RSF also urged Turkish and Northern Cypriot authorities to identify and prosecute those responsible for issuing death threats against her.
Akın, editor-in-chief of the news site Bugün Kıbrıs, has barely left her home since receiving a death threat by phone on April 30 in connection with her investigations into corruption involving Turkish and Northern Cypriot officials. The day after the threat, her source, Cemil Önal, was assassinated in the Netherlands.
Despite her request for 24-hour protection, police have only been patrolling her home for 30 minutes each morning – just long enough for her husband to take their child to school. Authorities claim “necessary precautions” are in place and that “every citizen is protected 24/7.”
RSF’s EU and Balkans Desk head Pavol Szalai criticized the passive response, stating, “The murder of a source, death threats... The warning signs of an attack against journalist Aysemden Akin are numerous and grave. In the face of such serious risks, indifference from the authorities would be utterly unacceptable. We firmly call on the Northern Cyprus police to provide the reporter with permanent protection. Furthermore, those responsible for the death threats must be identified – in cooperation with the Turkish authorities – and brought to justice.”
Akın was threatened during a 27-minute call from Turkey, warning her to stop publishing investigations related to alleged corruption between Turkish and KKTC officials. The threats were reportedly tied to the 2022 assassination of Halil Falyalı, involved in a money laundering scandal. The day after Akın received the threat, her source and Falyalı’s associate, Önal, was killed.
Northern Cyprus ranks 91st in RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index – its lowest score since 2014.
(HA/DT)
