists. It is the duty of journalists to provide documents in the public interest and clarify them,” the IPI Turkish National Committee said in a press statement.
Political figures also expressed their concern about the arrest of Dündar and Gül.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Enis Berberoğlu said the accusations were slanders to intimidate journalists, adding that the two men were only “guilty of journalism.”
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul deputy Garo Paylan said public misdeeds and the crimes of the government could not be revealed without a free press.
