Jailed Kurdish journalists granted Press Freedom Award

Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) dedicated the Press Freedom Award to 16 Kurdish journalists arrested in Diyarbakir, as part of a show of support to all journalists behind bars who are unable to practice their profession.

A Turkish court last month jailed 16 Kurdish journalists on terrorism charges. They were forming the “Media Comittee” of the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and spreading propaganda, Hurriyet newspaper cited anonymous police sources. 

Rights groups from Turkey and across the world have condemned the arrests and called for an immediate release.

“People who fight for freedom of information are under pressure. 16 of our colleagues are now in prison. We are heading towards an impasse” said Dilek Gappi, President of Izmir Journalists Association, in an interview with artı TV. 

Reporters Without Borders's (RSF) describes Turkey as a country in which "all possible means are used to undermine critics” and ranks the country 149th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.