Turkey: CFWIJ Welcomes Canan Coşkun’s Acquittal
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: June 21, 2019Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes an Istanbul court’s decision to acquit Canan Coşkun in a case accusing her of insulting the president.
Coşkun’s release makes her the fourth woman journalist to be released from jail. The charges against Canan Coşkun were the result of a report she produced for Cumhuriyat, a local daily, in 2015.
It was alleged that the piece, titled “Erdoğan emretti, gazeteciler tutuklandı” was insulting for the president. The title translates to “Erdogan ordered, journalists arrest”; the piece discussed the arrests of journalists Dündar and Erdem Gül.
During the second and last hearing, Coşkun argued that she was acting in the capacity of a correspondent and did not choose the title of the piece but only reported facts. The court acquitted her, noting that while the piece was published in 2015, the case was filed two years later. The court ruled that the statute of limitations had already expired.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes these releases and hopes that the Turkish courts will continue to allow journalists, both men and women, to be free. Freedom of press is mandatory for a free and fair society.
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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.