DİYARBAKIR – Evrensel Newspaper Diyarbakır reporter Cengiz Anıl Bölükbaş who was derailed by 3 police officers told that they tried to intimidate him by saying: "Bombs are going off left and right, you don't want to be named responsible for the bombings."

 

Evrensel Newspaper Diyarbakır reporter Cengiz Anıl Bölükbaş who was derailed by 3 police officers who told that they were with the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) on August 24, was threatened and subjected to an imposition of spying. It was stated that Bölükbaş was followed for 14 months.

 

'WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW YOU'

 

Speaking to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA), Bölükbaş said that 3 people stopped him and asked and offered him to have a cup of tea with them and told that they wanted to speak to him about something. Bölükbaş said: "When I asked which branch they were from, they said they were from intelligence. They have listed a few pieces of information about me. They said that I studied Mechanical Engineering at Antep University before, lived in Diyarbakır for the last 13-14 months, and also worked as a reporter for Evrensel Newspaper. Apart from that, they shared some of my family information. They mentioned that I have 4 siblings. Then they talked about the lawsuits and investigations filed against me. THey said that these investigations against me can turn into lawsuit anytime. They stated that my sister took the exam and that when she wanted to become a civil servant, as a member of the family, even if she did not get involved in any political event, these cases would be an obstacle to my sister. And they said they could help if I wanted to. Then they said: "We can support you financially and we can protect you from these investigations." They said: "You are a reporter of Evrensel Newspaper and a member of Labour Party. It is legal at the time but things can change any minute. We want you to be careful. There are some events and meetings happening around here. We can pretty much monitor all of them but there are a 20 percent we can't penatrate. We want you to give us information about these 20%. We have a room of three people. No one except those three people will know that you are there. You come in, give us the information and leave. No one will know anything about you." I told them what they wanted from me was spying.  They told me to consider this being 'friends'. They told me that this seat will be available for others too and if I don't accept it, someone from 'my circle' will say yes. They said: "Bombs are going off left and right. You don't want to be named responsible for these bombs."

 

'WE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOU FOR 14 MONTHS'

 

Stating that Labour Party is a legak party, Bölükbaş said: "I was threatened with a discourse that the party and the newspaper can be marginalized and might be deemed illegal soon. I insistantly told no to their offer, they told me to sleep on it, think about it for a few days. I tried to leave and they still told me that they'll call me in a few days and eat lunch together. I told them I will not be answering the phone. They told me they have been following me for 14 months, since I came to Diyarbakır. They told me they will continue to follow me if I say no. Then I was able to leave."

 

Stating that the pressure on press is more obvious in the Kurdish cities, Bölükbaş said: "Those who oppose the ruling party, those who defend the right to receive news and those who tell the truth no matter what are being targeted. Law suits are filed against them for writing the truth. This is a clear indication of the attitude of the ruling party towards press freedom. What happened to me is no exception. I will not submit to these threats as my newspaper has been doing for 25 years. We will not let them terrorize our work as a journalist like this."

 

MA / Cahit Özbek