On 29 August 2023, Mehmet Karakeçili, editor-in-chief of the local news website Virantv in Viranşehir, Şanlıurfa province in Türkiye / Turkey, was allegedly physically assaulted and threatened by individual, who is the bodyguard and nephew of a local politician. The attack was allegedly prompted by Karakeçili’s reporting on corruption.
Reports indicate that the attacker was released from custody under judicial control, and his licensed weapon was confiscated by local authorities.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is asking Turkish authorities to protect all journalists in the country.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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