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Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) and Mezopotamya Women Journalists Platform (MKGP) made a joint statement in front of the Diyarbakır Courthouse about the 16 journalists who are arrested since June 16 without standing trial for whom no indictments have been prepared so far.
Journalists participating held photographs of their arrested colleagues and a banner reading "Free press will not come to heel" and chanted the slogan "Free press cannot be silenced."
The joint statement, read out in Turkish by DFG Co-Chairperson Dicle Müftüoğlu and in Kurdish by MKGP member Medya Üren was drawing attention to the pressure of the government on journalists and on Kurdish media.
It said, "After the unlawful detention period, our 16 friends were remanded in custody again unlawfully on June 16. This judicial system arrested our colleagues with the accusation that they are "members of an organization" for they were reporting the facts despite this climate of fear. They searched for "taking instructions" in our journalism.
"Ten more journalists arrested in Ankara"
"However if they are looking for those who report taking instructions from others, it will be sufficient to look at the pro-government media the agenda of which is set at the palace. This will be enough in order to see that the free press is on the target not because of taking instructions from anywhere but because it does not obey the instructions of those in power."
On September 25, another ten journalists were detained and then remanded in custody, in another investigation by the Ankara chief prosecutor's office.
"It is a crime to target journalism"
"Six months have passed since our 16 friends were arrested. Our friends have been taken hostage since 6 months ago and still, there is no indictment prepared for them. This is because there is no crime and there is no accusation to be made."
"Because we know that journalism is not a crime! However, it is a crime that the judiciary is keeping our friends away from their profession without any justification. It is a crime to target journalism. Attacks on freedom of expression and freedom of the press are crimes."
Solidarity video messages from journalists
28 journalists from Türkiye shared video messages where they said, "Journalism is not a crime. Our colleagues should be released!"
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Arrested journalists from Mezopotamya Agency and JinNews
There are Faruk Bildirici, Sedat Bozkurt, Timur Soykan, Sibel Yükler, Faruk Eren, Yıldız Tar, Mehveş Evin, Hilmi Hacaloğlu, Bahadır Özgür, Şule Aydın, Dicle Müftüoğlu, Fatih Polat, Candan Yıldız, Abdurrahman Gök, Altan Sancar, Diren Keser, Sedat Yılmaz, Tolga Balcı, Özge Yurttaş, Ayşe Düzkan also bianet editors and correspondents among journalists who shared video messages demanding the release of journalists of Kurdish media outlets. (RT/TY/PE)
