Turkey: Press Freedom Continues to Be Restricted, CFWIJ Condemns Police Obstruction of Journalists Büşra Taşkıran and Öznur Değer

Location: Turkey, Ankara
Date: October 4, 2021

Available in: 🇹🇷  Türkçe

Restrictions on press freedom continue sharply in Turkey. Journalists Büşra Taşkıran and Öznur Değer were impeded by the police during their street interview in Ankara. The police claimed that journalists were not considered professionals because they did not have an official press card. Journalists' right to report was once again violated.

he Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) follows the persistent pressure against journalists with great concern. The CFWIJ condemns the police brutality imposed on Büşra and Öznur. Such obstruction of press freedom is unacceptable. Journalists are free to do their job.

Doğrusu Haber reporter Büşra Taşkıran and Jin News reporter Öznur Değer were barred by the police for not having a 'turquoise press card' -official press card provided by Directorate of Communications- during their public interviews in the capital of Ankara. Jin News reporter Öznur was interrupted due to the police's request for a General Information Collection (GBT). She was interviewing random people about the declaration of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Kurdish issue by the time she was prevented.

A crackdown on the press and police violence against journalists, aiming to prevent citizens expressing their discomfort with the politics of the government. Our existence, our inkless pen, and our camera that capture the truth against lies, not the turquoise press card

Speaking to CFWIJ, Öznur said during the interview, the subject changed towards the general problems and it became crowded. The police dispersed the crowd with a harsh intervention. After the GBT, her interview was cut down since she does not have the press ID. She was not considered a 'journalist' for not having the ‘turquoise card’.  After the crowd had dispersed, the police followed Öznur for a while to prevent her from continuing the interviews.

“A crackdown on the press and police violence against journalists, aiming to prevent citizens expressing their discomfort with the politics of the government. Our existence, our inkless pen, and our camera that capture the truth against lies, not the turquoise press card,” Öznur quoted to CFWIJ. 

#Turkey: @taskiranbusra & @dgroznur were prevented by police from interviewing citizens on the streets. They were interrupted mid-interview in separate instances on arbitrary grounds. #CFWIJ condemns this curtailment of press freedom. Journalists must be free to report. pic.twitter.com/3CuP936jZv

— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) October 4, 2021

Reporter Büşra Taşkıran was also blocked while she was doing her job on Sunday, October 3rd. Büşra took to her Twitter account to reveal what happened to her. She was exposed to GBT three times and her questions were noted down by the police. The police took her pictures without her permission. “They took photos of all the media workers without permission. They also said that to be able to conduct street interviews, it is necessary to have a press card given by the Presidency. They said this practice is a new order,” she said on Twitter. 

Earlier, Büşra was barred with the police force driving them away from covering the racist events against refugees in the capital. She was covering the loot against many refugees and Syrians along with her colleague Artı Gerçek reporter Seda Taşkın.

As the CFWIJ, since the beginning of 2021, we have documented at least 43 women journalists from Turkey have been detained, physically assaulted, or impeded in the field while doing their jobs. We are highly concerned about the increasing number of practices against journalists in Turkey. Preventing journalists from doing their job is unacceptable. We condemn such restrictions on the free press.

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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