Coalition for Women in Journalism concerned for Nurcan Yalçin

Counter terrorism officials raided journalist Nurcan Yalçın’s house early on Friday morning and arrested her without cause.

Journalist  Yalçın is being held in the TEM Branch of the Provincial Security Directorate.
Her lawyer, who went to the TEM Branch on Saturday, said that this time a confidential decision was applied to the file.
A 24-hour lawyer restriction decision was made on Friday.

The reason behind the journalist’s arrest has not yet been explained. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) said in a statement it is “alarmed at the unannounced and unexplained arrest. Such pressure tactics by law enforcement agencies are deplorable. We call for her immediate release. We call on the authorities to immediately release Nurcan Yalçın and disclose the basis of their actions. The charges against the journalist, if any, must be disclosed.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism said it is “extremely concerned over the actions of the counter terrorism officials and calls for Nurcan Yalçın’s immediate release. The journalist was arrested from her home with no reason given. Her right to privacy, her freedom and her rights as a citizen and a journalist were all evidently disregarded by the authorities. We condemn the persistent legal harassment of the journalist and demand that the grounds for her arrest must be disclosed immediately. The rapidly declining space for independent press in Turkey is a matter of grave concern and treacherous for any democracy. In 2021, the CFWIJ documented at least 238 cases of violations against women journalists in the country.”

Background

Counter terrorism officials raided the journalist’s home early on the morning of 4 February 2022.

On 22 November 2021, Nurcan was handed a suspended sentence of three years, seven months and 22 days in prison. The Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court convicted the journalist for affiliation with the “illegal” Rosa Women’s Association, a Diyarbakır-based civil society women’s organization, and on charges of spreading “terror propaganda”. She was sentenced to two years and one month in prison for “knowingly and willingly helping a terrorist organization without being a member” and for one year, six months and 22 days on the count of spreading terror propaganda. 

The court deemed a secret witness statement allegedly testifying that Nurcan was working in Rosa Women’s Association, her membership certificate and social media posts as criminal elements during the trial. When convicting Nurcan for the aforementioned charges, the court deferred the imprisonment sentence and imposed an international travel ban on the journalist. 

Separately, Nurcan faced legal action in 2021 for her coverage of August 2019 anti-trustee protests in Mardin. The freelance reporter was charged on counts of participation in a banned gathering and defiance of police orders to disband, along with fellow journalists, Rojda Aydın and Halime Parlak, for following the protests. The trial is ongoing.