Turkey: Journalist İnci Hekimoğlu Released After 12 Hours Of Detention
Location: Turkey, İzmir
Date: June 16, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Journalist İnci Hekimoğlu was arbitrarily detained after the police raid on her house early this morning and was released after being kept for 12 hours. Details of the investigation against her have yet to be disclosed but reportedly the charge may be linked to her social media post. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes İnci's release. However, the abuse of law against journalists must end immediately.
Journalist İnci Hekimoğlu was taken into custody as a result of the police raid on her house in the morning and taken to the İzmir Provincial Security Directorate Anti-Terror Branch. She was released after her statement was taken. According to Gazete Duvar, the journalist was charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda" based on a social media post. However, this claim has not yet been confirmed.
Counsel of the journalist, Erdoğan Akdoğdu stated that İnci Hekimoğlu was detained on the grounds of her social media post on Artı TV. "In our country, there is a judicial function that the government uses as an intimidation tactic against journalists through social media posts. Inci was also detained as a critical voice for the government. Her house was raided in the morning just after 16 journalists were arrested. There are also other operations taking place in Istanbul and other provinces and actually, this is a part of it," he said.
He also added that there has yet to be informed which social media post was cited as criminal.
İnci was taken into custody after 16 journalists, four of whom were women, were arrested and sent to prison in Diyarbakır.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes İnci’s release. However, we demand an end to the escalating media crackdown on journalists. It is unacceptable for any journalist to be arbitrarily detained or prosecuted for their journalistic activities. We reiterate to Turkish authorities that 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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