Kurdish journalist Ruşen Takva has received numerous threats on social media since he published an interview with a 16-year-old who claims to have defaced Kurdish-language traffic signs in the southeastern province of Van and to have received help from the police, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.
After the publication of the news, Takva said he received threatening messages: “Following our report today, which I consider an important journalistic success, I have been systematically threatened through every channel that can reach me.
“However, it should not be forgotten that, even if millions stand against me today, I will continue to write the truth under any circumstances.”
In recent days, unidentified people have defaced Kurdish-language traffic signs in Turkey’s eastern provinces, in what appears to be a racially motivated attack on the minority language.
In Van on Friday, unknown individuals painted over Kurdish pedestrian crossing warnings, which originally read “Pêşî Peya (Pedestrians First),” replacing them with the nationalist slogan “Turkey is for Turks and will remain Turkish.”
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old boy admitted to Takva that he was responsible for the defacement in his city.
Speaking anonymously to the Kısa Dalga news website, he said he acted because he disagreed with the idea of having street signs in Kurdish.
The boy claimed he had consulted with both a lawyer and a contact in the counterterrorism police before carrying out the vandalism and that they assured him he would face minimal repercussions.
In addition to abusive prosecutions and imprisonment, journalists in Turkey frequently face threats and physical assaults.
In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Turkey is ranked 158th among 180 countries.
