Dicle Müftüoğlu, a Kurdish journalist who was arrested in May on terrorism-related charges, has gone on a hunger strike to draw attention to the criminalization of journalistic activities in Turkey, the Bianet news website reported on Monday.
Co-chairperson of the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association and an editor at the Mezopotamya news agency, Müftüoğlu was one of five journalists who were sent to jail on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. Along with the other journalists, she faces charges of terrorist organization membership and running a terrorist organization due to her journalistic activities.
The court ruled to keep Müftüoğlu incarcerated at Ankara Sincan Women’s Prison during the second hearing of her trial, which was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court on January 18. Her trial was adjourned until February 29.
Müftüoğlu on Monday announced through her lawyers that she has started a hunger strike and that her protest will continue until February 5.
“We are living in a reality where everyone who thinks, speaks and writes the truth is imprisoned in Turkey. … As a journalist who has been imprisoned by the criminalization of professional activities, experiencing firsthand the consequences of injustice, I am raising my voice against the silence created,” Müftüoğlu said in her message, calling on everyone to “raise their voices so that the truth does not remain in the dark.”
It is common for Kurdish journalists in Turkey to face terrorism charges due to their alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community, the PKK has been waging a decades-long war against the state for greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority.
Turkey, which has a poor record in freedom of the press, ranked 165th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2023 World Press Freedom Index, plunging 16 places from its ranking of 149th in 2022.
