The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Tuesday called on Turkish authorities to ensure the security of three reporters who have received death threats in connection with their work.
The journalists, Rabia Önver, Şule Aydın and Murat Ağırel, were each targeted in separate incidents, CPJ said in a statement.
“The threats targeting journalists Rabia Önver, Şule Aydın, and Murat Ağırel are worrying, especially at a time when physical attacks on journalists are on the rise in Turkey,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities should take all measures necessary to provide security for the threatened journalists in order to help all journalists in Turkey feel safer.”
Önver, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish outlet JİN News based in the southeastern province of Hakkari, told CPJ she has received multiple death threats online following her coverage of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Hezbollah activity in the region. The threats came after she published reports on September 23 and October 13. Her lawyer is preparing to file criminal complaints against the people who made the threats, according to CPJ.
Aydın, a host for the pro-opposition YouTube channel Onlar TV, said on air last week that fellow Onlar TV host and BirGün daily columnist Timur Soykan had received an anonymous message warning of a planned motorcycle attack targeting her and Cumhuriyet daily columnist Murat Ağırel. The message was sent from a foreign number.
The journalists’ lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, said on social media that both Aydın and Ağırel had provided statements to the authorities and requested that a thorough investigation be carried out and that deterrent protective measures be taken.
At least three journalists have been attacked in Turkey over the past three weeks. CPJ said it is investigating whether the incidents were connected to the victims’ professional work.
CPJ said it had requested comment from prosecutors in Hakkari and Istanbul but received no response.
The attack comes amid broader concerns about press freedom in Turkey, where journalists have faced harassment, legal threats and occasional violence, particularly when reporting on sensitive local issues. Press advocates warn that a pattern of impunity for violence against journalists has become an indirect form of pressure, discouraging critical reporting.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
