Turkey: Journalist Seda Taşkın Threatened With Death Over Her Coverage About The Funeral Of Prominent Music Composer Ahmet Say
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: May 13, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Journalist Seda Taşkın received death threats online on her social media account. Reportedly, the same account has targeted various journalists and public figures before. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) calls for the authorities to take an account of the vicious threats, and find the perpetrator immediately. Swift legal action must be taken against the perpetrator.
Artı Gerçek reporter Seda Taşkın received death threats online via her Instagram account. An account named @Teknotell_vodafone, seemingly a mobile phone store account in Turkey, responded to Seda’s story post on Instagram about prominent music composer Ahmet Say’s funeral. The unidentified account said to the journalist that “I'm on your neck wherever you are” and “death will find you”. After those threats, Seda responded to lodge a criminal complaint against the attacker. Mentioning journalist Erk Acarer, who had previously been assaulted by a group of men, and journalist Hayri Demir, the attacker replied, "There is neither a prosecution nor a law that can look after you.”.
The journalist shared screenshots of the threatening messages from her Twitter account.
İnstagramdan @Teknotell_vodafone isimli hesap tarafından açıktan tehdit ediliyorum. Suç duyurusunda bulunacağımı söylediğimde ise bana "size bakacak savcı yok" diyor. Cesareti nereden aldığınızı biliyoruz.@eacarer @VodafoneTR pic.twitter.com/EmRsB1vlKh
— Seda Taşkın (@sedaa_tskn) May 13, 2022
Journalist Seda Taşkın has been threatened over a social media account which had already threatened many journalists. Despite the fact that the open address of the threatener is known, no action has yet been taken against him by the authorities. #EndImpunity https://t.co/bYKMf7BkpS pic.twitter.com/pHsQevvPef
— MLSA (@mlsaturkey) May 13, 2022
After her posts, journalist Mustafa Mamay said that the same user had threatened other journalists before. “This person, who runs a mobile phone store in Kayseri, also uses a fake Facebook account named “Ramazan Kılıç”. Why has this person not yet been prosecuted even though his name and address can easily be disclosed?” Mustafa said.
Speaking to CFWIJ, the journalist said that “This person has threatened many journalists before. And it continues to threaten in the same way. Because there is no judicial mechanism here to stop these people.”. Stating that she will continue to expose such threats, "We will not remain silent against these people's open threats like this,” she said.
Widespread condemnation has been sparked to raise awareness of journalists’ safety by many journalists and local press freedom organizations. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) condemned those threats on Twitter.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity with journalist Seda Taşkın. We demand the authorities take these threats seriously and find the perpetrator immediately. The legal process should be initiated against the perpetrator immediately.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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