Threats from the Top: Turkish Mayor Intimidates Journalist Sinan Aygül

October 16, 2024 – Turkey –

In a chilling escalation of press intimidation, on August 15, 2024, the mayor of Tatvan in eastern Turkey publicly threatened local journalist Sinan Aygül, stating, “Sinan will know his place” and promising, “We will teach him his lesson” during a press conference, though Aygül was not present.

Aygül, who serves as chief editor of the independent Bitlis News website and chairs the Bitlis Journalists Society, had previously been physically attacked in June 2023 by bodyguards of the former mayor in response to his investigative reporting into municipal spending. The current mayor even praised those bodyguards during the 2024 press conference.

Aygül’s alleged offense? Reporting on the mayor’s purchase of three high-end cell phones, a story locally considered embarrassing for the municipal administration. He plans to file a criminal complaint in response to the mayor’s threats.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), joined by the National Union of Journalists and other press freedom advocates, strongly condemned the mayor’s remarks. CPJ’s Turkey representative, Özgür Öğret, demanded a public apology and urgent measures to ensure Aygül’s safety. “Politicians should always refrain from threatening journalists,” Öğret emphasized.

This incident reflects a broader assault on press freedom in Turkey, where laws on defamation, anti-disinformation, and anti-terrorism frequently serve as tools to silence dissent. Turkey remains one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, ranked 149th out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index, with significant self-censorship enforced by both legal threat and economic pressure.

Mayor Erol’s conduct exemplifies a dangerous normalization of impunity for threats and violence against the press at the local level. When elected officials verbally threaten journalists and publicly endorse past attacks, it sends a clear message: independent reporting is neither protected nor respected.

To reverse this deterioration, Turkish authorities must enforce legal protections for journalists, impose sanctions for threats, safeguard press workers, and halt pressure on media outlets. Until local officials like Mayor Erol are held accountable, journalists like Sinan Aygül will remain vulnerable—and public trust in Turkey’s democratic institutions will continue to erode.

Reference – 

https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107641614

Mayor threatens local journalist in Turkey: ‘We will teach him his lesson’