"If you write about the mayor, you will die."

The first attacker sprinted at Sinan Aygül from behind. He swung an iron bar at the journalist’s head, breaking his right cheekbone and forcing him down a set of concrete steps. As Aygül fell to the ground and the attacker launched into a barrage of frenzied punches, a passerby rushed to intervene. Within seconds, the good samaritan was grabbed from behind and forcefully thrown from the scene. A second man had been callously watching the attack unfold, a gun tucked into his waistband. He hovered with a menacing authority, ensuring no one stepped in before they delivered their message to Aygül:

"This is what happens when you write about the mayor."

The vicious assault lasted less than two minutes but Aygül suffered a broken cheekbone and serious wounds to his legs, nose, and shoulder. He decided not to tell his four and seven year old sons about the incident. They later saw it on the news.?

The two attackers worked as bodyguards for Mehmet Emin Geylani, the mayor of Tatvan. One was in charge of protecting the mayor and municipal staff, the other was an official police officer tasked with protecting the police and the president. A week before the attack, Aygül had reported on the allegedly illegal sale of municipal land – a transaction approved by the mayor.

Captured clearly on CCTV, the two men were promptly arrested for their roles in the cowardly attack, but Aygül holds a bleakly realistic expectation for the future:?

“The investigation continues. However, in this country, everything proceeds according to politics, not law. Therefore, it may even turn against me.”

Aygül had feared a retaliatory attack in the days before it happened. He was already worried that he would be killed in the street. Since the assault, he still receives regular threats and no longer feels comfortable going out. He wonders where the next attack might come from. Despite this, Aygül remains committed to his craft. Once he recovers, he plans to continue exactly where he left off.

The attack on Sinan Aygül is just one of 151 media freedom alerts recorded on Mapping Media Freedom in Turkey in 2023, at the time of publication.

If you witness a violation, report it and join the fight to defend free media.