Turkish authorities have confiscated DW Video material of a 'Conflict Zone' interview with the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs. The interviewer, Michel Friedmann, had touched on the aftermath of the failed coup.
Deutsche Welle, 6 Sep 2016
Immediately
following the recording of a television interview with the Turkish Minister of
Youth and Sports, Akif Kilic, for DW's talk show " Conflict Zone,"
Turkish authorities confiscated the video footage. The interview with DW host
Michel Friedman took place in Ankara on the evening of September 5.
The
interview at the ministry of youth and sports in Ankara included questions
which had been divulged to the ministry in advance.
Host Michel
Friedman asked about the coup attempt in July as well as the mass layoffs and
arrests that took place in its aftermath. He asked about the media situation in
Turkey as well as the position of women in Turkish society. The minister was
asked to further explain several quotes made by President Erdogan regarding
these subjects.
Immediately
following the interview, the minister excused himself. As soon as he had left
the room, the minister's press officer announced that DW would not be allowed
to broadcast the interview. When Friedman and his editorial colleague
protested, the video material was confiscated by employees of the Turkish
ministry of youth and sports. It was made clear to the TV crew that they would
not be able to leave the ministry in possession of the video footage.
DW protests
confiscation
DW Director
General Peter Limbourg spoke out about the behavior of the Turkish authorities
today. He said: "This incident is proof of a blatant violation of press freedom
in Turkey. What we are experiencing constitutes an act of the Turkish regime's
coercion. It no longer follows the rule of law and has nothing to do with
democracy. It cannot be that a minister willingly responds to an interview and
then tries to block the transmission in such a manner just because he did not
like the questions posed. We are requesting the Turkish authorities to return
the video material straightaway and we will consider our legal options."
Immediately
following the incident, DW appealed to the Turkish ministry of youth and sports
as well as to the Turkish directorate-general for press and information and
demanded the release of the video material. A deadline set for today at noon
local time expired without any response. During several phone conversations
with representatives of the ministry of youth and sports this morning, Deutsche
Welle repeatedly requested the video footage. The response has remained
unchanged: the ministry is not in agreement with the broadcasting of the
interview.
In his
statement made to DW's Turkish language department Übeydullah Yener, press
officer of the Sport Minister said "There was no authorisation for the
interview. The questions asked were not the ones that were planned. Mr.
Friedman himself knows exactly why this happened. Some statements were right
out allegations. In such a situation, there was no authorization
granted."
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