ANKARA: Sixteen Turkish journalists linked to pro-Kurdish media outlets were remanded into custody on Thursday, pending trial and accused of belonging to a “terrorist organization,” a lawyer said.
The journalists worked for media aligned with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which risks being banned in Turkey over alleged links to outlawed militants waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
The 16 were detained, along with four other journalists, on June 8 in Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, accused of belonging to the press services of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), classed as a “terrorist” group by Ankara, the EU and the United States.
The HDP denies formal ties to the PKK.
On Thursday, the 16 were accused of “belonging to a terrorist organization,” according to the arrest document. A defense lawyer confirmed they had been jailed pending trial.
They include Serdar Altan, co-president of a journalists’ association.
The other four were released under judicial supervision.
A representative from the Turkish arm of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Erol Onderoglu, denounced the detentions as an attempt to weaken the “Kurdish political class... and deprive them of a voice” ahead of Turkey’s presidential election next year.
Turkey says it is planning to launch an offensive in northern Syria against Kurdish militants.
The HDP has already seen scores of current and former members arrested in a government crackdown that followed a failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.
Turkey’s western allies have been alarmed by the crackdown, warning that it threatens to further undermine diplomatic ties with Erdogan’s government.
Turkey ranks 149th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2022 press freedom index and is regularly criticized for muzzling press critical of the government.
Turkey remands 16 journalists on ‘terror’ charges
https://arab.news/8kjbx
Turkey remands 16 journalists on ‘terror’ charges
- The journalists worked for media aligned with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party
- The 16 were accused of “belonging to a terrorist organization,” according to the arrest document
BBC slammed for ‘shameful’ cut to ‘free Palestine’ comment at BAFTA Awards
- Broadcaster removes from broadcast part of filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.’s acceptance speech at the British Academy Film Awards
- Amnesty UK praises filmmaker for speaking up for those ‘facing and fleeing from persecution and mass atrocities’
LONDON: The BBC was accused on Monday of a “shameful” decision after it cut part of an acceptance speech at the previous night’s British Academy Film Awards in which a filmmaker uttered the phrase “free Palestine.”
British-Nigerian director and co-writer Akinola Davies Jr. and his brother, co-writer Wale Davies were collecting the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for their film “My Father’s Shadow” when the former made the comment.
The BBC chose not to include the final part of his speech when it broadcast the BAFTAs ceremony later in the evening. However, the corporation did broadcast an inadvertent racist slur shouted by a person with Tourette syndrome while Black actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award.
Akinola thanked industry figures and family for their support as he accepted the award, before dedicating it to “all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children.”
In the final part of his speech, cut by the BBC, he said: “To the economic migrant, the conflict migrant, those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution and those experiencing genocide, you matter and your stories matter more than ever.
“Your dreams are an act of resistance. To those watching at home, archive your loved ones, archive your stories yesterday, today and forever. For Nigeria, for London, Congo, Sudan, free Palestine. Thank you.”
The BBC, which broadcast the ceremony with a two-hour time delay, said the cut was made for timing reasons.
A spokesperson told Deadline: “The live event is three hours, and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night, and all edits were made to ensure the program was delivered to time. All winners’ speeches will be available to watch via BAFTA’s YouTube Channel.”
Human rights campaign group Amnesty UK described the decision by the BBC to cut part of the speech as “shameful.”
It added: “Thank you Akinola Davies Jr. for using your platform to speak out for the rights of migrants and people facing and fleeing from persecution and mass atrocities, from the Congo to Sudan to Palestine.”
In June last year, the BBC was at the center of a row after it broadcast a Glastonbury Festival performance by the duo Bob Vylan, during which the lead singer chanted “death to the IDF” in protest against the Israeli Defense Forces’ assault on Gaza.
