The second hearing of the trial for three police officers who viciously and deliberately attacked reporter Beyza Kural Yılancı on charges of "violating freedom of work and profession" was held today in İstanbul. None of the police officers attended the hearing. The court ruled that the accused police officer, who was abroad, should be suspended from the trial and the other officer be heard by Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS) in the next hearing. The next hearing was adjourned until December 10, 2021. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) demands the Turkish judiciary to impose the necessary criminal sanctions against the police officers for violating the journalist's right to report.

CFWIJ ve aşağıda imzası bulunanlar, demokratik ve basın özgürlüğünü sayan, koruyan ülke olduğu varsayılan Türkiye’de, gazetecileri doğrudan hedef alan ve sistematik hale gelen polis şiddetine son verilmesini talep ediyoruz. Gazeteciler mesleklerini icra ederken kendilerini hiçbir tehdit altında hissetmemelidir. Basın emekçilerine uygulanan polis şiddeti kabul edilemez.

The CFWIJ recognizes police violence in Turkey as one of the most urgent issues. Our monitoring and research in the last two years has shown a consistent rise in physical police violence against journalists covering various issues in the country, and particularly a rise in violence against women journalists.