Turkey: 18th Hearing Of The Trial Against Former Özgür Gündem Editor, Reyhan Çapan, Was Postponed
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: Demecber 4, 2020Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
18th hearing of the trial against former Özgür Gündem editor, Reyhan Çapan, and her colleagues was supposed to be held yesterday at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court. The hearing was postponed after the lawyers negotiated a later court date. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns these attempts to silence the journalists and demands the charges on Reyhan and all other journalists be dropped immediately.
Özgür Gündem’s editor-in-chief, Reyhan Çapan, its co-editor-in-chief, Hüseyin Aykol, Hasan Başak and some of its writers have been sued for articles published in the paper. Özgür Gündem was shut down by the Turkish government in August 2016. The Özgür Gündem reporters have been accused of spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization, praising crime and incitement to commit a crime for a series of articles they published. The court board has not yet made an interlocutory order, the next hearing will be held on February 24, 2021.
Last year, CFWIJ has monitored and documented more than 30 women journalists facing legal harassment or incarceration in Turkey. These incidents are a major interference to press freedom and illustrate the oppressive tactics used by Turkish authorities to silence the press. CFWIJ surveys these cases with great concern.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls on the authorities to cease the weaponization of the judicial system against journalists. We demand the immediate acquittal of all journalists wrongfully targeted by the ploys to suppress press freedom. The freedom of the press in Turkey has been under attack for a long time, and the threats only continue to escalate. We insist that journalists must be free to work in a safe and unrestrained environment.
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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.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.