Kazim Sen was shot three times in the leg by an assailant when he returned home with his wife.
(BIANET/IFEX) – 25 January 2011 – Kazim Sen, owner of the usak.tv news site, was shot in front of his home in Usak, western Turkey.
“Usak Denge” newspaper reported that Sen’s assailant, 23-year-old Tekin Ugur, was waiting for Sen in front of his home when he arrived by car with his wife, Semra Sen. Ugur shot Sen in the leg three times; he was arrested shortly thereafter, still carrying the unlicensed weapon.
Ugur admitted to the offence in his first statement to police.
Four people were taken into custody following Sen’s statement, among them the former provincial chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). All were later released when Ugur was arrested.
Sen commented on the incident, “As journalists, we fulfill our duty and report about incidents of unsolved shootings. I do not know my attacker; it is not important who did this but who made him do it. We will continue writing the truth even if they shoot a bullet into our brains.”
Abdurrahman Yavuz, head of the Usak Journalists’ Association, visited Sen at the Usak State Hospital and condemned the attack on the journalist.
“I hope this will be the last attack on a member of the media whose only weapon is his pen. This incident shows the difficult conditions journalists are working under in Usak (. . .)” Yavuz said.
Yavuz Kusdemir has temporarily taken over Sen’s duties at the Usak TV website. He reported that Sen was in good condition.
