Dicle Fırat Journalists Association established in Amed

Dicle Fırat Journalists Association was established in Amed.

Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) was established in Amed with a press conference. Turkey Journalists' Union (TGS) Amed representative Mahmut Oral joined journalists at the conference.

Dicle Müftüoğlu and Serdar Altan, co-chairs of the association, said that they established the association to defend the professional values ​​and the rights of journalists.

Müftüoğlu said that rights of journalists should be defended in every venue.

Müftüoğlu drew attention to the fact that repression and pressure on journalists have increased greatly. "The number of raids - he said - has increased and field work for journalists has become almost impossible. Journalists who take a microphone and a camera and go after the news are faced with many challenges. Every way and method is being tried to get journalists out of the field. No journalist who has crossed the line drawn by the government has the opportunity to work comfortably. Journalists who are not part of the ruling media are either prevented from following news or threatened with detention when they appear on the field."

Müftüoğlu also spoke about the number of journalists in prisons and said: "Turkey is one of the first countries when it comes to journalists in prison. More than 100 press workers are now deprived of their liberty. The reason for the arrest of journalists is exclusively their professional activities. We have colleagues sent to prison even for sharing their news on social media. As seen in the case of our colleague Aziz Oruç who was arrested last month, journalists are easily called 'terrorists'."

Müftüoğlu reiterated the call to "release Aziz Oruç and all detained journalists." Müftüoğlu shared the following data from the 2019 report on rights violations of journalists: "Journalists detained: 75; journalists who had their house raided:17; arrested journalists: 24; attacked journalists: 14; news tracking blocked: 44; journalists under investigation: 33; Journalists who had a file against them: 30; Journalists on trial: 477; sentenced journalists: 72; deported journalists: 2; number of detained journalists: 130."