(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 January 1998, Ugur Demir, journalist with the daily newspaper “Cumhuriyet”, was taken in for questioning while attending a rally held in the district of Besiktas. During the rally, held to commemorate the murder of Ugur Mumcu, another “Cumhuriyet” reporter who was killed in a 1993 bomb attack, Demir was apprehended by […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 23 January 1998, Ugur Demir, journalist with the daily
newspaper “Cumhuriyet”, was taken in for questioning while attending a rally
held in the district of Besiktas. During the rally, held to commemorate the
murder of Ugur Mumcu, another “Cumhuriyet” reporter who was killed in a 1993
bomb attack, Demir was apprehended by two undercover police officers and
taken to the regional security office. Around 20:00 hours, he was placed
under observation in an isolation cell. Around 23:00 hours, an officer
questioned him in these terms: “Are you a journalist? How much do you earn?
You thought that we were going to kill you, didn’t you? You thought that
you’d be the next Ugur Mumcu? You’ll write it in your diary.” After having
been allowed to use the telephone, Demir was led back to his cell. When his
colleague from the newspaper arrived, he was told by a high ranking officer
that Demir had been questioned because he had seemed “suspect.” He was freed
at about 1h30.
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His Excellency Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
Basbakanlik
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Icisleri Bakanligi
06644 Ankara, Turkey
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