Turkey: Sultan Çoban’s Imprisonment Sentence Aggravates Threats To Women Journalists
Location: Turkey, Konya
Date: February 27, 2020Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Danish freelance journalist Sultan Çoban has been sentenced to one year and three months in prison for a post she allegedly shared on Facebook. The court’s decision came after the first hearing of the lawsuit filed against her. The hearing took place in Konya on February 27.
Sultan has been accused of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation” after she shared a post on Facebook with pictures of Kurdish fighters in Syria. The post originally belonged to someone else. We denounce this unwarranted punishment given to Sultan and demand for her immediate acquittal.
The announcement of the verdict, however, has been deferred by the court. The "judicial control" measures which applied against Sultan and the travel ban against her were also lifted. Regardless of these developments in the case, the sentence against Sultan seems absurd. The Turkish judiciary must overturn their decision against her.
The government prosecutor presented a police report against Sultan. He said the report was prepared using open-source search, and demanded that she be penalized for the allegation. Sultan, too, spoke in her defense during the trial’s hearing.
“I grew up in Denmark, I work for the Danish media. Many issues that are associated with terrorism in Turkey are seen within the scope of freedom of expression in Denmark. The work I do is proof of my neutrality,” she said.
Sultan has been reporting from Turkey for several years. She refuted the charges against her and said that her posts were within the scope of journalism. Sultan added that she has never engaged in propaganda.
When the court requested access to Sultan’s Facebook account to verify the allegations of propaganda, her lawyer Veysel Ok spoke in her defense. He said that the identification of social media posts cannot be made without a court order. He further added that the police report was against both the law and Sultan’s right to privacy. Veysel also requested for the report to be removed from her case file.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism denounces the unjust verdict of the court against Sultan. We urge the judiciary to revisit their decision. The fact that journalists are being punished for their work and social media posts proves how insecure is Turkish government is with respect to the freedom of the press. This authoritative manner of governance in Turkey is highly condemnable.
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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.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
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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