'Seventeen women journalists are in prison'

Click to read the article in Turkish

Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform (MKGP), announced its quarterly "Report on Violations of Rights Women Journalists Face" in a press meeting in İstanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD).

Photographs of 10 Kurdish women journalists arrested in the last six months were held up during the presentation of the report covering the months August, September and October.

Speaking in the press meeting, Nezahat Doğan reminded that the indictments were not yet prepared for the 16 journalists in Diyarbakır on June 16, four of whom are women.

She told that again 5 of the nine journalists arrested in the scope of the investigation on October 29 were women. She underlined that ten of the 26 journalists arrested in the last six months are women.

Hayam Bulut spoke after Doğan and she said that violations of rights of journalists were on the rise regarding the right to life and the right to safety.

According to the information she gave "five journalists were attacked, 20 were subjected to violence, 18 were taken into custody, 6 journalists remanded in custody, 12 were prevented from doing research for their reports, 12 were subjected to maltreatment during detention, 4 were blacklisted and 9 were subjected to violations of their rights in prison."

There were also widespread violations of rights regarding freedom of thought and expression. Accordingly, new lawsuits were filed against 7 journalists, 26 journalists continued to stand trial, an investigation was started for one, there was pressure and censorship imposed on 2 while a total of journalists were given 16 years and 24 months of imprisonment in the ongoing trials in these three months and also imposed 30 thousand lira of fine.

MKGP reported that 17 women journalists in prison as of October are:

Berivan Altan - Mezopotamya Agency correspondent,
Ceylan Şahinli -Mezopotamya Agency correspondent,
Derya Ren - JINNEWS correspondent,
Dilan Oynaş - Azadiya Welat employee,
Diren Yurtsever - Mezopotamya Agency editor in chief,
Elif Ersoy – Yürüyüş Magazine, editor in chief,
Elif Üngür - Presenter,
Habibe Eren - JINNEWS correspondent,
Hatice Duman – Atılım, owner and editor in chief,
Neşe Toprak - Presenter,
Özden Kınık – TRT employee,
Özlem Seyhan – Journalist,
Öznur Değer - JİNNEWS correspondent,
Remziye Temel - accounter
Safiye Alagaş - JINNEWS manager,
Sibel Mustafaoglu – Azadiya Welat employee,
Tülay Canpolat – Sabah Ankara correspondent

(HA/PE)