Press freedom and freedom of expression organizations are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists Pınar Gayıp, Nadiye Gürbüz and Elif Bayburt, who work for the Etkin News Agency (ETHA), condemning their arrests in the strongest terms.
On February 3, police raided ETHA’s office in Aksaray, a province in central Turkey, and seized the journalists’ professional materials and digital equipment. During the investigation, questions directed at the journalists reportedly focused directly on their news content, social media posts, press statements they attended and interviews they conducted, indicating that routine journalistic activity was treated as criminal evidence.
Prosecutors cited the journalists’ social media posts, news stories and coverage of public events as grounds for the accusations. Phone traffic records and financial intelligence reports, including money transfers, as well as their professional contacts, trade union affiliations and possession of international press cards were also included in the investigation file. Linking these elements to allegations of “membership in a terrorist organization,” amounts to criminalizing ordinary journalistic work.
It is deeply alarming for press freedom that even routine professional activities and union payments were used as grounds for accusations. Covering news, speaking with sources and monitoring public events are not criminal acts.
The arrests represent an example of the criminalization of journalism and the use of anti-terror legislation to restrict freedom of expression. Depriving journalists of their liberty because of their reporting, writing and critical views is unacceptable and undermines not only media workers but also the public’s right to access information.
The undersigned organizations view the arrests as part of a systematic effort to criminalize journalistic activity. We call on authorities to stop instrumentalizing counterterrorism laws to silence journalists and demand for the immediate release of ETHA journalists. A free press is essential for a democratic society.
Signatories:
Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA)
International Press Institute (IPI)
PEN Norway
Dicle Fırat Journalists Association
Press Workers’ Union of Turkey (DİSK Basın-İş)
Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS)
Press, Media, Communication and Postal Workers’ Union (Haber-Sen)
Turkish Union of Press, Publishing and Printing Workers
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
P24 Platform for Independent Journalism
Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD)