The Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association (MKG) said in its August 2025 Rights Violations Report that five women journalists are still behind bars in Turkey. The report underlined that women journalists are subjected to “double discrimination,” not only because of their professional activities but also due to their gender.
Key findings from the report included the following:
– One woman journalist faced ill-treatment, another received threats, and one was obstructed while following a news story.
– The imposition of an electronic bracelet on journalist Rahime Karvar was described as “the normalization of punitive measures that restrict freedom of expression.”
– The length of detention and biased trials were said to undermine trust in justice.
– The dismissal of 13 press workers from Nefes newspaper demonstrated how economic pressures have become a tool of censorship.
– The Press Advertisement Institution’s decision to indefinitely suspend the advertising rights of eight newspapers in Mersin was cited as a clear sign of economic pressure on the local press.
– As part of digital censorship, the accounts of media outlets including Yeni Yaşam, Xwebûn, Welat News Agency (Ajansa Welat), Kaos GL, and ETHA were closed.
The MKG also drew attention to the targeting of journalists in Palestine. The report recalled that six journalists, including Maryam Abu Deqqa, were killed in Israeli attacks, stressing that this was not only an assault on individuals’ right to life but also on society’s right to access information.
MKG listed its demands as follows:
– The release of imprisoned journalists
– Fair, impartial, and transparent judicial processes
– The lifting of digital censorship
– An end to pressures against women journalists
– The strengthening of international mechanisms to protect journalists’ right to life in conflict zones
MKG concluded: “A free and democratic media order is only possible in an environment where journalists can work under safe and equal conditions.”