Turkey needs to stop cracking down on journalists – NGO
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US non-governmental organization (NGO), recently urged Turkey to release all detained members of the press and stop prosecuting journalists who cover Kurdish issues.
The CPJ reported that the 4th Court of Serious Crimes in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır has accepted an indictment of 17 Kurdish journalists who have been in pre-trial detention since June 2022.
They face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty under Turkey’s anti-terrorism laws, the CPJ said.
“Turkish authorities must immediately release the journalists … and stop charging members of the press reporting on Turkey’s Kurdish issue under the country’s terrorism laws,” the CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna stressed.
The director said that Turkey’s latest crackdown against journalists reveals the Turkish “authorities’ fear of any semblance of independent reporting.”
The first hearing will be held on July 11, according to the NGO.
Turkish authorities always crack down on and harass Journalists for covering issues related to Kurds and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as most of the times, journalists are arrested on charges of terrorism-related issues.
In February 2023, Turkish authorities attempted to suppress journalists’ reporting related to the devastating earthquakes that hit the country, as well as for criticizing the Turkish government