Turkish authorities launched an investigation against journalist Ceylan Şahinli for allegedly violating the law on public assembly following a memorial speech for two journalists killed in a Turkish drone attack.
The public prosecutor's office in Urfa has opened an investigation against journalist Ceylan Şahinli with the Mezopotamya news agency (MA) for alleged violation of the law on assembly and demonstrations. Şahinli is expected to give a statement to the police in the coming days.
Şahinli was targeted over a speech she gave last year on the border between Suruç and Kobanê, where she remembered her colleagues Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who had been killed just a few days earlier in a targeted drone attack by the Turkish army near the Tishrin Dam in northern Syria. The two journalists were documenting attacks by Turkish occupying forces and allied jihadists on the Euphrates front.
Another investigation was launched against the then co-chair of the provincial association of the DBP (Democratic Regions Party) in Amed (Diyarbakır), Mehmet Şirin Gürbüz, and Bekir Benek, a provincial administrator of the DEM Party in Urfa, also for alleged violations of the assembly law.
The Mezopotamya agency strongly condemned the investigation, calling it another example of the systematic criminalization of critical voices in Turkey, especially when it comes to Kurdish issues or reporting on human rights violations.
Journalists who deal with such content are repeatedly exposed to criminal prosecution. At least 34 media professionals in Turkey are currently in prison for their work (as of June 30).
