Women Press Freedom have demanded the immediate release of Rojda Yıldız, the editor of Jineology Magazine, who was detained during a police raid on Kurdish organisations and cultural centres in Diyarbakır (Amed). Yıldız was among 28 people arrested during the operation and taken to the Diyarbakır Counter-Terrorism Department, where a confidentiality order was imposed, raising concerns about transparency and the legality of the detentions.
In a series of posts shared on X on Friday, Women Press Freedom denounced the detention of Rojda Yıldız, explaining that her arrest, along with 27 others, follows a police raid on Kurdish organisations in Diyarbakır. “#Turkiye: Police raid Kurdish organizations and cultural centers in Amed, detaining 28 people, including #RojdaYıldız… a confidentiality order was imposed, raising serious concerns about transparency,” the organisation stated, highlighting how counter-terrorism laws are routinely used against Kurdish journalists and activists. Women Press Freedom called for immediate action from Western governments, particularly the European Union and the United States, to address the ongoing oppression faced by the Kurdish press from Turkish authorities, insisting that “Turkey must not be allowed to break international law with impunity.”
The raid comes amid a broader crackdown on Kurdish media and cultural activities in Turkey, a situation that has intensified in recent months. Women Press Freedom, an advocacy organisation for women and LGBTQI journalists, condemned Yıldız’s detention, calling for her immediate release and the lifting of the secrecy surrounding the case. The organisation warned that using counter-terrorism laws to target Kurdish journalists and activists is a widespread tactic in Turkey, particularly against those who work in independent or opposition media.
The timing of the raid is significant, occurring just days before the second anniversary of the murder of Kurdish journalist and women’s rights activist Nagihan Akarsel, who was killed on 4 October 2022 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. Although Akarsel’s murderer, a Turkish citizen, was convicted, Turkish officials allegedly involved in orchestrating the crime have not been held accountable. Women Press Freedom highlighted that the continued targeting of Kurdish journalists, both within and outside of Turkey’s borders, is part of a broader strategy to suppress Kurdish voices.
In addition to Yıldız’s detention, the organisation referenced the recent killings of Kurdish journalists Gulîstan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn by a Turkish drone in August. These incidents, alongside Yıldız’s arrest, point to an alarming trend of violence and repression against Kurdish journalists, raising serious concerns over the state of press freedom in Turkey.
