The body of murdered Kurdish journalist Gulistan Tara was bid farewell to in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî), Iraqi Kurdistan on Thursday and then sent to her hometown of Batman (Êlîh) in Turkish Kurdistan.
After her body was taken from the hospital, it was brought to Parka Azadî (Park of Freedom), were hundreds of Gulistan Tara’s friends, colleagues and family members gathered to bid farewell to her body.
A spokesperson for the CHATR production company, the company that Tara worked for, held a speech at the commemoration event, emphasising that “You cannot silence free voices by terrorising journalists”.
Tara’s brother, Ehmed Tekîk, also joined the event, highlighting in his speech that “Gulistan might have been my sister, but most importantly she was a good friend of all of you”. He emphasised that many people are carrying on Tara’s heritage, saying, “even though Gulistan was murdered, all of her friends and colleagues have become Gulistan today”.
After the commemoration, the body was sent on its way to Gulistan’s hometown where it is expected to be welcomed with a big commemoration.
Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn were the two women journalists who were killed in a Turkish drone strike on 23 August while on their way to record a television programme for Kurdish channel Stêrk TV. Journalist Rêbîn Bekir was heavily injured in the attack and five other journalists sustained lighter injuries.
