2019 January / February Review: Imprisonments
The Coalition For Women In Journalism has been keeping a close watch on cases where women journalists have been imprisoned during the Jan-Feb period. This report looks at the three main cases that we documented in January 2019.
Turkey took the lead with Pelin Ünker and Ayşe Düzkan, while Iran placed Sanaz Allahyari behind bars. We recorded no cases during the month of February.
In Iran, Sanaz Allahyari was charged with "assembly and collusion against national security" and “insulting a public official”. We find these allegations absurd and urge authorities to reconsider using such tactics to censor journalists.
The Gam Telegram reporter was taken into custody on January 9, where she was arrested alongside her husband Amir Hossein Mohammadi (Gam Telegram's editor-in-chief). She has not been allowed counsel because she refused a court-approved list, and her family has not been allowed to send an appeal letter to the parliament. We find it increasingly alarming that legal frameworks are used against women journalists in a bid to silence them.
Turkey has continued its crackdown of journalists during the Jan-Feb period, putting two of our colleagues behind bars in the process. Ayşe Düzkan has been battling authorities since May 2016, when she was first accused of dissemination propaganda for a terror outfit because she ted the now defunct Özgür Gündem for a day. She was char ged with “openly inciting crime,” “praising crime or a criminal,” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” because of her symbolic involvement with the paper. An Istanbul Court sent the veteran journalist to jail on January 29, to serve her 18-month sentence.
Turkey's attempts to silence women journalists are a serious cause for concern. We at The Coalition believe that women journalists should be able to carry out their jobs with safety and dignity, and the fact that a journalist was handed down a, 18- month long punishment for a symbolic position that lasted a day is itself a travesty.
We are also alarmed by the imprisonment of our colleague Pelin Ünker. On January 9, a Turkish court sentenced the journalist to 13 months and 15 days in prison, with an additional fine. We believe that she has been wrongfully targeted for her honest reporting on the Paradise Papers. That politicians or businessmen can simply attack journalists like this is despicable.
Pelin was targeted with three different lawsuits because of a series of articles she wrote for Cumhuriyet in November 2017. The works focused on the "Paradise Paper" leak and revealed many high profile names.
Pelin was sued by former Prime Minister and former Speak of the Parliament Binali Yıldırım and his family. They sought TL 500,000 in damages against the pieces. Later in September 2018, the charges were elevated to include "insulting a public official".
This report was developed with the support of The Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Writer and Researcher: Luavut Zahid
Executive Editor: Kiran Nazish
If you would like to request more insight into our findings, or would like to suggest an addition to our work reach out to us at data@womeninjournalism.org. For media inquiries reach out to us at press@womeninjournalism.org.