Turkey: Zeynep Kuray Obstructed, Briefly Detained While Covering Workers Protests In İstanbul
Location: Turkey, İstanbul Date: August 16, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Photojournalist Zeynep Kuray was obstructed by police and briefly detained while covering a protest by workers of a state-run real estate developer in İstanbul earlier this week. She was held for over an hour and released only after the police lodged a complaint against her on allegations of “damaging public property”. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the police’s undue interference in a journalist’s work and stands in solidarity with Zeynep. We reiterate, journalists must be free to report on matters of public interest without fear of government reprisal.
On August 12, Zeynep was on ground, following a protest by the workers of YDA Group, a contractor of Emlak Konut Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi (GYO) state-run real estate developer, when she was obstructed by the police, according to local news reports. The police resorted to forceful measures to disperse the workers demanding their rights and better working conditions. The protestors lamented that they were denied overtime and vacation days. Moreover, they complained of lack of notice upon dismissal and demanded severance pay.
Journalists, including Zeynep, were prevented from covering the demonstration and the police’s retaliation against it. Several protestors were detained and Zeynep was taken into custody as well.
"Police are attacking the construction workers. I'm being detained," she wrote on Twitter.
İnşaat işçilerine polis saldırıyor.Gözaltına alınıyorum pic.twitter.com/YxJxnFWE68
— Zeynep Kuray (@zeynokuray) August 12, 2022
Zeynep announced her release on Twitter a couple of hours later. She mentioned that the company’s management lodged a complaint against her on allegations of “damaging public property” before the police freed her from custody. "The bosses of the Emlak Konut GYO, with the guidance of a plainclothes police officer, filed a complaint against me for 'damaging public property’," she wrote.
The police’s move to detain Zeynep and prevent her from covering an important public interest story was criticised heavily by local and international press freedom advocates. The Journalists Association of Turkey (TGS) DİSK Basın-İş union, Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğluand the CFWIJ were among the first to exert pressure on the Turkish authorities and demand Zeynep’s release.
This isn’t the first time that Zeynep has dealt with police interference in her work. Earlier this year, she was prevented from filming a demonstration in İstanbul by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). Prior to that, in May 2019, she faced similar mistreatment at the hands of the police while covering yet another protest.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism registers strong protest against the Turkish police’s continued overreaches against journalists. We stand in solidarity with Zeynep Kuray and call on the authorities to immediately drop all unfounded legal proceedings against her. We emphasize that journalism is not a crime and must not be treated as such. The persistent police and judicial harassment journalists are subjected to in Turkey reflects poorly on the democratic values the country claims to uphold. The impunity with which law enforcement authorities in the country continue to commit violations against the independent press is alarming. The Turkish government and its state apparatus must respect press freedom and allow journalists to report freely without fear of 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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