19 journalist women battered in Turkey in a year, shows report

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Releasing a statement on the occasion of January 10 Working Journalists Day in Turkey today, the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform has underlined that January 10 is not a day to be celebrated.

On this occasion, the platform has released an annual report documenting the violations of rights faced by journalist women in Turkey in 2021.

The report has shown that:

• Six journalist women are arrested (Ayşenur Parıldak, Elif Ersoy, Hatice Duman, Sibel Mustafaoğlu, Tülay Canpolat, Özlem Seyhan)
• 19 journalist women were detained in 2021.
• 49 journalist women were prevented by police during news reporting.
• 19 journalist women were subjected to battery and ill treatment.
• Five journalist women were threatened, two journalist women were forced to work as agents.
• Two journalist women were subjected to ill treatment in prison.
• Nine journalist women were faced with investigations on the grounds of their news and posts on digital platforms.
• Lawsuits were filed against 13 journalist women.
• 12 journalist women were sentenced to 17 years, 8 months, 11 days in prison in total and one journalist woman was fined 7,080 lira.
• 197 journalist women appeared before the judge. 18 journalist women were acquitted while a decision of non-prosecution was given for one.
• The houses of two journalist women were raided by the police on the stated ground that "there was a tip-off". The journalists were not detained following the police raids.
• One journalist woman was placed under house arrest.
• Three women were dismissed from their jobs in the media.
• The press card of one journalist was canceled.
• 21 access blocks were imposed on the website of the JinNews women's news agency.
• bianet male violence monitoring report faced an access block.

'Violence at work, on the street, in news reporting...'

In their statement for the press against the backdrop of these findings, the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform has recalled that "almost over 90 percent of the newspapers, news agencies and TV channels operating in Turkey have turned into direct media outlets of the government."

Raising concerns that "journalist women are targeted the most among working journalists", the Platform has underlined that "there is a wish to keep them under pressure and make them unable to work."

"As can be seen from the data in our report, journalist women are targeted by police officers/ soldiers and subjected to pressure and violence the most in workplaces, on the street and in reporting news," the Platform has noted, reiterating that several "fellow journalists were battered during news reporting, threatened, handcuffed and detained in a year."

Raising concerns about the imprisonment and court cases faced by the journalists as well, the Platform has stressed that "journalist women have not given up seeking the truth despite all this pressure."

According to the data shared by the Platform, "62 journalists, including six women, are still arrested due to their journalistic activities."

Concluding its statement on Working Journalists Day, the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform has said, "Despite everything and just to spite of the male-oppressive mentality, we - journalist women - will never stop seeking after truth; we will raise our organized struggle in the face of bosses', men's, state's violence and pressure." (EMK/SD)