Turkiye: Renowned Kurdish Journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu, Indicted on Terrorism Charges, Released from Jail
Journalist, who spent over 300 days behind bars, faces trial in June
Location: Turkiye, Diyarbakır
Date: September 6, 2023
Updated: February 29, 2024
Dicle Müftüoğlu, editor at the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency, was released after being held in pretrial detention for 10 months on charges of membership and leadership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group classified as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government. Women Press Freedom denounces the continued attempts by the Turkish authorities to silence Kurdish voices through imprisonment and legal harassment. Over the last four years, we have documented numerous cases of unjust imprisonments, arrests, and harassment of Kurdish women journalists in Turkiye. While we welcome Müftüoğlu’s release, we call for her immediate acquittal. Turkish authorities must cease using anti-terrorism legislation as a tool to criminalize journalists for their work.
"The prosecution of a journalist for her news is a threat against journalists," words spoken by jailed journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu to a Diyarbakır court via video link from Sincan prison in January 2024.
“The prosecution of a journalist for her news is a threat against journalists”
The renowned Kurdish journalist, first arrested in May 2023, was detained on bogus terrorism charges for 303 days. In the third hearing of her case on February 29, 2024, Müftüoğlu was finally released from jail. A travel ban was imposed upon the journalist and she will face trial on June 13, 2024.
Protest while Behind Bars
Following her continued and unjust detention on January 29, 2024, Müftüoğlu began a hunger strike in Sincan Prison. The journalist said the strike was a protest against the isolation imposed on those who strive for truth and justice. Müftüoğlu drew attention to the broader context of repression against journalists in the country. "We live in a reality in Turkey where everyone who thinks, speaks, and writes the truth is imprisoned. What is being confined and isolated is, in fact, the truth itself." She asserted that breaking this isolation is crucial for dispelling the darkness surrounding freedom of expression and democratic values
"As a journalist whose professional activities have been wrongfully criminalized, and having personally experienced the consequences of lawlessness, I raise my voice against the prevailing silence," Müftüoğlu stated. She called upon everyone, both within Turkiye and internationally, to unite in raising their voices against the suppression of truth, urging collective action to ensure that the truth does not remain concealed in the shadows.
“As a journalist whose professional activities have been wrongfully criminalized, and having personally experienced the consequences of lawlessness, I raise my voice against the prevailing silence”
Charges Facing Dicle Müftüoğlu
The indictment against two Kurdish editors, Dicle Müftüoğlu and Sedat Yılmaz, spanning over 40 pages, was presented to the court on September 6, 2023, by the chief public prosecutor's office in Ankara. The journalists were first arrested on May 3, 2023, World Press Freedom Day. If found guilty under Turkey's anti-terrorism laws, they face up to 15 years in prison.
"We are on trial for writing the truth. There is great pressure, especially on Kurdish journalists. I am one of them," says Müftüoğlu.
The prosecutor's indictment primarily focuses on the structure of the PKK, with the journalists' names mentioned only in the final pages. Concerns arise regarding the transparency and credibility of the evidence presented, as three of the four state witnesses cited are anonymous. Resul Temur, the lawyer for Müftüoğlu and Yılmaz, argues that the evidence against his clients is "not solid" and includes "unfounded claims" that their media outlets were deemed "terrorism tools." The journalists are being tried separately.
“We are on trial for writing the truth”
During the first hearing of her trial on December 12, 2023, Müftüoğlu thanked colleagues for their support and asserted that the case was an attempt to try journalism, press, and freedom of expression. She highlighted the persistent pressures faced by Kurdish journalists and argued that the indictment aimed to harm her professional reputation. She remains incarcerated in the Sincan women’s prison in Ankara.
Müftüoğlu, the co-chair of the local media advocacy group Dicle Fırat Journalists Association, is a dedicated journalist who has advocated for jailed journalists in Turkiye, particularly those of Kurdish descent. She has faced repeated legal harassment and detentions for her work. In 2023, Free Press Unlimited honored her with the Most Resilient Journalist Award for her commitment to truth despite facing persistent state persecution.
Media outlets and journalists catering to the Kurdish population in Turkiye, historically burdened by restrictions and discrimination, continue to endure persecution and limitations. Data collected by the Coalition For Women In Journalism over the past four years indicates that a substantial majority (60 to 80%) of targeted women journalists in Turkiye are of Kurdish descent. These journalists often face baseless allegations linking them to the PKK simply for reporting on their community or using the Kurdish language. In April 2023, 17 Kurdish journalists and a media worker were charged with membership of the PKK before being released on bail, pending trial.
“Violations are high. They get arrested all the time, they get detained all the time, sometimes their equipment gets seized. There are lawsuits. Any journalist who reports on corruption knows that they’re going to face a lawsuit,” Kiran Nazish, the founding director of CFWIJ, says about the plight of Kurdish journalists.
“They get arrested all the time, they get detained all the time, sometimes their equipment gets seized. There are lawsuits”
Journalists from Kurdish backgrounds in Iraq and Iran are also facing ongoing challenges, as documented by Women Press Freedom. These journalists frequently encounter arrests, detentions, confiscation of their equipment, and legal actions. One of them is 23-year-old Kurdish journalist Nazila Maroofian, who has endured incessant harassment since her coverage of the death of Mahsa Amini. Authorities have arrested and detained the journalist for months on end four times in under ten months. The journalist has fled the country and currently lives in exile in France.
Women Press Freedom stands in solidarity with all journalists in Turkiye facing unjust imprisonment for their reporting. We are deeply concerned and alarmed by the targeting of renowned Kurdish journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu with terrorism charges, which are a clear misuse of anti-terrorism laws to suppress freedom of the press. The Turkish authorities' continued use of such charges against journalists, particularly Kurdish women journalists, is a worrying trend. We urgently call on the international community to join us in denouncing these egregious violations of press freedom and to demand that Turkish authorities immediately acquit Dicle Müftüoğlu and Sedat Yılmaz.
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