Journalist Hazar Dost was detained late yesterday as part of a court case concerning a demonstration he attended in 2018.
After spending the night at the police station, Dost was referred to the Küçükçekmece Courthouse this morning and was released after giving his statement there.
Dost had been detained while shopping in his neighborhood. The reason for his detention was a missing statement in a case that had previously been ruled on by a local court but was returned by an appeals court.
Following his release, Hazar Dost made a statement detailing the mistreatment he faced:
“I feel the need to explain what I experienced during my detention and the custody process.
“After leaving my friends, I was followed by four different police teams and detained at the grocery store I visited, through an unlawful facial recognition method.
“I was not allowed to use the restroom from the hour I was detained yesterday. I had to relieve myself in a plastic bottle in the holding cell.
“Even though I requested the medications I need to take multiple times, they did not bring them.
“I was subjected to profanity and insults in the vehicle by the team that took me to Çağlayan [İstanbul Courthouse] in the morning.
“As we were about to enter the Çağlayan holding cells, an officer separated me from the others in the vehicle, twisted my arm, and tried to force me into the cell. When I resisted, he applied physical violence within view of the cameras.
“The torture suffered by the people detained due to the NATO Summit, with whom I stayed, stands in a separate place as my own observation as a journalist.
“We will file a criminal complaint regarding the entire process. Torture is a crime against humanity.”
BIA Media Monitoring Reports
13 December 2024
Union demands investigation
The DİSK Press Workers (Basın-İş) also issued a statement condemning the incident and demanding an investigation into the allegations:
“What Hazar Dost experienced during his detention reveals not only the rights violations that a journalist was subjected to, which are unfortunately now seen as ‘ordinary,’ but also a grave picture concerning fundamental rights and freedoms.
“Preventing our colleague from meeting his basic human needs in custody, and subjecting him to insults and physical violence, must be effectively and independently investigated immediately.
“Our colleague Hazar Dost, who was subjected to treatment contrary to human dignity, is not alone. We will continue to grow solidarity against pressures, unlawful detentions, surveillance practices, and policies of impunity targeting journalists, and we will continue to follow the process until the end.” (HA/VK)
Source: BIANET
