Turkey: We Welcome The Release Of Meltem Oktay
Location: Turkey, Istanbul
Date: October 25, 2019Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the release of Meltem Oktay, a reporter for the closed Dicle News Agency.
Meltem was arrested on charges of being members of a terrorist organization after the coverage during the time of curfews in Turkey. She has been released after a successful objection was lodged by her lawyer against her arrest during the last trial today.
Turkish authorities took Meltem in custody on April 12, 2016, during a house raid. She was subsequently arrested on April 15. She received a four-year sentence for alleged “membership to a terrorist organisation”. However, she was released during the second hearing of her trial on August 18 the same year.
Our colleague was yet again arrested in 2017 for reporting during the curfews at the time of the emergency in Nusaybin, Mardin. She was sentenced to two years and four months for “creating propaganda for the outlawed Kurdish group PKK”.
The evidence used against her revolved around things she had published on social media. Meltem was jailed in Gebze Women’s Closed Prison.
While we are glad that our colleague has been freed, we also strongly urge the Turkish authorities to release other imprisoned women journalists who have only performed their duties as journalists. No journalist deserves to be put behind bars for their work.
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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.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
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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