BirGün Gazetesi
Yaşar Aydın Today is 21 May. İsmail Arı has been remanded in custody for exactly 60 days. I last saw İsmail on 12 May during open visiting hours at Sincan Prison. His beloved wife Dila, his friend and brother Deniz Bulunmaz, Nurcan Gökdemir and I chatted with İsmail for about 40 minutes. The visiting-day traffic, which began with the first light of dawn, ended around 15:00, and within this long stretch of time, the meeting was limited to just 40 minutes. As you can gather from his messages and articles, İsmail is well. We managed to talk a little about prison, a little about news, and a little about his case file. The pleasantries passed very quickly. I suppose neither İsmail nor we could fully accept this prison situation. We acted as if it were not there. We focused on news and the country's problems, as though we were just meeting up after a long time. WHY ARE WE ON THE OUTSIDE? Spouses, children, mothers, fathers, friends... Nearly 100 visitors tried to longingly reconnect with around 30 detainees in a room of about 200 square metres amidst a wall of noise. Then a voice said, “The visit is over, women leave first.” The female visitors left through the door we came in. The detainees and male visitors remained. At that moment, the door through which both the prisoners and visitors entered the room closed. Then another command came from the same prison guard. Visitors and prisoners separated, and everyone moved towards their own door. First, İsmail and his group’s door opened. He waved as he left, and we said our goodbyes. Then our door opened. İsmail’s door opened to the ward where he has been staying for about two months, while our door opened to the Justice Neighbourhood, where Sincan Prison was built. While those who encouraged him into journalism, and those who taught him how to report and write, walked out into “freedom”, our boy remained inside. That is the exact moment you start to feel dreadful. OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD Sincan Prison is located in the Justice Neighbourhood, and they have also named the avenue leading to the prison Justice Avenue. I do not think those who gave it this name thought about it very deeply. They might have even intended it as an irony of their own. This side of the matter is not very important. But there is also our neighbourhood of justice. The neighbourhood where İsmail, Alican, Merdan, Pınar and dozens of journalists reside. The goddess on the Statue of Justice is blindfolded. She is blindfolded to demonstrate that she is equal to everyone. The situation is actually similar for journalists. When reporting, one does not look at class, political position, or power. Of course, I am talking about the journalists in our neighbourhood. Not those clinging to the government just to line their pockets. The sole reason İsmail has been behind bars for 60 days is that he acted with a sense of responsibility towards the public and his profession, regardless of party, power, or position. This is the only point that binds us and makes us feel responsible. WE MUST DO JOURNALISM İsmail Arı will appear before a judge on the 75th day of his detention. He will defend himself on the 75th day of being deprived of his freedom on trumped-up charges. Or to put it more accurately, he will settle scores with this mindset that threw him into prison. Journalism has always been difficult in countries like ours. However, the scale reached by the AKP government, which has been ongoing for nearly 25 years, now renders the profession unworkable. No one who is unprepared to pay a price can practice journalism anymore. In this sense, the presence of journalists who show the determination to continue living in that neighbourhood is vital. To stand up for those journalists and the institutions they work for today is to stand up for the future of the country. It is to protect the rights of retirees, the lawsuits of earthquake victims, and the lives of women. This struggle, this fight for life, needs witnesses and scribes. Journalists are both the witnesses and the scribes. Today, Alican Uludağ's first court hearing will be held. He is being held captive 400 kilometres away from the home he lives in. It is clear that this detention has been turned into a form of torture from the very beginning, starting from the custody process. It feels like an act of vengeance. A possible decision by the court today to prolong his detention will mean endorsing not only the continuation of injustice but also the continuation of this torture. Despite everything, we are here. Whether in prison or outside. We are here and we continue to do our job. We fear neither the government nor those acting on its behalf. We have only one fear. Failing to do full justice to our profession, and failing to fulfil our responsibility to the public. Once we pass through these two matters with our heads held high, the rest is of no importance whatsoever. İsmail, on the outside, days fly by very quickly. It is not like that in captivity, I know. But these days will pass, and very soon we will be together again. The whole newspaper sends their regards, see you soon. Note: This article is translated from the original article titled İsmail Arı'nın Adalet Mahallesi, published in BirGün newspaper on May 21, 2026.
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