Police order to 'sweep' journalists covering May 1st in Saraçhane
The police order to 'sweep the press' directed at journalists covering the May 1st procession gathered in Saraçhane was captured on live broadcast. Journalist Deniz Zeyrek reacted to the police order.
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Workers who wanted to march to Taksim on May 1st, Labor and Solidarity Day, were met with police barriers. While CHP leader Özgür Özel and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu also joined the call to gather in Saraçhane, the police's words, "Sweep the press," directed at journalists following the crowd, became a major topic of discussion.
"A FOOLISH ACT"
Reacting to the words "Sweep the press" during a live broadcast on Sözcü TV, journalist Deniz Zeyrek said, "This is a despicable expression." Zeyrek stated the following:
"Whoever gave this order has done a foolish thing. What does 'sweep the journalist' mean? That person should know their place. Then they ask us to defend their rights. You should have thought about that while sweeping. Who gave that order? I heard the same expression before at the Çağlayan Courthouse. There is an expression in the riot police terminology that says 'Sweep the journalist.' Shame on you. Who are you sweeping? You work for 12 hours under the most difficult conditions, and we are the ones defending your rights. Who invented that terminology? Are we dust? It is shameful, be ashamed."