Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: September 24, 2019

Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe

The first hearing of Ans Boersma’s wrongful deportation case took place yesterday at The Istanbul First Administrative Court.

Our 2018 fellow Ans Boersma was unlawfully detained and deported from Turkey earlier this year. She was also banned from travelling back to Turkey for a period of six years; one year for general security and five years for an ongoing lawsuit. Ans is being represented by the MLSA, and has petitioned the court to overturn the verdict against her.

We earlier documented how she was wrongfully deported from Turkey on January 17, 2019. At the time she was taken into custody, she was visiting the Immigration Service to renew her Residence Permit. The journalist had received her press card only a week before. A colleague who was with her at the time and was able to alert others about the issue.

There was a good amount of confusion around her detainment and deportation. When she was originally taken into custody, the Turkish authorities said that her detainment was not connected to her work. With time it was revealed that Turkish authorities had acted on intelligence from Dutch authorities linking Ans to a terror investigation.On the other hand, Dutch authorities later clarified that Boersma was not the main suspect of the investigation, and they had not asked Turkey for her extradition. However, the ban was not lifted.

She was unable to attend the current hearing for her case because she was not allowed to travel to Turkey. Her lawyer, Veysel Ok, said that this is not just a case of deportation but also one that has to do with freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Documents submitted in her defense show that she is not the subject of any terrorism-related investigation in Turkey. The court is expected to return with a verdict within the next one to three months.

We urge the court to keep in mind the life Ans has built in Turkey as a journalist. She had lived in the country for two years before she was deported, and has added serious value to journalism here.

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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.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org

The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.

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