Journalist’s 16th death anniversary marked

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Daily Evrensel’s reporter Göktepe was killed when he was held in custody.

On the 16th anniversary of his death, reporter Metin Göktepe of daily Evrensel, who was killed under police detention in 1996, was remembered at his gravesite at an Istanbul cemetery.

His mother Fadime Göktepe, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul Branch President Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, as well as journalists and friends were present at the commemoration.

Slogans such as “Evrensel and Metin will not be silenced” were chanted and participants laid carnations at the grave. A minute of silence was conducted in honor of his memory. Editor-in-Chief of daily Evrensel, İhsan Çaralan said, “We have been commemorating him for 16 years and we promise him a freer media each year. We can now see the press is being silenced and oppressed more and more as time passes.”

Mother Fadime Göktepe thanked the participants and called on Prime Minister Erdoğan to free the detained journalists. Daily Evrensel’s reporter Metin Göktepe was killed after police brutally beat him when he was being held in custody after trying to report a story back in 1996. Six of the policemen responsible for Göktepe’s death were sentenced to seven years in prison. They were released after serving 17 months.