Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: October 15, 2020

Available in: 🇹🇷  Türkçe

During the hearing held today in the case against Sadiye Eser where she is being charged with “membership to an armed terrorist organization” the court ruled to lift judicial control measures against the journalist and to the return of digital materials belonging to her. International travel ban, however, was not lifted. The next hearing will be held on March 9, 2021.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism has been monitoring Sadiye Eser’s case from the very beginning. Sadiye Eser was detained on November 29, 2019 after leaving her offices and was arrested on December 2, 2019 for “being a member of a terrorist organization”. She was arrested based on the statements given by a secret witness and was not released from prison until March 26, 2020.

The indictment which resulted in the case cited her travels abroad as “evidence” to her intention of propaganda. During the search at her home not only her phone and computer were confiscated but the police had also taken Sadiye’s MP3 player as it “contained songs in Kurdish”. Furthermore her refusal to give the password of her phone to the police officers was cited as “evidence of organisational behaviour”.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is worried about the intensified attacks against women journalists in Turkey, especially journalists of Mesopotamia Agency. Last week Mesopotamia Agency’s Van bureau was raided and Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala were arrested. As of the writing of this statement there are six women journalists imprisoned for arbitrary charges of “terrorism”. We call upon authorities to stop weaponizing the law against journalists.

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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.