Hürriyet’s web coordinator wins media organization’s Human Rights Award

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet web coordinator Bülent Mumay the winner of the 2013 SEEMO Human Rights Award

Istanbul Bar wins award

BRUSSELS – Hürriyet Daily News

Istanbul Bar Association’s head lawyer Ümit Kocasakal and members of the Bar have received the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe’s (CCBE) 2013 Human Rights award for “their outstanding commitment, perseverance and courage in support of human rights in Turkey.”



“The Istanbul Bar Association has continuously supported its members against attacks from the Turkish authorities toward the legal profession and its independence. The President and Members of the Bar Council of the Istanbul Bar Association have faced harassment both from the political power and the judiciary as a direct result of their support of defense lawyers in the controversial Sledgehammer (Balyoz) coup plot case trial,” said CCBE in a statement on Nov. 29. The CCBE recalled that Kocasakal is facing criminal charges for trying to influence the judicial process in the alleged coup case, Balyoz.

Istanbul Bar Association’s head lawyer Ümit Kocasakal and members of the Bar have received the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe’s (CCBE) 2013 Human Rights award for “their outstanding commitment, perseverance and courage in support of human rights in Turkey.”“The Istanbul Bar Association has continuously supported its members against attacks from the Turkish authorities toward the legal profession and its independence. The President and Members of the Bar Council of the Istanbul Bar Association have faced harassment both from the political power and the judiciary as a direct result of their support of defense lawyers in the controversial Sledgehammer (Balyoz) coup plot case trial,” said CCBE in a statement on Nov. 29. The CCBE recalled that Kocasakal is facing criminal charges for trying to influence the judicial process in the alleged coup case, Balyoz.



Daily Hürriyet’s web coordinator Bülent Mumay has been named as the winner of the 2013 Human Rights Award, the South and East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI) for his “human rights-oriented editorial approach despite pressures.”Mumay was chosen for his editorial approach focusing on human rights and Turkish citizens’ rights, a statement released by the SEEMO said on Nov. 29.The statement also said that the hurriyet.com.tr website had reflected different segments of society and contributed to human rights in Turkey via its news coverage. SEEMO also said that the “Hurriyet.com.tr” news coverage gained significance particularly in 2013 when the authorities’ pressure was increased and the country was passing through a difficult process. Mumay said the award showed the success of the daily Hürriyet.“I want to thank the IPI and SEEMO management on behalf of all friends who work 24 hours with slogan of ‘there is news, when there is Hürriyet [freedom].’”Born in 1977, Mumay is a graduate of Istanbul University. He did his master’s thesis on “internet journalism and the changing role of news” and is working on a doctorate at the university’s journalism school.The award is scheduled to be presented during a ceremony on Dec. 4 in Istanbul by SEEMO general secretary Oliver Vujovic. Last year, Turkish cameraman Cüneyt Ünal and Jordanian reporter Bashar Fahmi Kaddumi, who is still lost in Syria, won the 2012 human rights award.