Journalist Eylem Babayiğit was detained late Tuesday night at her residence on accusations of “membership in a terrorist organization,” the Bianet news website reported on Wednesday.
Babayiğit, accused of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was subsequently taken to the Istanbul Police Department for questioning.
Following her detention, Babayiğit relayed a message through her legal team. “The truth is our resistance, not what they impose on us. We will continue to resist,” she said.
The charges are linked to her reporting on the “isolation” of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on İmralı Island since 1999, with little to no access to family or legal representatives. Turkish authorities have cited this coverage as evidence of alleged criminal activity.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, has been waging a bloody war in Turkey’s southeast since 1984. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.
The Coalition for Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemned Babayiğit’s detention and the arrest of her colleagues in a statement on X.
“Turkish authorities must stop using anti-terror laws to silence the press. Journalism is not terrorism. We demand their immediate and unconditional release,” the organization said.
Babayiğit’s detention is part of a broader investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which earlier this week resulted in the arrest of six other Kurdish journalists. Similarly, the journalists were accused of “membership in the PKK on the basis of their journalistic activities.”
The arrest of the journalists is part of a troubling trend in Turkey, where the government has increasingly been suppressing the press, particularly those voicing opposition or reporting on sensitive issues, such as Kurdish rights.
The international community, including human rights organizations, has repeatedly condemned these actions, which they see as attempts to stifle freedom of expression and suppress dissenting voices.
Kurdish journalists in Turkey frequently face legal harassment, stand trial and are sentenced to prison for covering issues related to Kurds and the PKK.
Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, particularly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan survived a failed coup in July 2016.
Turkey is one of the world’s biggest jailers of professional journalists and was ranked 158th among 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2024 World Press Freedom Index.