The Freedom Initiative organised a press statement in front of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in Wabern, Bern, in solidarity with Kurdish journalist Ahmed Azad Çağan who was taken into custody last week to be deported to Turkey.

The demonstration demanded freedom for the Kurdish journalist and criticized Switzerland’s employment of Turkey’s measures against journalists.

The press statement noted that Çağan, who had to take refuge in Switzerland to avoid persecution in Turkey, was detained in Basel on 6 November and faces the risk of deportation.

Defining Çağan’s detention and his imminent deportation as unacceptable, the statement said: “We are Kurdish citizens who were forced to leave our country because of the atrocities of the state. As a society with a consciousness of democracy and freedom, we do not accept such a measure and we demand the immediate release of journalist Çağan.”

A representative of the Freedom for Rojava Initiative spoke on behalf of the institutions in solidarity with the Kurdish people, highlighting the importance of freedom of press and calling for the immediate release of journalist Çağan.

The Freedom Initiative, which demanded a meeting with the SEM officials, was left unanswered and vowed to raise their voice against this unlawfulness.

Speaking in the name of the Initiative, Mazlum Kızıldağ reiterated their demand for Çağan’s freedom and called for an immediate end to his unlawful treatment.