Turkey: Journalist Zeynep Durgut Arrested After Police Raid Her Home In Şırnak
Location: Turkey, Şırnak
Date: February 14, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
*This report is updated on Feb 16, 2022.
Police officials raided Mesopotamia Agency’s (MA) reporter Zeynep Durgut’s house in Şırnak early this morning (February 14) and took her into custody. According to MA, Zeynep was taken to the Şırnak Police Department’s office. The journalist was reportedly arrested as part of an ongoing investigation by the Şırnak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns the unannounced arrest. The authorities must reveal the charges against the journalist, if any, and release her.
Zeynep has been under custody for three days so far. The accusations of her have not been yet disclosed and she is also restricted to see her lawyer.
This is not the first time that Zeynep has faced harassment at the hands of the state. Along with her colleagues, Şehriban Abi, Nazan Sala and two other journalists, she stood trial on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” in a case based on their coverage of military torture in Van. The journalists were held in pre-trial detention after they reported on the torture and murder of two Kurdish villagers, Servet Turgut, and Osman Siban, who were thrown off an army helicopter. The case which began in April 2021 ended last month with four of the journalists, including Zeynep, acquitted of all charges.
Prior to this, Zeynep was also detained in Cizre on December 18, 2020, during a General Information Scan (GBT) conducted by the police, wherein the law enforcement authority demands to see identification on the basis of suspicion and runs your name through criminal records. The journalist was with her colleagues when she was arrested and taken to Van for interrogation.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns Zeynep Durgut’s arrest. The authorities must disclose the specific charges against the journalist, if any, and explain their actions. We have observed an alarming escalation in violations against journalists in the country in the first two months of 2022. Last month, veteran journalist Sedef Kabaş was imprisoned without a trial for the charge of “insulting the president” after she used a popular Circassian proverb on live television. On February 4, journalist Nurcan Yalçın was taken into custody after a raid at her home in Diyarbakır and conditionally released four days later. Moreover, the CFWIJ has reported on at least 21 ongoing trials of women journalists facing legal harassment for their work in 2022 thus far. The CFWIJ denounces the weaponization of law and state institutions to intimidate and harass critical journalists. We call on Turkey to end its systematic crackdown of critical journalists and policies restricting press freedom. Journalists must be able to speak truth to power without fear of government retaliation.
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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