Turkey: CFWIJ Condemns Deliberate Police Brutality Against Women Journalists
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: July 20, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Police attacked the gathering to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Suruç Massacre in Istanbul. At least eight female journalists were also deliberately targetted and beaten with force. Police attacked journalists with tear gas and rubber bullets. Some of the reporters' equipment was damaged. Meanwhile, Dokuz8News reporter Fatoş Erdoğan was injured as a result of the plastic bullet. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is utterly dismayed by the police brutality. We demand the Turkish state and security forces end their violence. Journalists must freely do their jobs.
Police brutally attacked the crowd who marched for those who lost their lives in the sixth year of the Suruç Massacre in Istanbul. While many people were detained, the police also impeded the journalists while following the event and beat them. Dokuz8Haber reporter Fatoş Erdoğan was injured as a result of the police attack with rubber bullets. The equipment of journalist Zeynep Kuray was damaged.
Dokuz8Haber Fatoş Erdoğan, BirGün Newspaper reporter Meral Danyıldız, Evrensel Newspaper Eylem Nazlıer, Artı Gerçek reporter Yağmur Kaya, Reuters photojournalist Dilara Şenkaya, Kızıl Bayrak reporter Kardelen Yogungan, freelance journalists Sultan Eylem Keleş and Zeynep Kuray were among those journalists who were exposed the police violence.
Speaking to CFWIJ, BirGün Newspaper reporter Meral Danyıldız said that while she was following the events, the police tried to push her away from the area by squeezing her arm. She added that many of her colleagues were badly affected by the tear gas.
Evrensel Newspaper shared a video of their reporter Eylem Nazlıer on its official Twitter account. In the video, the journalist was affected by the gas and police prevented Eylem from filming the incidents.
Dokuz8Haber reporter Fatoş Erdoğan, on the other hand, was injured by the plastic bullet fired by the police. The journalist was taken to the hospital along with other injured reporters and treated immediately.
Yağmur Kaya, who spoke to CFWIJ, said, “In order not to make the torture and ill-treatment seen by the police visible, their biggest target is the free press. However, we will continue to do our job and be the voice of the people.”. The journalist added that her colleagues in the field are always in solidarity against any police brutality, however, she also said that the unions of the press should raise their voices against the escalating police violence.
As the CFWIJ, we closely monitor and follow the increasing police violence against journalists in Turkey with great concern. We demand the Turkish authorities put an end to the police brutality they systematically use to intimidate journalists. Journalists should continue their profession under the criteria of press freedom and freedom of expression. The necessary criminal sanction should be applied to the security forces who use disproportionate force.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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