Turkish journalist Nevşin Mengü has faced judicial harassment and a coordinated online smear campaign after publishing an interview with Salih Müslim, an official of a Syrian Kurdish group that Turkey has designated as a terrorist organization, International Press Institute (IPI) reported on Tuesday.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation into Mengü’s interview immediately after its publication on YouTube. The prosecutor’s office said the interview contained statements that “praised a terrorist organization.”
Müslim is the co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which, along with its military wing, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey due to their ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has been waging an armed insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s and has been officially designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Turkey has issued an Interpol red notice for Müslim’s arrest.
Mengü was detained early Friday as part of the investigation and brought before a magistrate court, which ordered her release under judicial control and imposed a travel ban.
Mengü’s lawyer, Hüseyin Ersöz, defended her work as professional journalism, saying the interview addressed critical developments in Syria. “Ms. Mengü conducted this interview with journalistic intent, in line with her responsibility to inform the public,” Ersöz said. “The video was removed 20 minutes after publication following legal advice.”
Mengü echoed this stance in her testimony. “In my 20-year career, I have never acted under directives. My only goal is to inform the public about significant issues,” she said.
Mengü removed the interview from the platform shortly after posting it, explaining in a social media statement that she acted on legal advice to avoid potential charges under the Turkish Penal Code.
“I wanted to include Salih Muslim’s assessment, but after warnings from legal experts that this could be interpreted as praising criminal activity, I decided to remove the video,” she said on the social media platform X.
Following Mengü’s release, a social media campaign calling for her imprisonment surfaced under the hashtag #NevşinMengüTutuklansın (Arrest Nevşin Mengü). IPI said preliminary findings suggested that many of the accounts amplifying the campaign were fake or automated, pointing to a coordinated effort to discredit her.
Mengü’s detention and the travel restrictions imposed on her have drawn renewed attention to press freedom concerns in Turkey, where journalists often face legal harassment and online smear campaigns.
IPI and the #FreeTurkeyJournalists platform expressed solidarity with Mengü, describing the investigation as an attempt to intimidate journalists and restrict press freedom in Turkey.
The Coalition for Women in Journalism also condemned Mengü’s detention and called for all charges and restrictions to be dropped. “Interviewing political figures is not a crime. We demand all charges and restrictions be dropped, and Mengü be allowed to work freely. The Turkish authorities’ persecution of press covering Kurdish issues must cease,” the group said.
