ISTANBUL - Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, who was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for the documentary "Bakur", said: "If people draw a lesson from the punishments and remain silent, we will be buried in darkness and this country turns to hell even more. We must not let this happen in this paradise of a country."

 

 

Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Çayan Demirel was prosecuted due to their documentary called 'Bakur' (North), witht he accusation of making 'propaganda or an illegal organization' in Batman 2nd High Criminal Court and as a result both were sentenced to 4 years and 6 months of prison time. The court also imposed a ban on Mavioglu and Demirel from going abroad. Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, one of the documentary directors, evaluated the punishment given to them.

 

 

Stating that the pressure on society is now in all areas of life, said: "Cinema was the only area they did not attack until now, and they managed to do it now. This is a finger to the faces of those who are persuing the facts and makng documanteries. They are saying' This is my red line.I will crush you if you cross my line. You want an example? I sentenced the directors of Bakur to 4 years and 6 months.I'lld o the same to you." This can naturally reveal two situations. One, people who are after the truth do not give up their activities. The intellectual of the country will never allow the truth of the country to remain in the dark. Two, people draw lesson from it.They will stay silent. If they stay silent, we'll be buried in darkness even more. And this country will turn to hell more. We must not let them do this in this paradise of a country."

 

 

Mavioğlu stating that Turkey have turned inro a prison, said: "Our freedom is taken away from us.  Especially our freedom of expression, which is a requirement of our human existence, has been taken away from us. Whenever we use freedom of expression,  we know that something bad will happen to us. In this framework, what we have to do is not to let go of the facts. Not to go back from our word and never draw lessons from their punishments. In this sense, it is to create a line of social struggle for the continuation of the freedom of expression which is our human existence. It is necessary to re-establish the law taken from us."