Six Turkish journalists have been kept in police custody since Dec. 25, according to the Evrensel daily.
Police teams detained the six journalists — DİHA news manager Ömer Çelik, one of the editors of the Diken news portal, Tunca Öğreten, the Birgün daily’s accounting supervisor Mahir Kanaat, DİHA reporter Metin Yoksu, the Etkin News Agency’s Derya Okatan and the Yolculuk daily’s Eray Sargın — during simultaneous raids in İstanbul and Diyarbakır.
The journalists were reportedly subject to police violence. According to a report by the Dihaber news agency, police teams raided Çelik’s house in Diyarbakır’s Kayapınar district, and as soon as the family opened the door, Çelik’s mother and wife were made to lie on the floor.
One of the officers reportedly dragged Çelik to the living room and began beating him while shouting: “You report the news, huh! Come on, write a report now. You are an Armenian b*stard. Come on, write a report now.”
In the meantime, another officer reportedly pointed a gun at Çelik’s mother and asked her: “Why did you make your son a journalist? Why did you permit it?”
After almost half an hour of abuse, the police handcuffed Çelik and took him to police headquarters. They also confiscated the mobile phones of all present as well as books and flash cards. Cumhuriyet reported that a confidentiality order has been imposed on the case. (Turkey Purge)