Turkey: Trial Against Five Journalists Adjourned For Tenth Time – Journalists Must Be Acquitted Immediately
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: July 1, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The trial against journalists was postponed for the tenth time. The next hearing, in which five women journalists were tried, was postponed to November 23 2021. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) considers the trials against journalists that are constantly postponed as a new method to silence and intimidate journalists. Journalists must be acquitted immediately.
The tenth hearing of the case brought against 22 journalists, 5 of whom were women, was held at the Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance. Journalists Amine Demirkıran, Elif Aydoğmuş, Günay Aksoy, Gülfem Karataş, Reyhan Hacıoğlu were tried for alleged "resistance to the police" and the prosecutor demanded that the journalists be punished for allegedly resisting and insulting the police to prevent detention. Journalists’ lawyer Özcan Kılıç requested that the video of the incident be examined by an expert. The court adjourned the next hearing to November 23.
The defendants did not attend the hearing held today, but their lawyers Sercan Korkmaz, Özcan Kılıç, Hazal Pekşen Demirhan and Cemal Polat were present. Today, Özcan Kılıç said that two people verbally resisted the police when the incident happened, but their ID’s could not be identified.
In the previous hearing on April 22, the prosecutor of the case was requested to prepare his opinion of the case. Also, journalists Amine Demirkıran and Günay Aksoy’s file of the case was separated.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism monitored 81 different case files against women journalists in Turkey only in the first half of 2021. As the coalition, we follow the pressure against journalists with great concern in the country. We condemn the trials that are unfairly brought against journalists. We demand the Turkish authorities to abandon their policies of intimidation against journalists. Journalism is not a crime..
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.
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