2019 November / December Review: Imprisonments
The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) has been keeping a close watch on the number of imprisoned women journalists around the world. This report looks at all the cases documented by CFWIJ in November and December 2019.
During both the months we observed and documented detentions and imprisonment of several women journalists in countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Burundi, Israel, Thailand, and Laos. The most number of cases were noted in Iran and Turkey. Both countries are notorious for imprisoning the most number of women journalists in the world. Here is a rundown of all the women journalists arrested, detained and subsequently imprisoned across the globe.
Turkey: Ruken Demir, Melike Aydın and Berivan Altan
Mesopotamia Agency reporter Ruken Demir and Jinnews reporter Melike Aydın were both taken into custody on November 12, after a raid on their homes in Izmir, Turkey. They were detained on charges for “carrying out activities on behalf of a terrorist organisation”. Their equipment and her phones were also confiscated during the raid and the two journalists were barred from seeing their lawyers for 24 hours after being detained.
During the investigation, both Ruken and Melike were questioned about the content of their news stories and phone calls with their sources. They were brought to the İzmir Courthouse on November 15. They were then referred to the 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace after giving a statement to the prosecutor on the morning of November 16. The 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace ordered her to be jailed with a pending trial. The Turkish authorities subsequently jailed Ruken inside the İzmir Aliağa Şakran Women’s Prison.
According to Ruken’s brother Hogir Demir, she was being subjected to abysmal conditions inside the jail. She had complained about insects in her food, a ban on sending and receiving letters, as well as her deteriorating health and harsh treatment at the hands of the jail authorities.
Ruken was also sentenced to one year and three months of imprisonment for “propaganda for a terrorist organization” in September 2018. The sentence was issued because of a social media post she shared in 2006. However, Ruken was released with the deferment of the verdict’s announcement.
As of now, the two journalists remain imprisoned in Turkish jails.
Another journalist Berivan Altan, who works for the Mesopotamia Agency, was also taken into custody after her house in Ankara was raided on November 26. Special forces personnel with faces covered in balck ski-masks, “holding long-barrelled gun” broke into the journalist’s apartment. She was held after a court in Mersin issued arrest warrants against her without providing any details. Following her custody, Berivan was barred from seeing her lawyer for 24 hours and her investigation file had a limitation decision, the contents of which were kept hidden for the time. She was later transferred to Mersin, according to her employer.
During detention, Berivan was questioned about her work related foriegn travel and was also accused of not being a professional journalist. The authorities said they doubted that Berivan was working to earn a living. She was also interrogated about the news stories written by her and about the person who ordered her to write them.
Berivan was detained based following witness testimonies on charges of “being a member of a terrorist organization”. She denied all the accusations against herself. On December 3, Berivan was freed after a Mersin court ordered her release with a pending investigation.
Saudi Arabia: Zana Al-Shahri
Zana Al-Shahri - a journalist who wrote for an online magazine, Al-Asr - was arrested by Saudi authorities on November 16. She was taken in custody following a wave of arrests in the ultra-conservative Kingdom targeting journalists, writers, academics, activists and advocates of reform towards the end of 2019. The crackdown has been continuing ever since the control of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has taken Saudi Arabia in its grip.
Zana was one of the many journalists and writers who wrote about sensitive issues and human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. She also wrote about transition to a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia in 2013. Unconfirmed reports of her arrest, as well as other journalists were shared across platforms. While others were said to be released, there is no information about Zana’s fate.
Iran: Melika Gharegozlou
A freelance journalist and student Melika Gharegozlou, who was pursuing journalism at the Allameh Tabataba'i University, was arrested by the Iranian police on November 5. The head of security at the university confirmed Melika's detention. He also said that she was ill and was most likely to be released soon. However, there was no information available regarding her release.
Egypt: Solafa Sallam Magdy
On November 26, freelance journalist Solafa Sallam Magdy was detained by Egyptian security forces in plainclothes, along with her husband Hossam El-Sayed and lawyer Mohamed Salah from a café in Cairo. The journalist has been charged for “joining a terrorist organization and spreading false news" in the wake of similar arrests taking place in the country.
The journalist, her husband and lawyer were detained without any legal justification. The three had covered the arrest of blogger and human rights activist Esraa Abdel Fattah. A lawyer representing Solafa has been informed about the violence and mistreatment she is being subjected to during interrogation. The journalist remains imprisoned till date.
Iran: Raha Askarizadeh
Journalist and feminist Raha Askarizadeh is in custody of Iranian authorities after she was stopped at the airport and taken to Evin prison on November 28.
Iran: Fereshte Cheraghi
On November 29, Kurdish journalist and social activist Fereshte Cheragi was arrested by the Islamic Republic of Iran's intelligence forces in Sarpol-e-Zahab, Kermanshah. The forces invaded her house and took her into custody. She was then transferred to a detention centre of the Kermanshah security agencies.
Fereshte is a renowned civil activist and environmentalist as well. She was one of the key sources of information regarding the earthquake and suspicious fires in the city. She was also arrested on November 16, during a rally in Sarpol-e-Zahab in the wake of protest against the sudden increase in fuel prices. She was then released on bail after three days.
December 3, 2019
Turkey: Sadiye Eser
Mesopotamia Agency reporter Sadiye Eser was detained on November 29, when she was leaving her office in Istanbul. After two days of detention, the Istanbul 3rd Criminal Court of Peace issued arrest warrants against her on charges of “being a member of a terrorist organization”. The charges were based on the statements of an anonymous witness.
The journalist denied the charges levelled against her and her lawyer Özcan Kılıç also stated that she is not part of any organization. Sadiye is imprisoned inside the Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison.
December 12, 2019
Israel: Bushra Al-Taweel
Palestinian journalist and activist Bushra Al-Taweel was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank on December 11. She was taken into custody just a week after her father, senior Hamas leader Jamal al-Tawil, was released from an Israeli prison. He was kept under administrative detention for 20 months.
Bushra is known for her reports about Palestinian prisoners languishing inside Israeli prisons. She has been detained numerous times before by the Israeli authorities and had also spent two years in prison. This time, she was arrested from her home in Ramallah, after the soldiers stormed into her house and also confiscated a car belonging to her family.
Bushra’s arrest is part of a crackdown against Palestinians, as at least 14 more have been arrested in cities including Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah and surrounding villages. Reports were also rife of clashes breaking out after the raids were conducted by Israel’s security forces.
Thailand: Suchanee (Cloitre) Rungmuenporn
On December 24 Thai journalist Suchanee (Cloitre) Rungmuenporn, who worked for local Voice TV, was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for criminal libel by a court in Thailand. She was sentenced for simply retweeting a post regarding a labour abuse complaint at a poultry farm in 2017.
The journalist is sued by Thammakaset Co., the poultry company that has filed lawsuits against 19 other journalists, workers, and activists. The company has taken the matter to court alleging that the tweets have defamed and damaged its reputation.
After the announcement of the sentence, the Lopburi provincial court released Suchanee on a bail worth 75,000 baht. According to her lawyer, Suchanee will appeal against the verdict. During the appeal, she will remain free on bail.
This report was developed with the support of The Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Writer and Researcher: Rabia Mushtaq
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.