Journalist Gulistan Dursun was summoned to provide a statement about taking part in a press gathering held to protest the killing of journalists Gulistan Tara and Hero Bahadin. Tara and Bahadin were targeted and killed by a drone operated by the Turkish state in the city of Sulaymaniyah in South Kurdistan on 23 August 2024.

At the Security Branch of the Istanbul Police Department, Dursun gave a statement after being accused of “terrorist propaganda.” She is being charged with participating in a press statement organized by journalists at Sishane Square on 26 August 2024.

Dursun is also being accused of holding a placard during the protest that read: “We are the unyielding pen of Gurbetelli Ersöz.”

In her statement, Gulistan Dursun said: “Gurbetelli Ersöz was the first female editor-in-chief in Turkey. Two journalists were killed, and press unions called for a public statement in response. I was there both as a journalist and to protest what had happened. I had no intention of engaging in propaganda. I took part in the press statement as a woman journalist. This is not a crime.”