Turkish prosecutor blames CNN, BBC, Reuters for twisting Gezi Park protests

ANTALYA - Doğan News Agency

A small sit-in against a renovation project in Taksim’s Gezi Park in central Istanbul turned into nationwide anti-government rallies following heavy-handed police intervention into the protests in late May and early June. DHA Photo

An Antalya prosecutor claimed in an indictment that international press misinformed the world during the Gezi Park protests.

In an indictment prepared for the case of five protestors in the Mediterranean province, the prosecutor included CNN, BBC, The Economist, Al Jazeera and Reuters, claiming they were “exaggerating” and “twisting” the extent of the protests.

“It was understood international press institutions such as CNN, BBC, The Economist, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported the incidents to the world with exaggerations and twisting details and they reported one-sided and inaccurate stories claiming it to be a public rebellion in Turkey,” the indictment read.

A small sit-in against a renovation project in Taksim’s Gezi Park in central Istanbul turned into nationwide anti-government rallies following heavy-handed police intervention into the protests in late May and early June.

The indictment said more than 3.1 million people joined the street protests in 80 provinces of Turkey.

Currently, 167 people are under arrest for their involvement in the protests. The particular indictment was written about five protesters, with four of them under arrest since Oct. 2.