The freelance writer Mir Ali Kocer was 200 miles from the epicenter when a catastrophic earthquake rocked Turkey on February 6. He grabbed his camera and microphone and traveled to the impacted area to conduct interviews with survivors.
Mir published accounts of survivors and rescuers on Twitter and is now under investigation for allegedly propagating “false news”; he faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
He is one of at least four journalists being probed for earthquake-related reportage or commentary.
According to press freedom groups, scores more journalists have been imprisoned, harassed, or prohibited from reporting.
At least 50,000 people were murdered when both Turkey and Syria were struck by earthquakes.
The Turkish government has not commented on the detentions.
“I could not contain my tears.”
Mr. Kocer, who is Kurdish and writes to pro-opposition news sites such as Bianet and Duvar, was smoking on his balcony in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on the night of the earthquake when his two dogs began barking.
Afterward, he recalled that they had barked identically in 2020, just seconds before a lesser earthquake struck eastern Turkey.
“I felt myself trembling. I felt the house and the television shake “says Mr. Kocer. He hid with the dogs behind a dinner table before rushing outside.
Mr. Kocer drove from Diyarbakir to the city of Gaziantep. In communities close to the epicenter of the earthquake, he was stunned to see images of devastation and sufferers enduring subzero conditions.
In Gaziantep, at least 3,000 earthquake victims perished.
Mr. Kocer says,
“Whether holding the microphone, behind the camera, or in front of the camera, I could not contain my tears.”
‘Provocateurs’
Mr. Kocer was moved by the rush of volunteers and rescue teams from Western Turkey, and he tweeted their stories. Several of the survivors informed him that they did not receive relief for days. Similar criticisms were expressed by media outlets supporting the opposition.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured the citizens of the earthquake-ravaged regions that he would reconstruct their cities. Nevertheless, he also cautioned that “provocateurs” who spread “false news” and “cause societal turmoil” would be prosecuted.
Mr. Kocer reports that while he was reporting from the earthquake-affected zone, Diyarbakir police placed a note at his residence asking him to visit the police station and provide a statement.
He was informed at the station that he was being probed under a newly enacted misinformation statute. According to him, the police questioned his reporting from the epicenter of the earthquake and accused him of distributing fake information.
In October, a new law was passed in Turkey. It criminalized the dissemination of disinformation by the general population and granted the state much more control over news sites and social media.
The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s legal watchdog, stated that the measure will restrict freedom of expression.
The opposition parties refer to it as a “censorship bill.” They dislike being criticized.
Mr. Kocer believes that he conducted exhaustive interviews with all parties, including survivors, police, gendarmes, and rescue workers. He states,
“I did not provide anything without conducting extensive research and analysis.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deemed the probe against Mr. Kocer to be “absurd” and requested the government to cease it.
According to the advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least three additional journalists face criminal accusations.
Merdan Yanarda and Enver Aysever are notable political analysts with substantial social media followings headquartered in Istanbul. Both have criticized the government’s efforts to save the country.
Mehmet Güleş, who, like Mr. Kocer, resides in Diyarbakir, is also under investigation. According to RSF, he was jailed on grounds of “inciting hatred” after interviewing a volunteer who was critical of the government’s rescue effort. He was eventually freed.
Uncertain is the number of other journalists under scrutiny. On Tuesday, the police announced that they had detained 134 individuals for “provocative posts” and arrested 25 of them; nevertheless, their identities remain unknown.
Several of those detained may have propagated incorrect information, such as that Afghan refugees were rummaging in abandoned neighborhoods.
Yet, according to opponents, the crackdown has extended far beyond those propagating dangerous disinformation.
According to cyber rights expert and Istanbul Bilgi University professor Yaman Akdeniz, the government is suppressing information coming from the earthquake zone.
The arrests occurred after Turkey’s director of presidential communications warned that “lethal disinformation” could jeopardize rescue attempts.
A smartphone application titled “Disinformation Reporting Service” was also released by the directorate to encourage individuals to report manipulative posts regarding the earthquake.
“If [Turkish] authorities and the government are criticized, they don’t like it,” says Arzu Geybulla, an Istanbul-based journalist who covers digital censorship and authoritarianism.
Nevertheless, this time they may be more vocal.
The BBC contacted Turkey’s presidential communications bureau to inquire about the journalists under investigation and the pleas by advocacy groups to end the probes but received no answer.
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