Turkey: CFWIJ Welcomes The Acquittal Of Journalist Meşale Tolu
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: January 17, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The 16th hearing of the trial against journalist Meşale Tolu was held in Istanbul. Meşale was tried on charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "spreading terrorist propaganda" over her journalistic coverage. The prosecution repeated his opinion as he did in the previous hearing and requested the acquittal of the journalist. The court acquitted Meşale from all charges. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes the court’s decision. The acquittal of Meşale proves that yet again journalism is not a crime.
The 16th hearing of the case against Meşale Tolu was held today at the Istanbul 29th High Criminal Court. The journalist faced a prison charge of up to 25 years on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda and being a member of a terrorist organization.
Today’s hearing, the prosecutor submitted the same opinion as he did previously and requested Meşale’s acquittal. The court ruled the journalist’s acquittal after 16 sessions.
In the previous hearing, the hearing was adjourned until today, without a court decision, due to the change of the court board. A court decision was awaited for the journalist and other defendants, after the prosecutor requested acquittal on December 24, 2021.
Meşale was arrested in Istanbul in April 2017 and was imprisoned for more than seven months. She had worked in Istanbul for the ETHA News Agency, among others. The trial against her began in October 2017, around two months later Tolu was released conditionally. In August 2018 she was allowed to return to her home country Germany after the ban on traveling abroad was lifted.
Since the beginning of 2022, CFWIJ has monitored and documented seven legal cases against women journalists. While the trial of two of the journalists resulted in acquittal, the other five journalists’ were adjourned for various reasons. Journalists are prosecuted on terrorism charges based on their social media posts or their Professional activities. Just like Meşale Tolu, most of the cases of female reporters end in unjust punishments after years of trial. Considering Turkey’s current political climate these policies aim to intimidate journalists.
The CFWIJ welcomes the court’s decision. However, we demand the Turkish authorities to end their policies of silencing and intimidating the journalists. We are deeply concerned about the increasing crackdown on journalists in Turkey. Journalists are responsible for reporting developments in matters of public interest. It is unacceptable that journalists chasing the truth are prosecuted for unfounded crimes. We, therefore, demand the authorities to acquit all journalists from all baseless charges against them. Meşale’s court case must set a precedent to all other legal cases against journalists. Journalism is not a crime.
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.
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