The Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association (MKG) and the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) released a statement on April 6, the “Day of Killed Journalists,” saying: “It is our duty to expand the struggle for truth of the murdered journalists, to honor their memory, and to continue the line of a free press.”
MKG and DFG issued a joint statement marking April 6 “Day of Killed Journalists.”
Their collective statement reads as follows:
April 6 is a day of commemoration for journalists in Turkey who were killed because of their journalistic activities. The date was chosen because journalist and writer Hasan Fehmi Bey was assassinated on April 6, 1909, on the Galata Bridge, making him one of the first losses of this job.
The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) designated April 6 as the “Day of Martyred Journalists” in 1997; in 2005, the name was changed to the “Day of Killed Journalists.” April 6 commemorates journalists who were killed for pursuing the truth. Targeted for exposing facts, being the voice of the people, and revealing darkness, these journalists continue to live on in the memory of the struggle for a free press.
Once again, through the memory of killed journalists, we emphasize: with every journalist whose pen was meant to be broken, the truth itself was intended to be silenced. However, pressures, threats, massacres, and policies of impunity have not been able to stop the tradition of a free press. In these lands, those who pursue the truth have always paid a price—but they have never abandoned the truth. Today, we commemorate all murdered journalists with respect and gratitude. The legacy they left behind, their resistance, and their struggle for truth continue to illuminate our path.
The pens of murdered journalists have not fallen silent, and will not. It is our responsibility to grow their struggle for truth, to uphold their memory, and to continue the line of a free press.
Mezopotamya Women Journalists Association – the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association
The DFG had also published a monthly report on April 2, regarding violations of rights against journalists in March. The report included the following data:
- 5 journalists were detained
- 2 journalists were arrested
- 1 journalist was subjected to ill-treatment
- 2 journalists were threatened
- 1 journalist was targeted
- Investigations were launched against 3 journalists
- Lawsuits were filed against 5 journalists
- 3 journalists were sentenced
- Cases of 24 journalists are ongoing
- 5 news coverages were blocked
- Access bans were imposed 6 times
- 53 social media accounts and 75 pieces of content were blocked in digital media
- Number of imprisoned journalists: 31
