The 11th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art began on Saturday in Germany.
Kurdish artist and journalist Zehra Doğan’s graphic novel about torture, suffering and solidarity of women in Turkish prisons is one of the exhibits.
But Doğan was mistreated at Rhodes Airport in Greece on 6 September as she was checking-in for her flight to Germany to participate in the 11th Berlin Biennial.
She spoke to MedyaNews and described the way in which check-in officers mistreated her. When Doğan asked why she was being questioned in a detailed way by the check-in officers who were not official immigration officers, they replied that they had to ask those questions.
Following that incident, when she was waiting in the lounge, three undercover policemen approached her and demanded that she show them her passport.
When she asked the reason why, they sought to intimidate her and threatened to send her back to Turkey. They aggressively stated: “If you want to get on the plane, shut up!” Doğan then informed the police that they had no right to act in that way and she demanded that her complaint be noted down. Then a scuffle occurred.
After ten minutes, she was told that she was ‘free to go’. Doğan stated that the behaviour of the police represented a violation of her rights and it also constituted harassment. The police, in response, told her: “We are police officers. We can do whatever we want”.
After that, she caught her flight to Germany to participate in the Biennial. But on arrival at Tegel Airport, police were once again waiting for her. They took her to the police office and questioned her. Doğan said she was harassed in Berlin once again.
