Following the killing of ArmenianjournalistHrant Dink in Istanbul on 19 January 2007 various lists of journalists killed in Turkey since the early 20th century were published. One such list was published by the Turkish Association of Journalists (tr: Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti). It contains 68 names of journalists killed between 1909 and 2022.[1] A "Platform of imprisoned journalists" published a list in April 2012 that contained 112 names.[2] Yet, it is difficult to obtain detailed information in particular on early cases, in order to determine whether the deaths had been assassinations directly linked to the profession of the victims.
It also appears that some people were not journalists by profession, but affiliated to certain publications as readers, vendors or even part-time publishers of political comments. These people will not be included in the lists, apart from people who were killed because they distributed certain publications.
In some cases, the state has been seen guilty for assassinating Kurdish journalists.[by whom?]
Killings until September 1980
Only few cases of journalists killed in Turkey between the foundation of the Republic and the military coup of 12 September 1980 were listed. Yet, some of these killings were high-profile assassinations that contributed to the atmosphere of political violence (often termed "civil war") that the Turkish army used as the main reason for its intervention. A bit more information is available on some of the 15 cases reported for this period:
He was the editor-in-chief of the journal and member of a Kurdish newspaper. He was allegedly tortured and killed in Selimiye (Istanbul) military prison.[3]
Two members of the ultra-nationalistGrey Wolves, Oral Çelik and Mehmet Ali Ağca (who later shot pope John Paul II), murdered Abdi İpekçi in his car on the way back home from his office in front of his apartment building in Istanbul.[5] Ağca was caught due to an informant and was sentenced to life in prison. After serving six months in a military prison in Istanbul, Ağca escaped with the help of military officer.
Right-wing Ahmet Mustafa Kıvılcım stated in his interrogation by the police that he killed Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, because he was a "leftist", but later rejected the statement. He remained four months in pre-trial detention and was released. The assailants were not found.[7]
After the military coup of 1980 fewer journalists were killed in the fight between the radical left and the extreme right. After the end of the 1980s there have been several killings of journalists known for their anti-government attitude and secular (in Turkey also termed laicist). In some cases members of radical Islamic organizations have been prosecuted and condemned for these killings. In one case a militant of the PKK allegedly confessed to such a killing. Other killings in the 1980s and 1990s include:
Name
Publication
Place
Date
Remarks
Mevlüt Işıt
Türkiye
Ankara
1 June 1988
Kamil Başaran
Gazete
İstanbul
28 February 1989
Shot by the owner of a restaurant, who did not like his way of reporting.
Two people entered his car and shot him and his driver Sinan Ercan. Four members of the Islamic Movement Organization (tr: İslami Hareket Örgütü were sentenced to life imprisonment, but his brother does not believe that the true killers were caught.[9]
A member of the Islamic Movement Organization (tr: İslami Hareket Örgütü was sentenced to life imprisonment, but the person believed to be his killer remains free.[9]
While different hypothesis exist on who was behind the killing the prosecutor's office in Ankara maintains that two assassins were sentenced and a case opened against the third suspect, all three of them being members of the Tawhid-Salaam Jerusalem Organization (tr: Tevhid-Selam Kudüs) that was allegedly behind the murder.[10]
The brother of the archaeologist Yasemin Cebenoyan, who had died in the same bomb attack, complained that many people thought the murder had not been solved or that an Islamic organization was behind it. He was convicted in 2005, but as a confessor was released after 9.5 years' imprisonment.[11] The attack was later revealed to be carried out by PKK.[12]
His death as well as the killings of Uğur Mumcu, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Prof. Dr. Muammer Aksoy and Assistant Professor Dr. Bahriye Üçok were the subject of a trial at Ankara Heavy Penal Court 11 known as the Umut (Hope) case. The court ruled that the defendants had formed an illegal organization by the name of "Kudüs Ordusu" (Jerusalem Army) and "Tevhid Selam" (Tawhid-Salaam) and had committed violent acts in Turkey. On 28 July 2005 one defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven others received sentences as leaders or members of an illegal organization.[13] The Court of Cassation confirmed the sentence of the main suspect on 11 November 2006.[14]
Journalists and vendors killed in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict
In the 1990s the Kurdish-Turkish conflict became harsher with a large number of casualties on both sides. At the same time more and more civilians fell victim to extrajudicial killings, murders by unknown assailants (tr: faili meçhul), a term used in Turkish to indicate that the perpetrators were not identified because of them being protected by the State and cases of disappearance. Soon after the pro-Kurdish press had started to publish the first daily newspaper by the name of "Özgür Gündem" (Free Agenda) killings of Kurdish journalists started. In many cases, the state was blamed for murders and in some cases the Turkish variety of the radical Islamic organization Hizbullah was made responsible for the killings, in others the PKK was accused, but the majority remained without a clear indication to the persons behind the fatal attacks. Hardly any of them has been clarified or resulted in sanctions for the assailants. Among the 33 journalists that were killed in the first half of the 1990s are also cases not related to the Kurdish conflict. In 2008, the European Court of Human Right condemned Turkey for executing and assassinating Kurdish journalists and writers. Musa Anter, a prominent Kurdish writer, was killed by JİTEM in 1992.[15]
Among Kurdish patriots (tr: yurtsever, often used as an acronym for sympathizers of the PKK by the state) the "tradition" that started with Özgür Gündem is often called "history of the free press". In this context the figure of 76 victims (called martyrs of the press; tr: basın şehitleri) is often mentioned.[16] In 2008, the ECHR has condemned Turkey for assassinating Musa Anter who was working for Özgur Gundem.[15]
Yet, the number of staff members of the "free press" and volunteers to distribute dailies and weeklies termed "Kurdish free press" that were killed "on duty", particularly during the early stages of reporting on the Kurdish question in Turkey remains high. The list of names of distributors of Özgür Gündem and its successors that were killed (while the perpetrators mostly remained unknown) includes 18 names. Among the 33 journalists that were killed between 1990 and 1995 most were working for the so-called Kurdish Free Press.
Killed by unidentified persons two days after reporting that eyewitnesses and sympathizers of Turkish Hezbollah had said that members of the organization were educated in the headquarters of Turkey's rapid deployment force (Çevik Kuvvet) in Diyarbakır.[17]
A journalist for the mainstream daily, Sabah; shot and killed by security forces during violence that followed the celebration of the Kurdish New Year. During a state-imposed curfew, Kezer and other journalists emerged from their hotel waving white flags. No shooting was going on at the time. Kezer, at the head of the group, reached an intersection and was shot dead by security forces who fired from an armored personnel carrier. No action was taken against the security forces responsible for his death.[18]
Found wounded near Uludağ on 1 April and died shortly afterwards. The autopsy certified marks of handcuffs and ink on his fingers.[19] Officials claimed that he was the victims of an internal dispute between left-wing organizations, but friends denied this.[20]
His body was found hanging from a telephone pole near the village of Colova in Nusaybin. It was claimed that a statement was found on his body saying that he was "punished because he was a traitor", this was allegedly signed by the PKK.[18]
Hafız Akdemir
Özgür Gündem
Diyarbakır
8 June 1992
Killed by a single bullet into the back of his head, fifty meters from his home in Diyarbakir. Özgür Gündem began publication on 30 May 1992; reporters stated that they had received telephoned threats for several days, several addressed to Akdemir. He had written about the Islamic organization Hezbollah and Turkish counterguerrillas.[21][18]
Çetin Ababay
Özgür Halk
Batman
29 July 1992
Shot in the head by three unidentified men while on his way home in Batman.[18]
He had written for Özgür Gündem and Yeni Ulke, as well as for the Kurdish newspaper Welat. He was also the chairman of the board of the Mesopotamian Cultural Center in Istanbul. He was reportedly lured from his hotel on false pretenses and shot in the outskirts of Diyarbakir. A relative accompanying him was shot and wounded at the same time.[18]
Mardin reporter for a local newspaper, Soz, and for the weekly journal, Gercek (Fact). Killed in an armed attack in the Mazidagi district of Mardin on 18 November. He had been researching and reporting on the activities of the Turkish Hezbollah organization, which allegedly has ties to security forces. He had served six years in prison on political charges following the 1980 military coup. After his release, he wrote for the mainstream daily, Gunes, and then for the daily, Hurriyet.[18]
Namık Tarancı
Gerçek
Diyarbakır
20 November 1992
Shot and killed on his way to work. He reportedly received three bullets in his head after an attack by two assailants and died on the spot.[18]
Shot dead with two bullets in the head by four assailants. He had been writing for the newspaper Yeni Ulke since the suspension of publication of Özgür Gündem in January. He was also a member of the board of the Urfa Branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association. Mehmet Senol, the Diyarbakir representative for Özgür Gündem, reported that Kilic had applied for a gun license, but that his application had been rejected.[18] He was shot and killed by unknown assailants in Kulunce Village, near Sanliurfa. Police had questioned him about a news release he had published on the difficulties distributors had faced in selling the newspaper in Sanliurfa Province.[22]
Killed by fire opened from Serbian positions while covering the Bosnian Civil War.[23]
İhsan Uygur
Sabah
İstanbul
6 July 1993
Rıza Güneşer
Halkın Gücü
İstanbul
14 July 1993
Owner of the left-wing journal "Halkın Gücü". The murder is believed to have been committed by the "Bedri Yağan group", a split of the Devrimci Sol[23]
Disappeared when he was reportedly forced to get into a car. Although several teams of police were seen patrolling the streets at the time, they denied any knowledge of the incident. On 8 August a body found in Lake Hazar, near Elazığ, was identified as being Tepe's.[24] On 9 May 2003 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the material in the case file does not enable it to conclude beyond all reasonable doubt that the applicant's son was abducted and killed by any State agent or person acting on behalf of the State authorities.[25]
Presumed dead after disappearing in Siverek, a small town near Sanliurfa. He had traveled there to follow up on a news tip from a colleague, who later denied phoning him.[28]
Editor-in-chief of the left-wing weekly Devrimci Cozum. Killed by unidentified assailants as he left his home in Gebze, near Istanbul. His colleagues at the paper believe a rival left-wing faction killed him because he was the weekly's editor.[30]
Bahri Işık
Çağdaş Marmara
İstanbul
17 September 1994
Ersin Yıldız
Özgür Ülke
İstanbul
3 December 1994
Died when the offices of his paper in Istanbul were destroyed by a bomb, planted by unidentified persons, 19 staff members were wounded.[27]
Bekir Kutmangil
Yeni Günaydın
İstanbul
23 May 1995
Owner of the local newspaper, but was reportedly involved in affairs of organized crime. A rival was made responsible for the killing.[31]
Also spelled Safyettin Tepe, was taken into custody on 22 August. Four days later he was moved to the Bitlis Security Directorate. He died in custody on 29 August. His family was told that he committed suicide but rejects that official explanation.[32]
At the same time several people distributing pro-Kurdish newspaper in the region under a state of emergency, were also killed.[33]
Killings of journalists since 1995
The killings of journalists in Turkey since 1995 are more or less individual cases. Most prominent among the victims is Hrant Dink, killed in 2007, but the death of Metin Göktepe also raised great concern, since police officers beat him to death. Since 2014, several Syrian journalists who were working from Turkey and reporting on the rise of Daesh have been assassinated.
The death of Metin Alataş in 2010 is also a source of disagreement – while the autopsy claimed it was suicide, his family and colleagues demanded an investigation. He had formerly received death threats and had been violently assaulted.[34]
Beaten to death by police, prompting a public outcry among journalists. After several trials, retrials, and appeals, in January 2000, an appeals court upheld seven-and-a-half-year prison sentences for five police officers involved in the killing.[35]
Owner and editor-in-chief of the journal Halkın Gücü (Power of the People). Died as the result of a hunger strike against prison conditions. She was in prison since 1995, charged with membership of the DHKP-C.[36]
Adana representative of the newspaper Kurtuluş. Killed by police officers in a house raid along with Selahattin Akıncı, a vendor for the same paper and Bülent Dil, on the night of 28 January.[37]
Shot in the head with a 9 mm pistol after leaving the office of his paper in Beyoğlu (Istanbul) together with three friends. It has not been found out who the attackers were, where they came from and why they shot him.[38] The ECtHR considered that the material in the case file did not enable it to conclude beyond all reasonable doubt that Önder Babat was killed by any State agent or person acting on behalf of the State authorities. Therefore, there had been no violation of Article 2 on that account.[39]
Started as an amateur journalist with Günaydın in 1973. After 1976 he worked for the news agency Akdeniz. His first book "History of Silvan" was released 1980. His research on unsolved killings in Silvan "Şehitler Şehri Silvan" (Town of Martyrs: Silvan) was released in 2004, but the governor banned its distribution. In April 2004 he was detained on allegations that he had kidnapped a girl (a young woman looking after his mother). He was released after one month. Two months later he was shot in his neck with one bullet.The assailants were identified.[40]
Managing editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, was shot outside his newspaper's offices in Istanbul. A day later, police arrested the alleged gunman, 17-year-old Ogün Samast, who reportedly confessed to the crime.[41] Amnesty International says that the authorities have failed to address state officials' alleged involvement in his killing. Calls by his family to investigate the collusion and negligence of state officials in the murder, backed by a European Court of Human Rights judgment in 2010, have not been heeded.[42]
12 people went on trial for his murder in Istanbul. The founder of the newspaper İlk Haber (First News), İhsan Kuruoğlu was accused of having instructed Serkan Erakkuş to kill Hayırsevener.[43] On 1 August 2013, the court sentenced Kuruoğlu to 27 years' imprisonment.[44]
While playing snowball with his friends in Kadıköy, he was stabbed to death during a brawl after the snowball hit the window of a shopkeeper's shop.[45]
Syrian journalist died in hospital on April 12, 2016 after being shot in the head by a masked man on April 10 on a street in Gaziantep. He was 36 years old. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing.[50]
During the 2016 military coup attempt, the photojournalist and recording photographer died when rebel soldiers opened fire near Çengelköy Police Station.[51]
Authorities arrested and secured a confession from a distant relative for the murder of Halla and her mother due to financial reasons, but her family, friends and colleagues suspect that "her work may have threatened powerful figures with the motive and means to silence them." Outside experts familiar with the case, said that the documents reveal several inconsistencies and outright contradictions in the official narrative.[52]
Publisher and news editor of the local online newspaper Ses Kocaeli. Was shot in the right leg and chest in his office. Arslan was hospitalized but could not be saved. According to the indictment, prosecutors claim that Arslan was killed because of his journalistic activities, including his columns on alleged corruption in local government activities.[54]
