Five journalists in custody for 3 days in İzmir

Journalists and professional organizations have issued a statement demanding the immediate release of Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporters Semra Turan, Delal Akyüz, and Tolga Güney, who were detained in house raids on February 13 in Izmir, along with JINNEWS reporter Melike Aydın and Gazete Duvar reporter Cihan Başakçıoğlu.

DİSK Press Work Union organized a press conference for the journalists held in custody in the union building in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district.

The meeting was attended by members of the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (MKG), Tigris Euphrates Journalists Association (DFG), Turkey Social Insurance, Education Office, Trade, Cooperative and Fine Arts Workers Union (Sosyal-İş), journalists, and representatives of professional organizations.

"Free journalism cannot be jduged"

DİSK Press-Work Discipline Committee Member Diren Yurtsever, speaking at the event, expressed outrage at the renewed targeting of journalists, especially Free Press workers, shortly before local elections.

Yurtsever stated that they gathered to expose the pressures on journalists, show solidarity with their detained colleagues, and emphasized, "Free press cannot be silenced, and journalism cannot be judged."

İzel Sezer, a member of the DİSK Press-Work Board of Directors, highlighted the systematic nature of the repression, detentions, and arrests against journalists in Turkey, noting that this has become a regular practice of the government, especially during critical periods like election campaigns.

"The government uses the judiciary as a tool of pressure on journalists. Our colleagues who are currently unlawfully detained are journalists practicing their profession from the field, exposing all crimes, especially human rights violations, and safeguarding the public's right to information. We do not accept these detentions and arrests aimed at preventing journalists from revealing the truth and obstructing the public's right to information," Sezer stated. (HA/VK)