EDITOR KILLED BY UNKNOWN GUNMEN IN TURKEY

CPJ Press Freedom Online
nown-gunmen-in-turkey.php
Dec 21 2009

New York, December 21, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists
called on Turkish authorities today to locate the killers of journalist
Cihan Hayırsevener and bring them to justice. Hayırsevener, at
left, editor of the local daily newspaper Guney Marmara’da YaÅ~_am,
was shot three times in the leg on December 19 while walking to his
office in Bandirma, a town 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of
Istanbul, according to local news reports.

One bullet hit a major artery in his left leg, causing intensive
bleeding. He was taken by ambulance to Bandirma State Hospital, and
later moved to a medical facility in Bursa where he died. The gunman
escaped in a vehicle immediately following the shooting, the Anatolia
news agency reported. Authorities have been actively investigating
the murder, his family told CPJ.

Hayırsevener had recently received multiple anonymous death threats
in connection with his journalism, according to local news accounts.

"Recently, we received an envelope," said Umit Babacan, an editor at
Guney Marmara’da YaÅ~_am. "Inside was a clipping from a novel called
AÅ~_k (Love) by Elif Safak. It said that evil cannot be seen, that
it is in the heart, and that it cannot be washed out. The threat was
not explicit, but Cihan and I could feel the danger."

Hayırsevener had been reporting on a local corruption scandal
involving three owners of Ä°lkhaber, another major daily in Bandirma.

The three are currently in prison on corruption charges, Turkish
media reported. They were found guilty of accepting cash payouts
from a former mayor. Before his death, Hayırsevener’s investigation
was focusing on what the payments were in exchange for, according to
local news reports.

"We are saddened by the murder of Cihan Hayırsevener and offer our
condolences to his family and colleagues," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem,
CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "We urge the
police to move quickly to ensure that the perpetrators are held to
account for this cowardly act."

Hayırsevener, 57, founded Guney Marmara’da YaÅ~_am nine years ago and
covered news in Bandirma and surrounding areas. He is survived by his
wife and two children. The journalist’s daughter, Gaye Hayırsevener,
told CPJ: "We feel a great sadness especially knowing that the
perpetrators are still at large. The police are still investigating,
but we want to know where the orders came from; we want justice."

Although Turkey has made significant strides in press freedom in
recent years, European Union officials recently warned the country
about domestic challenges to freedom of expression as part of the
Turkey’s annual review in its bid to join the European Union. The
last killing of a journalist in Turkey took place in 2007 when Hrant
Dink, managing editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos,
was shot outside his newspaper’s offices in Istanbul. The Dink murder
trial is ongoing.