In Turkey, April 6 is observed as the Day of Murdered Journalists. The commemoration dates back to the murder of Hasan Fehmi Bey, who was killed in Istanbul on April 6, 1909. He had repeatedly criticized the Young Turk Committee of Union and Progress and was shot in broad daylight—the perpetrator was never identified. Today, the date symbolizes a long history of violence against media workers targeted because of their work.
On the occasion of the memorial day, numerous organizations paid tribute to the victims and highlighted the ongoing threats to press freedom. The press commission of the DEM Party stated that the struggle for free media will continue despite repression: “On April 6, we reaffirm once again: we will continue the struggle for a democratic country in which all forms of pressure on journalists are ended and press freedom is guaranteed.”
They lost their lives in the search of truth
At the same time, the party commemorated numerous slain journalists—from Hasan Fehmi to Musa Anter, Hrant Dink, and Metin Göktepe, as well as Gurbetelli Ersöz, Nazım Daştan, and Cihan Bilgin: “They lost their lives in the search for truth. Despite all the repression, they did not take a single step back. They used their pens and cameras in the service of the freedom of peoples and the equality of the oppressed. We will not forget you and will continue your struggle.”
Media organizations also emphasized the historical and political significance of the day. The Mesopotamian Women Journalists Association (MKG) and the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) stressed that April 6 is not only a day of remembrance but also an expression of an ongoing conflict over truth and the public sphere. “Journalists were killed because they made the truth visible, raised the voice of society, and exposed darkness,” their joint statement said. Attacks on media workers, they noted, have always also been attacks on society’s right to information.
Violence against journalists in Turkey is not a closed chapter
The organizations also pointed to the role of impunity and systematic pressure: “With every murdered journalist, the aim was to silence the truth. But repression, threats, massacres, and the policy of impunity have not been able to break the tradition of a free press. The history of April 6 shows that violence against journalists in Turkey is not a closed chapter. Rather, the day represents a continuity of attacks—and an equally persistent counter-movement.”
“Those who follow the truth have always paid a price in this country,” the statement continued. “But they have never abandoned the truth.” For MKG and DFG, the memorial day therefore represents not only remembrance but also a political commitment “to continue the work of the murdered journalists and to further defend the space for free reporting.”
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