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Today's Zaman, Turkey
April 5 2015
Turkey deports German photojournalists on terror suspicion
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine's photojournalist was barred from
entering into Turkey and deported on the alleged suspicion of being
jihadist last week although German officials informed Turkish
authorities about the situation of journalist, an online news portal
reported.
According to an article published on the Diken.com news portal, citing
Der Spiegel's report over the incident, photojournalist Andy Spyra
sent back to Germany after being held Ä°stanbul Atatürk Airport's
detention center over a night.
Spyra reportedly took a Turkish Airlines plane from Germany's
Dusseldorf en route to Ä°stanbul on March 28 to cover an article about
the 100th anniversary of alleged `Armenian genocide.' When he landed
in Ä°stanbul around 5.20 p.m. four civilians took him to a special
security area and told him to open his luggage. Police officers
searched the camera cleaning kit that, the journalist said, looks like
a little rocket but obviously to be a kit, looked at the photos inside
of camera's memory card and also looked at his photos with peshmarga
taken his Iraq visit on his mobile phone. `They looked at these photos
taken with military vest. Their face were looking so serious,' he
said.
Spyra reportedly tried to tell that he is a journalist and showed the
hotel reservation; however, couldn't make police to listen him. The
journalist told that he would be sent to Dusseldorf next morning and
taken to Atatürk Airport deportation center.
While he was detention center, officials returned German
photojournalist's mobile phone back and he called his colleague who
had been in Turkey and his editors in Germany. Journalist's friend and
editors let German Consulate General in Ä°stanbul and German Embassy in
Ankara over the situation. He was taken to Dusseldorf plane on 9.55
a.m. next morning and welcomed by Federal police in the airport.
`Turkish authorities told their German colleagues that I am believed
to be jihadist due to khaki colored clothes and `military equipment'¦
However, we later learned that the night that I was in the airport,
German Consulate General informed Turkish authorities that I am a
journalist and made a formal protest.''
Last year, Der Spiegel magazine withdraw its Turkey reporter Hasnain
Kazim after he received death threats over reports covering the deadly
disaster at the Soma coal mine that killed 301 miners. Kazim
reportedly received over 10,000 threats via e-mail, Facebook and
Twitter, one of them even threatening to `cut his throat if seen on
the street.'
Threats by groups linked to the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) came after Der Spiegel ran a story on May 14 on its website
with a headline `Scher dich zum Teufel, ErdoÄ?an' (Go to Hell,
ErdoÄ?an). The headline was a direct quote of a miner in Soma who was
angry at ErdoÄ?an's remark that he deemed mine accidents as natural,
but supporters of the ruling party read the headline as an insult
against the prime minister, and following the publication of the
story, a campaign was launched on Twitter using the hashtag
#ScherDichZumTeufelDerSpiegel (Go to Hell Der Spiegel).
The smear campaign against Kazim appeared to be organized as several
Twitter accounts that threatened him were only following him and had
no other contacts.
The German journalist of Pakistani origin had initially responded to
criticisms with a news story translated into Turkish and posted on Der
Spiegel Online; however, the smear campaign against him did not stop
and was conducted under the hashtag #VerschwindeAusDerTürkei (Get out
of Turkey) on the following days.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-deports-german-photojournalists-on-terror-suspicion_377206.html
April 5 2015
Turkey deports German photojournalists on terror suspicion
Germany's Der Spiegel magazine's photojournalist was barred from
entering into Turkey and deported on the alleged suspicion of being
jihadist last week although German officials informed Turkish
authorities about the situation of journalist, an online news portal
reported.
According to an article published on the Diken.com news portal, citing
Der Spiegel's report over the incident, photojournalist Andy Spyra
sent back to Germany after being held Ä°stanbul Atatürk Airport's
detention center over a night.
Spyra reportedly took a Turkish Airlines plane from Germany's
Dusseldorf en route to Ä°stanbul on March 28 to cover an article about
the 100th anniversary of alleged `Armenian genocide.' When he landed
in Ä°stanbul around 5.20 p.m. four civilians took him to a special
security area and told him to open his luggage. Police officers
searched the camera cleaning kit that, the journalist said, looks like
a little rocket but obviously to be a kit, looked at the photos inside
of camera's memory card and also looked at his photos with peshmarga
taken his Iraq visit on his mobile phone. `They looked at these photos
taken with military vest. Their face were looking so serious,' he
said.
Spyra reportedly tried to tell that he is a journalist and showed the
hotel reservation; however, couldn't make police to listen him. The
journalist told that he would be sent to Dusseldorf next morning and
taken to Atatürk Airport deportation center.
While he was detention center, officials returned German
photojournalist's mobile phone back and he called his colleague who
had been in Turkey and his editors in Germany. Journalist's friend and
editors let German Consulate General in Ä°stanbul and German Embassy in
Ankara over the situation. He was taken to Dusseldorf plane on 9.55
a.m. next morning and welcomed by Federal police in the airport.
`Turkish authorities told their German colleagues that I am believed
to be jihadist due to khaki colored clothes and `military equipment'¦
However, we later learned that the night that I was in the airport,
German Consulate General informed Turkish authorities that I am a
journalist and made a formal protest.''
Last year, Der Spiegel magazine withdraw its Turkey reporter Hasnain
Kazim after he received death threats over reports covering the deadly
disaster at the Soma coal mine that killed 301 miners. Kazim
reportedly received over 10,000 threats via e-mail, Facebook and
Twitter, one of them even threatening to `cut his throat if seen on
the street.'
Threats by groups linked to the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) came after Der Spiegel ran a story on May 14 on its website
with a headline `Scher dich zum Teufel, ErdoÄ?an' (Go to Hell,
ErdoÄ?an). The headline was a direct quote of a miner in Soma who was
angry at ErdoÄ?an's remark that he deemed mine accidents as natural,
but supporters of the ruling party read the headline as an insult
against the prime minister, and following the publication of the
story, a campaign was launched on Twitter using the hashtag
#ScherDichZumTeufelDerSpiegel (Go to Hell Der Spiegel).
The smear campaign against Kazim appeared to be organized as several
Twitter accounts that threatened him were only following him and had
no other contacts.
The German journalist of Pakistani origin had initially responded to
criticisms with a news story translated into Turkish and posted on Der
Spiegel Online; however, the smear campaign against him did not stop
and was conducted under the hashtag #VerschwindeAusDerTürkei (Get out
of Turkey) on the following days.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-deports-german-photojournalists-on-terror-suspicion_377206.html