Hundreds of people attended the funeral of the journalist who was killed on Saturday in Kocaeli, northwestern Turkey, today, with his widow asking the authorities to be accountable, according to eyewitnesses, including a French journalist who was a photojournalist.
The director and editor-in-chief of the local newspaper Ses Kocaeli (“The Voice of Kocaeli”), Gungor Arslan, 60, was in his office when a gunman shot him several times.
He was seriously injured and died shortly afterwards at the hospital where he was taken.
About 400 people, including the city governor and mayor, as well as lawmakers and other local officials, attended his funeral today.
According to local newspapers, the victim’s widow disapproved and demanded accountability from Kocaeli’s governor, Sedar Yavouz, when he went to mourn her. “They armed a 21-year-old man and led him to commit this murder. I can not believe it! Please do me justice and feel sorry for me when you have found the killers,” said Suna Arslan.
“Have no doubt, we will find them,” the governor replied.
The perpetrator was arrested on Saturday and allegedly confessed to being “hired” by two men to commit the crime, according to the Evrensel newspaper, which claims to have seen his testimony. Local newspapers reported only the initials of his name. The perpetrators allegedly assured him that “neither he nor his family would be in trouble,” the newspaper added.
A spokesman for Reporters Without Borders in Turkey, Erol Enteroglu, said the journalist was investigating corruption cases in his hometown. He condemned the murder and called for more light to be shed and for those responsible to be punished.
In his last two articles, Arslan accused Kocaeli’s mayor, who hails from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), of giving contracts to groups close to the party. The 60-year-old journalist, a father of two, had already been attacked and was the target of a judicial investigation into his articles.
“Many saw in his face the courage with which he dealt with corruption cases,” Enteroglu said.
In the list of Reporters Without Borders for freedom of the press, Turkey ranks 153rd.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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