Ahmet Şık

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Ahmet Şık, December 2016

Ahmet Şık (* 1970 in Adana ) is a Turkish author , trade unionist , investigative journalist and member of the Turkish parliament for the 27th legislative period . Şık became famous for a book that is considered an icon of investigative journalism in Turkey. The book manuscript The Imam's Army on the Gülen Movement was confiscated before it was published and was considered the “most dangerous book in the country”. Şık is married to Yonca Şık.

Life

Şık graduated from the Faculty of Communication Studies at Istanbul University as a journalist. Between 1991 and 2007 he worked for the Turkish magazine Nokta and the Turkish daily newspapers Milliyet , Cumhuriyet , Evrensel , Yeni Yüzyıl and Radikal . He also worked as a photographer for Reuters . His union activities are said to have led to conflicts with his employers, so that he moved his field of work from journalism to academic employment. Şık taught journalism at the Bilgi University in Istanbul. Şık is a member of the journalists' union “Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası (TGS)” and the association of contemporary journalists “Çağdaş Gazeteciler Derneği (ÇGD)”. He is known for his articles on human rights issues and work ethics in publications by non-governmental organizations. Şık was one of the authors of Nokta magazine , who reported in an article on coup attempts by the armed forces in 2007 and thus contributed to the Ergenekon disclosure.

First charges

For a report after the murder of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink , in which he called on the military not to interfere in internal security, and a report on a prisoner in Bayrampaşa Prison, Şık was charged with violating the article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code charged. In April 2008, he and the interviewed woman were acquitted.

In June 2010, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Ahmet Şık were charged with their book Forty Mules, Forty Cleavers (tr: Kırk Katır, Kırk Satır ), which dealt in two volumes with the Ergenekon case , on charges of violating the secrecy of documents to have. These proceedings also ended in an acquittal.

Arrested in March 2011

On March 3, 2011, 11 people were arrested in Istanbul and Ankara, including Ahmet Şık and his colleague Nedim Şener . The police searched rooms and confiscated computers, CDs and the entire archive. The arrest caused shock and indignation. Nine of the eleven detainees, including Şık and Şener, came to be Ergenekon in on charges, a member of the secret society 6 March 2011 detention .

In connection with the arrests, the investigating judges had the previously unpublished book Imamın Ordusu ( Eng : The Imam's Army ) banned. The book aims at the disinformation of the public and gives the Ergenekon members moral support, therefore it concerns the document of a terrorist organization, which is to be confiscated. Anyone who does not hand over the document to the authorities could be punished under Article 124 of the Turkish Criminal Code . As a result, even possession of the manuscript is said to have been made under threat of punishment. The law firm representing Şık, a publishing house and the premises of the daily Radikal were raided. The arrest of Ahmet Şık was one of the reasons for the protest against Judge Emine Ülker Tarhan's resignation in Ankara in March 2011 . Tarhan criticized the fact that freedom of expression and freedom of the press were "trampled underfoot" in Turkey, although it should be protected by international agreements and the constitution .

Manuscript The Imam's Army

In the as yet unpublished book manuscript entitled The Imam's Army , Şık described the influence of the movement of the preacher Fethullah Gülen , by far the most influential Islamic brotherhood in Turkey, which had systematically infiltrated the police and judiciary from the mid-1980s. Şık found out, according to his lawyer Fikret İlkiz, that 80 percent of the Turkish police apparatus already belong to the Gulen movement . According to the book, the infiltration began in the police personnel department. Şık had criticized information about the promotions and transfers of officials who belong to the Gülen movement or are critical of them. The question of whether the police are the armed arm of the Gülen movement led to the title of the book.

On March 31, 2011, a copy of the draft for The Imam's Army was posted on the Internet under the title Who Touches Burns (tr: dokunan yanar ). It was downloaded over a hundred thousand times on the first day. The Facebook group “I too have Ahmet Şık's book” ( Ahmet Şık'ın Kitabı bende de var ) had also been joined by more than 100,000 people by April 6th.

The Islam expert Ruşen Çakır said shortly thereafter that the book was not enough to understand the Gülen movement. The Gülen movement is primarily of a social nature.

Reactions

Thousands of journalists have protested several times against the arrests of Ahmet Şık, Nedim Şener and a total of 66 other colleagues. The case sparked fierce national and international criticism. The Turkish PEN center denounced the police operation. The organization Reporters Without Borders criticized the prosecutor and doubted whether the allegations were actually criminal or not politics. Three Turkish press organizations condemned the violation of the right to write freely as a violation of Article 29 of the Turkish Constitution . Criticism also came from the office of EU enlargement commissioner Štefan Füle . The human rights organization Human Rights Watch saw the arrests as a deterrent ( English chilling effect ) on press freedom in Turkey. Amnesty International called on Turkey to reconsider its press freedom laws. The senior special prosecutor, Zekeriya Öz , was evicted in April 2011.

The European Union expressed concern about a deterioration in the area of ​​freedom of the press in a resolution of 9 March 2011 entitled Progress Report 2011 on Turkey ; stressing that an independent press is essential to a democratic society, she decided to follow up the cases of Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık and other journalists who have been subjected to police or legal harassment. President Abdullah Gül expressed his concern in connection with the arrests, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected EU criticism of the arrest of journalists: "The EU should touch its own nose, we are continuing on our path to our democracy." In an open letter, media expert from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Dunja Mijatovic appealed to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and the AKP government to bring Turkish media laws into line with the OSCE guidelines on press freedom as quickly as possible. Prime Minister Erdoğan was invited to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on April 13, 2011 , where he was supposed to take a position on freedom of the press.

Charged and released in March 2012

At the end of August, the first reports of an indictment appeared in the Turkish press. The 134-page indictment named 14 suspects, 12 of whom were in custody. The focus was on the OdaTV Internet portal. The defendants were accused of having founded, directed or belonged to the armed terrorist organization Ergenekon , helped the organization, incited hatred and hostility among the people, obtained documents relating to the security of the state or classified documents, violated the right to privacy, personal data saved and attempted to influence fair trials.

It is the first indictment presented to the newly established 16th Chamber of Serious Crimes in Istanbul.
According to the indictment, Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener were charged with helping the Ergenekon terrorist organization. This carries a sentence of 7.5 to 15 years in prison. The first hearing was scheduled to take place on November 22, 2011 in the courthouse in Çağlayan (Istanbul).

Şık and his colleague Nedim Şener were released from custody on March 13, 2012 by the Istanbul Criminal Court. After his release, he expressed the conviction that a misdirected judiciary could bring neither justice nor democracy to the country, pointing out that the issue of freedom of expression affects not only journalists but also 600 students and 6,000 people in the KCK trial are in custody. The policemen, prosecutors and judges who were behind this plot would be behind bars. Those of the Gülen movement, who acted like a criminal organization within the bureaucracy, are responsible for this.

Arrested in December 2016

Şık was arrested again on December 29, 2016. The state news agency Anadolu reported that Şık was accused of propaganda for a terrorist organization and of insulting state organs. The basis of the arrest was Şık's article in the government-critical Cumhuriyet newspaper and Twitter comments he posted . The basis of the arrest is Article 7, Paragraph 2 "Propaganda for a Terrorist Organization" of the "Law to Combat Terrorism" and Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code .

The public prosecutor's office accused Şık of having made propaganda for the banned Kurdish PKK and for the Gülen organization - that is, for the organization whose harsh critic he made a name for himself and whose alleged supporters within the authorities persecuted him. Shortly before the arrest, the pro-government daily Sabah reported on Şık's articles and tweets. Prosecutors also relied on this Sabah article in their application for detention. Şık was initially taken to Metris Prison after his arrest. He was then transferred to Silivri Prison, where he had previously been in custody in 2011.

In his defense in court, he said that it was not he, but President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who should be charged with complicity with Gülen. He denied ever belonging to any legal or illegal organization. His conclusion: “Thanks to my journalistic work, I managed to be the bogeyman of every single political period. For me it's an honor. ”Şık was released from custody on March 9, 2018, subject to certain conditions.

On April 25, 2018, a court of first instance sentenced Şık and Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu to seven and a half years in prison for “supporting terrorist organizations”. Akın Atalay was sentenced to over eight years in prison. The three are free as long as their review procedures are ongoing.

politics

Less than a month before the parliamentary elections in June 2018 , Şık announced that he would run for a seat in the HDP . He was also able to obtain this (for the province of Istanbul ).

On July 23, 2018, he was brutally attacked by several AKP MPs when he was giving a speech in parliament.

On May 4, 2020, Şık announced his resignation from the party, making him an independent MP.

Fonts

  • Ergenekon'da Kim Kimdir? (German: 'Who is who in Ergenekon ') together with Ertuğrul Mavioğlu . İstanbul 2010, ISBN 978-605-375-037-6 .
  • Kontrgerilla ve Ergenekon'u Anlama Kılavuzu (German: 'Instructions for understanding counter-guerrilla and Ergenekon') together with Ertuğrul Mavioğlu. İstanbul 2010, ISBN 978-605-375-031-4 .
  • İmamın ordusu ( Eng : 'The Imam's Army'), unpublished manuscript

Honourings and prices

  • Bülent Dikmener Haber Ödülü (German: Bülent Dikmenler News Prize), 1994
  • Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti Fotoğraf Ödülü (de: Photography Prize of the Turkish Association of Journalists), 1995
  • Metin Göktepe Gazetecilik Ödülü ( Metin Göktepe Journalism Prize ), 2001, 2002 and 2007
    • In 2001 for Best News in the Printing Press , the article The Underground Murderers (tr: Yeraltındaki Katiller )
    • In 2002 special prize of the jury for the message Return to Truth (tr: Gerçeğe Dönüş )
    • In 2007, the jury special award for the news There are two types of journalists: opponents of the armed forces TSK and supporters of the armed forces (tr: İki Tür gazeteci vardır: TSK karşıtları, TSK yandaşları )
  • Çağdaş Gazeteciler Derneği Haber Ödülü (de: News Prize of the Association of Contemporary Journalists) (2002-2003-2005)
  • Günter Wallraff Prize for journalism criticism , 2016

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Doğan Haber Ajansı (Doğan News Agency): Gazeteci Ahmet Şık kimdir? , accessed March 3, 2011 (Turkish).
  2. ↑ information from the website ahmetsik.com ( Memento of 9 April 2011 at the Internet Archive ); Accessed April 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ a b information under homepage in his name ( Memento from April 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ); Accessed April 15, 2011
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Jürgen Gottschlich: Gülen movement in Turkey: The uncanny power of the Imam. In: Der Spiegel , accessed April 5, 2011.
  5. ↑ Turkish news portal Bianet: Nokta'ya Röportaj Davası'ndan Şık ve Sarıibrahimoğlu'na Beraat , accessed on March 6, 2011 (Turkish).
  6. ↑ Turkish news portal Bianet: Şık ve Uzpeder'i de Sanık Yapan 301'i Kaldırın Artık! , accessed March 6, 2011 (Turkish).
  7. ↑ Journalists Sarıibrahimoğlu and Şık acquitted from 301 case ( Memento from October 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Today's Zaman from April 3, 2008; Accessed April 15, 2011.
  8. ↑ This idiom comes from the Turkish fairy tale world and means to have the choice between being trampled by forty mules or being chopped up by forty cleavers, similar to the German idiom: the choice between “plague and cholera”.
  9. ↑ Daily report of June 24, 2010 of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey ; Access to the DTF website on April 15, 2011.
  10. ↑ Şık ve Mavioğlu'na advised! In: Radical . May 13, 2011, accessed March 3, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Daily report of March 4, 2011 of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, TIHV; to be found on the website of the Democratic Turkey Forum (DTF); Accessed April 15, 2011 (Turkish).
  12. ↑ Daily report from 5. – 7. March 2011 of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, TIHV; to be found on the website of the Democratic Turkey Forum (DTF); Accessed April 15, 2011 (Turkish).
  13. ↑ The Imam's Army. In: Junge Welt , March 26, 2011.
  14. ↑ madde 124 TCK
  15. ↑ Police Raid at Radikal Daily for Unpublished Book Istanbul - BİA News Center, March 25, 2011 (English).
  16. ^ Turkey: Searches, intimidation and seizures due to Ergenekon book Article by Ulrike Duffner ( Heinrich Böll Foundation ) from March 28, 2011; Accessed April 15, 2011.
  17. ↑ Emine Ülker Tarhan: I don't want to be a puppet of the government , FAZ.NET, April 11, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  18. ↑ a b c Posta of March 29, 2011 , description by Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, co-author of a book by Ahmet Şık on a similar subject; Accessed April 2, 2011.
  19. ↑ Reports from the Turkish Democratic Forum in April 2011 ; Accessed April 15, 2011.
  20. ↑ I also have the book of Ahmet Şık ; Accessed April 7, 2011.
  21. ↑ Article in habername.com of 2 April 2011 ; Accessed April 3, 2011.
  22. ↑ Jürgen Gottschlich: The Turkish government in a bad light. In: Badische Zeitung of March 29, 2011; Accessed April 15, 2011.
  23. ↑ Seizure and destruction of Ahmet Sik's unpublished book: “a very dangerous precedent.” Reporters Without Borders , Friday, March 25, 2011 (English).
  24. ↑ Statement by Commissioner Stefan Füle on the situation of media freedom in Turkey. Vienna Online from March 3, 2011
  25. ^ Turkey: Journalists' Arrests Chills Free Speech. HRW press release of March 4, 2011; Accessed April 15, 2011 (English).
  26. ↑ www.amnesty.org: Turkey must review legislation restricting freedom of expression. Press release from March 4, 2011; Accessed April 15, 2011 (English).
  27. ↑ Excerpts from the resolution translated by the DTF
  28. ↑ Censorship in Turkey - paper explosives. In: the daily newspaper , accessed on March 31, 2011.
  29. ↑ OSCE media freedom representative presents study showing that more than 50 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, calls for legal reforms OSCE Press release, Vienna, April 4, 2011 (English).
  30. ↑ Erdogan invited to Strasbourg for cross-examination. In: Die Welt from April 12, 2011; Accessed April 15, 2011.
  31. ↑ See the daily newspaper Radikal of August 26, 2011
  32. ↑ a b Details can be found at the Turkish Democratic Forum in the reports in August 2011 . Accessed September 12, 2011.
  33. ↑ In July 2011 the Supreme Council for Judges and Prosecutors in Istanbul decided to set up three more chambers for serious crimes with special powers. In 2004 the existing six chambers of the State Security Court in Istanbul were renamed as chambers 9-14 for serious crimes. The three new chambers are numbered 15-17. See a report in Gazeteport from July 16, 2011 ( Memento from August 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ İlk duruşma tarihi belli oldu. In: Radical . September 12, 2011, accessed March 3, 2017 .
  35. ↑ Ahmet Şık cemaate meydan okudu ( Memento from June 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), gazeteciler.com, March 13, 2012
  36. ↑ "At the moment we can only wait" - attorney Tora Pekin on the detention of journalist Ahmet Şık. In: Deutsche Welle . December 29, 2016, accessed March 3, 2017 .
  37. ↑ Gazeteci Ahmet Şık tutuklandı , BBC Türkçe, December 30, 2016
  38. ↑ Turkey's Sad Peak Performance , Der Standard, January 19, 2017
  39. ^ Ahmet Şık: Defense speech. Reprinted under the title “Nobody can stay in power forever” in: Die Zeit, January 20, 2017
  40. ↑ Cumhuriyet gazetesi davası: Ahmet Şık ve Murat Sabuncu tahliye edildi
  41. ↑ spiegel.de: Long prison sentences for "Cumhuriyet" journalists in Istanbul
  42. ↑ Gazeteci Ahmet Şık HDP'den milletvekili aday adayı oldu . In: NTV . May 17, 2018 ( com.tr [accessed July 7, 2018]).
  43. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Ahmet Şık HDP'den istifa etti | DW | 05/04/2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020 (tr-TR).
  44. ↑ a b c Information from the Ahmetsik.com website: Ödülleri ( Memento from April 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ); Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  45. ↑ Günter Wallraff Prize for journalism criticism 2016 to Turkish "News Watch" and communication scientist - . June 13, 2016 ( derblindefleck.de [accessed June 3, 2017]).
  46. ↑ Turkish journalist Şık receives UNESCO award for freedom of the press. In: Der Standard from May 3, 2014, accessed May 9, 2014.
  47. ^ Raif Badawi Award for Ahmet Sik , deutschlandfunkkultur.de, September 8, 2017, accessed on September 8, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Şık, Ahmet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish author, trade unionist and investigative journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Adana