Metin Göktepe
A Kurdish photojournalist whose murder in police custody became a symbol of the fight for press freedom and human rights in Turkey.
1968–1996 (age 28)·Kurdish photojournalist·Birthday: April 10·Generation X
Biography
Metin Göktepe was a young photographer whose lens was trained on the streets and struggles of Istanbul's marginalized communities. Working for the left-wing newspaper Evrensel, he built a reputation for capturing raw, human moments often ignored by the mainstream press. His life was cut brutally short in January 1996 when he was detained while covering the funeral of political prisoners. He died after being severely beaten in police custody, a killing that sparked national and international outrage. Göktepe's death was not an isolated tragedy but a galvanizing event, leading to unprecedented protests by Turkish journalists and becoming a pivotal case in the long, fraught battle against state impunity. His legacy is that of a witness whose final story was his own, forever linking his name to the cause of a free press.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Metin was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Metin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Metin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1996Died at 28
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
Key Achievements
- His photojournalism for Evrensel documented the lives and political struggles of Istanbul's poor and disenfranchised.
- His killing led to mass protests and a historic march by thousands of Turkish journalists demanding justice.
- The international outcry over his death placed significant pressure on Turkey's human rights record.
- The legal case surrounding his murder became a landmark in challenging police impunity in Turkey.
Did You Know?
He was posthumously awarded the International Press Institute's World Press Freedom Hero award in 2000.
The Metin Göktepe Journalism Awards were established in his memory to honor courageous reporting in Turkey.
A tree was planted in his name at the Freedom Forum's Journalists Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
“The camera is my tool to show the truth they try to hide.”
