Turkey: We are not Safe
Women Journalists Strive For Democratic Principles In The Face Of State Persecution
CFWIJ has noted with concern the dangerous digital-physical terrain that women journalists in Turkey have had to navigate in order to continue doing their jobs.
In 2022, as of November 1, we recorded 150 cases of violations against women journalists. The state has routinely weaponized its institutions to target them. From January 1 to November 1, 2022, at least 50 women have faced legal persecution while 47 have been assaulted in the field by either the police force or supporters of the state. Women journalists have also been targeted through organized troll campaigns online as well as through state media for criticizing government policies. Despite these intimidation tactics to silence them, however, women journalists continue to fulfill their civic role of holding power accountable.
CFWIJ Press Freedom Attack Tracker
Reports
Throughout the month of November 2021, CFWIJ documented 56 cases of violations against women journalists.
Throughout the month of October 2021, CFWIJ documented 40 cases of violations against women journalists.
Throughout the month of September 2021, The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented 61 cases of violations against women journalists.
Throughout the month of August 2021, The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented 27 cases of violations against women journalists.
Throughout the month of July 2021, The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented an alarming 61 cases of violations against women journalists.
In the first half of 2021, women journalists faced the most danger not from criminal elements, but from the states they operate in.
Press Freedom Newsroom
Ayça Söylemez faces prosecution and three years imprisonment for an article on a former judge and current deputy justice minister.
WPF welcomes the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling Turkiye violated the freedom, security, and freedom of expression rights of journalist Ayşenur Parıldak — exonerating the journalist and acknowledging the unjust sentence she endured.
WPF is appalled by the police violence and unjust detention of journalists covering the Kurdish New Year Celebrations (Nowruz) in Istanbul.
WPF welcomes the guilty verdict against the police officers for their violence against reporter Beyza Kural in Istanbul during her coverage of the YÖK protest in 2015.
The exoneration of documentary filmmaker Sibel Tekin from charges implicating her with a terrorist organization signifies the conclusion of a protracted legal ordeal that began with her detention in December 2022.
Women Press Freedom welcomes court’s decision while urging an end to state’s abuse of anti-terror legislation to target journalist
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Petitions & Timelines
The Turkish state has routinely weaponized its judiciary as well as its law enforcement agencies to target the journalist community in the country.