Saudi women’s rights defender and prisoner of conscience Loujain al-Hathloul, who spent nearly three years in arbitrary pre-trial detention, sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after being charged with espionage foreign agendas and conspiring against the kingdom. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) urges the Saudi authorities to release her immediately. Being an activist and defending fundamental rights is not a crime.

Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist was sentenced to four years in prison in Shanghai on Monday due to her coverage on the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. She was found guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Such accusations are regularly used to intimidate social activists. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is utterly dismayed with the court’s decision. It is yet another, worrying manifestation of the suffocating environment for press freedom in China. No journalist should be subjected to vicious, legal persecution, especially when informing the public about a deadly epidemic spreading across the country.

According to the latest updates, there was another attempt to murder Olivera Lakic. Two people are in police custody for allegations of planning to murder the journalist. In a statement made by the special prosecutor, it was revealed that the authorities received a tip that led to the discovery of incriminating information. The culprits intended to recruit an individual in prison to carry out another assassination attempt on Olivera. CFWIJ is very concerned over the emerging details and the police’s failure to arrest the real perpetrators behind the attack.

Journalist Arzu Geybullayeva is facing malicious online attacks accusing her of being a traitor for expressing her views and doing her job. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is alarmed by the escalation of online trolling and violence against women journalists.

Etkin Haber Ajansı (ETHA) editörü Semiha Şahin ve muhabir Pınar Gayıp’ın tutuksuz yargılandığı davanın on birinci duruşması dün İstanbul 23. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesinde görüldü. Mahkeme dosyadaki eksik hususların giderilmesi ve sanıkların dijital materyallerine ilişkin raporlarının beklenmesine karar verdi. Bir sonraki duruşma 11 Şubat 2021’de görülecek. Gazetecilikte Kadın Koalisyonu olarak gazetecilerin beraatini talep ediyoruz.

The eleventh hearing of the trial against Etkin News Agency (ETHA) editor Semiha Şahin and reporter Pınar Gayıp was held yesterday at the Istanbul 23rd High Criminal Court. The court decided to complete the missing parts in the case file and to wait for the submission of the reports based on the digital materials provided by the journalists. The next hearing will take place on February 11, 2021. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) demands the case to be dismissed and that the journalists be acquitted of all of the charges.

Gazeteci Pelin Ünker’e karşı Cumhuriyet gazetesinde yayımlanan, eski Maliye ve Hazine Bakanı Berat Albayrak ve ağabeyi Serhat Albayrak’ın Malta’daki off-shore hesaplarıyla ilgili ‘Paradise Papers’ (Cennet Belgeleri) ve ‘Off-shore Kardeşler’ yazıları hakkında Çalık Holding’in açtığı tazminat davası reddedildi. Gazetecilikte Kadın Koalisyonu mahkeme kararını memnuniyetle karşılıyor, gazeteciliğin suç olmadığını yineliyor.

The seventh hearing of the case against journalist Pelin Ünker was held on December 22, 2020 in İstanbul 21st Civil Court of First Instance. The decision to file a lawsuit against Pelin was prompted by the article on the off-shore accounts of former Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak and his brother Serhat Albayrak. The piece was published by Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Human rights defender Karima Baloch was found dead in Toronto, Canada after she went missing last Sunday. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is devastated by Karima’s death and demands Canadian authorities to conduct an immediate investigation into the activist’s tragic demise.

Cizre’de haber takibi yaptıktan sonra gözaltına alınan ve Van'a getirilen Mezopotamya Ajansı muhabiri Zeynep Durgut, dün adli kontrol şartıyla serbest bırakıldı. Gazetecilikte Kadın Koalisyonu olarak Durgut’un serbest bırakılmasını memnuniyetle karşılıyor, diğer tutuklu gazetecilerin de serbest bırakılmasını talep ediyoruz.

Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Zeynep Durgut was released conditionally yesterday after being held in detention for four days. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes Zeynep’s release and demands the other imprisoned journalists be freed.

Yulia Slutskaya, the founder of Press Club Belarus, was arrested on tax evasion charges. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the arrest and demands authorities immediately investigate the legitimacy of these allegations.

Mezopotamya Ajansı (MA) ve Jin News muhabirleri Zeynep Durgut, Rojda Aydın ve Derya Ren, haber takibinin ardından Şırnak’ın Cizre ilçesinde gözaltına alındı. Polisin yaptığı Genel Bilgi Taraması’nın (GBT) ardından Rojda Aydın ve Derya Ren serbest bırakıldı ancak Zeynep Durgut Şırnak İl Emniyet Müdürlüğü’ne götürüldü. Yalnız bu yıl kaydettiğimiz saldırılar arasında dünyanın dört bir yanından yüz kadın kadın gazetecinin gözaltına alındığını belgeledik. Gazetecilikte Kadın Koalisyonu olarak gazetecileri susturmak amacıyla yapılan bu girişimleri kınıyoruz. Durgut’un derhal serbest bırakılmasını talep ediyoruz.

Reporters from the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) and Jin News, Zeynep Durgut, Rojda Aydın and Derya Ren, were detained in Şırnak. Journalists Rojda Aydın and Derya Ren were released after the General Information Scan (GBT) conducted by the police, but Zeynep Durgut was taken to the Şırnak Police Station, where she remains in police custody. These incidents mark one hundred detentions of women journalists that we have documented this year alone. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns these deliberate attempts to silence journalists. We demand the immediate release of Zeynep and an end to the state’s intimidation of journalists.

Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti’nin düzenlediği Sedat Simavi Ödülleri bu yıl da sahiplerini buldu. Pandemi sebebiyle online bir platformda açıklanan ödül sahipleri arasında gazeteciler Hazal Ocak ve Beril Ötkan ile Radyo program yapımcıları Çiğdem Işık ve Sevilay Tunalı da yer alıyor.