Turkey: CFWIJ Demands Turkish State To End Unjust Trials Against Journalists Immediately
Location: Turkey, Diyarbakir
Date: April 27, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The trial against journalist Durket Süren was held yesterday in Diyarbakır. Durket faces charges of being affiliated with a terrorist organization, knowingly and willingly aiding an organization and spreading propaganda for an organization. The court ruled to wait for the digital examination report on Durket’s confiscated mobile phone and personal computer to be completed. Trial adjourned until September 20, 2021. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the unjust accusations against the journalist. We find these vicious attempts against journalists aiming to intimidate them. Once again we reiterate; journalism is not a crime.
The sixth hearing of the trial against journalist Durket Süren was held yesterday at Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court. Durket faces charges of supporting a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist propaganda for an organization due to her social media posts and selling banned newspapers’ issues of Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem. While the journalist did not attend the hearing, her lawyer Pirozhan Karali was present in the court.
Durken was detained in Diyarbakır, where she went to follow the news, because of a search warrant two years ago. The journalist is facing up to 20 years sentence in prison, if convicted. In the indictment, Durken’s social media posts, tape recordings and the sale of the banned newspapers are cited as evidence. Besides, the journalist's conversations with news sources regarding the news program she produced in 2017 and her membership of the Free Journalists Association are also considered as a crime.
In the latest hearing, the court ruled to wait for the digital examination report on the journalist’s confiscated mobile and personal computer to be completed and the next hearing was adjourned until September 20, 2021.
In the last hearing, the court decided to wait for the requested investigation report from Diyarbakır Police Criminal Laboratory regarding the confiscated digital materials of Durket as well as yesterday’s trial.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is utterly dismayed by the systematic efforts to suppress and intimidate journalists through the court. According to the records we documented, at least two women journalists appear in court in a week, across the country. Most of them face prison sentences on terrorism charges because of their social media posts or news they revealed. We urge the Turkish state to end these repressions and to respect press freedom.
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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