Turkish authorities on Monday detained Zilan Gül, a press worker for the pro-Kurdish Yeni Yaşam daily, during a dawn raid on her home in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, Turkish media reported.
Gül was taken to the Diyarbakır Police Department’s counterterrorism branch following the operation. The authorities reportedly detained Gül along with six others based on anonymous tips claiming that they were preparing to organize a protest. The detentions came after the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office imposed a four-day ban on meetings, protest marches and demonstrations in the city.
Press freedom groups raised concerns over the detention. The DİSK Basın-İş press workers union, affiliated with the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK), condemned the detention, calling it “an attack on the public’s right to information.” The union urged the authorities to release Gül and called for an end to what it described as arbitrary and repressive practices targeting freedom of the press.
The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) also denounced the detention and called for her release.
Launched in 2018, the Yeni Yaşam daily is known for frequent access bans imposed on its website and social media accounts. The newspaper is also not allowed in prisons. Authorities have repeatedly issued confiscation orders against the newspaper, and its distributors have been detained on several occasions.
Gül was previously prosecuted for her involvement in the distribution of the Yeni Yaşam newspaper. The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court sentenced her to more than two years in prison on charges of “disseminating terrorist propaganda” on June 26, 2025, citing her alleged “sale and distribution of publications banned by the authorities.”
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 28 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.
