Posted on 07/01/2020 9:28:00 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
Arif Aslan, a correspondent for the Voice of America (VOA) Kurdish service, was arrested today in the eastern Turkish province of Van.
He was following a democracy march started by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Speaking to Gazete Duvar, Aslan’s lawyer, Cahit Durmaz, said he was arrested due to a previous conviction dating back to 2016-2017 and was expected to be released on parole after around two weeks in prison.
Aslan was previously arrested on March 31, 2017, reportedly for photographing the barriers put in front of the municipal building in Van after the Turkish government appointed a caretaker to replace the democratically elected mayor from the HDP. Aslan was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and released pending trial on November 21, 2017.
Over the past few years the Turkish government has imprisoned many journalists, both Turkish and foreign, over their reports on the country’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast, which has seen an escalation of violence since the breakdown of the government’s peace talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the summer of 2015.
Turkey is one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 154 journalists were behind bars as of June 16, 2020. Detention warrants are outstanding for some 170 journalists, however, who live in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
Abdullah Bozkurt @abdbozkurt 3 hours ago
Today, #Turkey's President declared his intention to kill all social media outlets, the last remaining platform for independent and critical journalism.
His gov't already shut down 187 media outlets, jailed 175 journalists & forced 168 into exile.
https://stockholmcf.org/updated-list/
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Turkey blocks access to Germany-based Özgürüz web radio
https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-journalists/turkey-blocks-access-germany-based-ozguruz-web-radio
The arrest of Arif Aslan is in connection to jail sentence handed down by a court over forgery in official documentation, the VoA reporter's lawyer Cihat Durmaz said on Twitter.
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From the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, there was never freedom of the press. It has not existed since the Founding of Modern Turkey after WWI. In the modern history of Turkey, the suppression of the press has never been as bad as it is today. Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other nation in the world. And they are still a NATO "ally"??
But...but.....Trump is even worse with journalists, just ask them.
A lot can happen in 2 weeks in a Turkish prison.
He needs to take The “Midnight Express”.
He might have thought it was okay due to his lineage. Aslan is a Turkish name.
“Turkey’s President declared his intention to kill all social media outlets”
Okay, so he’s not 100% bad ... sarc ... sort of ...
Light humor about a serious matter.
I use Twitter, have an account on GAB and Parler. Spend too much time on Twitter. As a news source, yes it is possible and if used properly it is much better than our “Sponge Media”.
He has been arrested 2 times before, that I am aware of.
A number of journalists have served longer than 10 years in Turk prison. Imagine that horror.
Those two have gone the way of the dodo bird. Now everything is anti President Trump. Anti White, Anti America. Pro Socialists, Pro Communists. Pro criminal Black. The decent hard working, law abiding Blacks,a/l/a, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Clarence, Ben Carson, Lt. Col.West are in the same category as the Whites.
Yes, I’m joking. I haven’t checked out Parker yet. They are certainly creating some buzz.
President Trump is kind, even to intentionally offensive Idiot Journalists.
He cuts the BS artists no slack. For that I really admire him.
The United States should be. They are nothing but America haters, traitors. and liars. But what they refuse to admit is that once the people they are trying to put in power gain power They will be faced in front of guys carrying rifles and told to watch the birdie. History attests to this.
I’ve been on Twitter since 2009. Hate the trolls, but the system is honestly pretty smooth.
GAB and Parler have good and bad elements. Trolls are not a problem yet, but both systems seem a little bloated. Parler seems more graphic. Not sure how well it will handle rapid growth that probably is coming.
Gab never seemed to run right on my phone. Also, there’s only so much time, and back then I actually paid attention to Facebook. Twitter can be a cesspool depending on the crowd. Twitter needs real competition.
Agree. And I hope Parler is the answer. It is a conservative friendly group, functionality?? Not sure yet.
Anything that isn’t explicitly right-wing will become left-wing with time.
Aslan was previously arrested on March 31, 2017, reportedly for photographing the barriers put in front of the municipal building in Van after the Turkish government appointed a caretaker to replace the democratically elected mayor from the HDP. Aslan was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and released pending trial on November 21, 2017.
I saw one of the ones forced into exile by Erdogan speak at a civic group 3-4 years ago, and show video of the government taking over their offices. It was quite eye-opening. He was lucky to get out of the country with his family.
Yes. Some of the most informed just squeaked out of the country in time. Later found way to take the family out.
Horrible situation
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