News Center- 27 human rights and journalism groups, including International Press Institute (IPI), have released a joint statement demanding the release of journalist Sedef Kabaş, who was arrested on January 22 for “insulting the president.”

In the statement, the international groups demand the release of Sedef Kabaş and all arrested journalists and withdrawal of the fines imposed on TELE1 TV by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) because of Kabaş's remarks.

What happened?

Journalist Sedef Kabaş was arrested on January 22 for “insulting the President” after she cited a proverb on the Tele1 channel. “There is a very famous proverb that says that a crowned head becomes wiser. But we see it is not true. A bull does not become king just by entering the palace, but the palace becomes a barn,” she said on the Tele1 channel.

Signatories of the statement;

International Press Institute (IPI), Association of European Journalists (AEJ), Articolo 21, Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Danish PEN, English PEN, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Freedom House, German PEN, Index on Censorship, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), PEN America, PEN Centre of Bosnia-Herzegovina, PEN International, PEN Iraq, PEN Melbourne, PEN Norway, PEN Turkey, PEN Québec, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), San Miguel PEN, South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), Swedish PEN, World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).