Turkey: Seyhan Avşar Faces Legal Probe Following Exposé of Child Abuse in State Care
Turkish government continues its abuse of the law to target journalists.
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: July 25, 2023
Ministry investigates Halk TV’s Seyhan Avşar after she reports on mistreatment of children in care homes. The Turkish government continues its clampdown on critical press. The Coalition For Women In Journalism has documented 11 cases of legal harassment of women journalists in Turkey in 2023. We call on the Ministry of Family to immediately dismiss this case.
“I wish they would take effective and protective measures for children instead of wasting their energies on journalists,” says Halk TV’s Seyhan Avşar, exasperated by the news that the Ministry of Family was probing her because of her reporting.
Avşar wrote several stories of children who started using drugs, were subjected to violence, abused, got pregnant, and had abortions while under state protection. Instead of investigating the abuse, the Ministry decided to investigate the journalist.
“I wish they would take effective and protective measures for children instead of wasting their energies on journalists”
“We are now living through the scourge of nonsense,” the journalist says about the ordeal.
In reaction to the news, İzmir Deputy Gökçe Gökçen submitted a series of questions demanding a justification of the investigation into the journalist to the Minister of Family and Social Services in parliament on July 26.
“The government deals with the journalists who announce the abuse to the public instead of examining the incidents of abuse in child support centers,” Gökçen said.
The Turkish government regularly abuses its powers to target journalists who expose its malpractices, and this is not the first time Avşar has faced legal harassment. In February 2023, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office investigated the journalist for an article she wrote about a detainee who died while in police custody. Avşar was also charged with insulting a public official after writing an article on a prosecutor with a criminal record in 2020.
In the first three months of 2023, CFWIJ’s research shows that Turkey has the most cases of legal harassment violations against women journalists in the world.
To suppress women journalists, the Turkish government has employed travel bans and false charges, such as "insulting public officials." Kurdish women journalists are particularly targeted, with terrorism charges cynically used to censor and persecute them.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands an end to state figures and ministries using their positions to silence the press by launching baseless investigations. We stand in solidarity with Seyhan Avşar and call on the Ministry of Family and Social Services to immediately drop its investigation into her.
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.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.