Journalist couple alleges assault: They first shooed us away, then attacked

Sevda Güneş İncesu, an executive at the local Erzurum newspaper Pusula, and her husband, Cihat İncesu, have filed a police complaint alleging they were beaten by staff at the Northeast Anatolia Development Agency (KUDAKA) building. The couple, who filed a complaint against KUDAKA personnel Cihat Çiftçi and Muhammed Fırat Bulut, described the incident in their statements by saying, “They first shooed us away, then they attacked.” 

According to a report by Nursena Kurtoğlu from the T24 news outlet, Sevda Güneş İncesu, the general publishing director of Pusula, one of the leading local media outlets in Erzurum, was invited to the institution to receive information regarding a column she had written about KUDAKA, which operates under the Erzurum Governorship.

İncesu, who was invited yesterday by the institution's legal counsel, went to the agency's building with her husband, Cihat İncesu, who also serves as the newspaper's news manager. According to the allegations, while İncesu and her husband were discussing the article published in the newspaper with KUDAKA project coordinator Cihat Çiftçi, agency employee Muhammed Fırat Bulut entered the room.

STARTED WITH VERBAL HARASSMENT

While the three-way meeting was ongoing, Bulut began verbally harassing the journalist couple, claiming that “what was written was a lie.” The İncesu couple responded to Bulut’s remarks by saying, “If you think it is a lie, then apply to the court.”

According to the allegations, Bulut told the journalist couple to “get out, get out” and ordered them to leave the room. The couple replied, “There is no need to talk in the face of this attitude.” Following this response, KUDAKA employees Çiftçi and Bulut reacted by calling the couple “liars and slanderers.”

The verbal reaction turned into a scuffle. According to the allegations, during the attack by Çiftçi and Bulut, a physical altercation involving punches occurred between Cihat İncesu, who was trying to protect his wife, and Bulut.

PUNCHED AND SHIRT TORN

Cihat İncesu, who was punched in his left eye during the scuffle and had his shirt torn, reacted sharply, saying, “What kind of people are you, what kind of government office is this?” After leaving the KUDAKA building, the couple went to the police to file a complaint against Çiftçi and Bulut.

Immediately after the incident, the journalist couple went to the Gürcükapı Martyr Abdülkadir Güngör Police Station in the afternoon to file a complaint against the KUDAKA personnel, alleging that they had physically assaulted them, and provided their statements.

INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED

Following the incident, Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi launched an investigation into KUDAKA Secretary General Oktay Güven and the personnel involved in the alleged beating.

Furthermore, AKP Erzurum Deputy Selami Altınok stated, “It has deeply saddened us that such an incident occurred in a public institution. What happened is unacceptable. The necessary actions will be taken.”

Adem Yurdagül, the Erzurum Provincial Chairman of the MHP, a partner in the People's Alliance, reacted to the events by saying, “This is a mental breakdown; how can a state official attack a journalist, and in an official institution at that? Those responsible must be held accountable.”