Dicle Müftüoğlu, editor at the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency, has been held in pretrial detention for over 7 months on charges of membership and leadership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group classified as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government. The Coalition For Women In Journalism and 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. We call for the immediate release of Müftüoğlu and urge Turkish authorities to cease using anti-terrorism legislation as a tool to criminalize journalists for their work.
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, and remain in detention. If found guilty under Turkey's anti-terrorism laws, they face up to 15 years in prison.
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 will be tried separately.
On December 7, 2023, the 5th High Criminal Court in Diyarbakır extended Müftüoğlu's detention, postponing her trial until January 18, 2024. During the hearing, 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.
Journalists from Kurdish backgrounds in Iraq and Iran are also facing ongoing challenges, as documented by CFWIJ. 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.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism and 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 recent developments involving 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 release Dicle Müftüoğlu and Sedat Yılmaz.
