Turkey: Diren Yurtsever Detained Overnight, Due To Face Court
Location: Turkey, İstanbul Date: August 16, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Diren Yurtsever, a reporter with Mesopotamia News Agency (MA), arbitrarily detained at Istanbul airport (Sabiha Gökçen) when she arrived from Diyarbakir late on August 15. The authorities claimed to have a search warrant in her name. The journalist was conditionally release the next morning and is due before Istanbul Court in Çağlayan to testify within two days. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) denounces the arbitrary detention of the journalist and extends support to Diren.
This isn't the first time that Diren has faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities in Turkey. In April 2021, Diren was physically assaulted by the police and prevented from covering the Kobani trial in Ankara, known as the “revenge trial” of 108 pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic party (HDP) officials accused of sparking the October 2014 protest.
According to MA, the police prevented independent news outlets covering the trial. MA reporters were told that the police had special orders to stop them. "We have received orders from our manager, we will not keep the Mesopotamia Agency here," said officials, according to MA sources.
The CFWIJ has kept a close watch on Turkey given incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's continued escalation against press freedom. The country frequently ranks high on our risk map for women journalists. Since January 2022 alone, we have documented 17 detentions, 50 cases of legal harassment and 41 instances of physical assault - often at the hands of police.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Diren Yurtseve and demands an end to baseless legal proceedings against her. We condemn the arbitrary detention she was subjected to and reiterate that journalism is not a crime. We call on the Turkish authorities to stop treating journalists as such. closely monitors the increasing crackdown against the opposition press in Turkey with great concern. We call on the Turkish authorities to interfere in creating environments where journalists can freely follow the news, rather than targeting the media and applying vicious repression and censorship. The most fundamental duty of journalists is to inform the public. We demand the Turkish authorities to adopt an approach that respects press freedom and complies with its criteria.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands an immediate end to arbitrary practices aimed at silencing the free press, and we urge for a safe environment where journalists can work freely.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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