JINHA

AMED - The Free Journalists Association (ÖGC) condemns the arrest of Özgür Gündem daily’s editor-in-chief Bilir Kaya and Özgür Gündem Managing editor İnan Kızılkaya and said, “This arrest is a blow to the press.”

Özgür Gündem daily’s Editor-in-chief Bilir Kaya and Özgür Gündem Managing editor İnan Kızılkaya had been detained by being battered during police raid on Özgür Gündem daily following the closured order by the Istanbul 8th Penal Court of Peace. Bilir and İnan were sent to jail yesterday after being sent to the court. The Free Journalists Association (ÖGC) released a written statement about the arrest of the journalists.

The statement reads, “Arrest of Kaya and Kızılkaya is a blow to the free press. Özgür Gündem daily’s Editor-in-chief Bilir Kaya and its managing editor İnan Kızılkaya had been detained by being battered during police raid on Özgür Gündem daily and they were sent to jail for “being member of an organization,” by the court decision. They were taken to Metris R Type Closed Prison.

“Özgür Gündem newspaper, which wrote the truth and enlightened the darkness in a period when the truth should be written and the darkness should be enlightened in Turkey, has been closed by court. 25 stuff of the daily were detained with the way of unlawful during police raid. While 22 of 25 journalists were released, author Aslı Erdoğan, the daily’s Editor-in-chief Bilir Kaya and its managing editor İnan Kızılkaya were jailed. Journalists have been arrested instead of perpetrators of crimes against humanity and killers in a period in which ISIS gangs explode bomb between people in daytime.

“Arresting journalists those who write the truth enlighten the darkness is a black mark for Turkey. That’s an unacceptable shame in Turkey. As the Free Journalists Association, we condemn fiercely the arrest of Aslı Erdoğan, Bilir Kaya and İnan Kızılkaya. We indicate we’ll stand by arrested journalists to the end and we demand to release them as soon as possible.”

(fk/gd)