MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed - On September 22, 2022, journalist Nurcan Yalçın was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on charges of “aiding an organization knowingly and willingly” on the grounds of interviews made by journalist Nurcan Yalçın with women before the 24-hour curfews declared in Diyarbakır's Sur district between 2015 and 2016. Nucan Yalçın told us that the prosecutor finalized his arguments in the first hearing and sought her conviction on terror-related charges before she and her lawyer presented a defense. Noting that she has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison by the court without any concrete evidence, the journalist said that she had been sued only to be sentenced to prison.  

“Journalists have been targeted by a pressure campaign since the 90s”

Underlining that free press has been targeted by a pressure campaign since the 90s, the journalist stated that everyone knows the reason for this pressure campaign against journalists. “The journalists, who struggle against the policies of oppression and intimidation, uncover the state policies, expose and investigate the femicide cases. For this reason, journalists, particularly women journalists, face attacks.”

“I stood trial over the interviews I made seven years ago”

Until now, two cases have been opened against the journalist and she has been sentenced to prison twice over the same accusation without any concrete evidence. Speaking about the two years and six months prison sentence against her, Nurcan Yalçın said, “When you read the court documents, you can see how many absurd things were included in the documents. I had been sued only to be sentenced to prison. I stood trial twice and I have been sentenced to prison on charges of aiding an organization twice without any concrete evidence. The first case against me, I stood trial on charges of being a member of the Rosa Women’s Association. Although there was no concrete evidence in the investigation launched against the association, I was sentenced to prison over the statements of anonymous witnesses. I interviewed some women before the 24-hour curfews were declared in Diyarbakır's Sur district between 2015 and 2016. After seven years, I stood trial over my interviews with women. The prosecutor finalized his arguments in the first hearing and sought my conviction on terror-related charges before I and my lawyer presented a defense. I have been sentenced to prison for the sentences I used in the interviews.”

“We will not take a step back in our search for truth”

Noting that the ruling party is afraid of both women journalists and free press workers because they report on femicide cases and violations of rights, Nurcan Yalçın said that journalists are targeted because of this fear. “We, as journalists, will not take a step back in our search for truth despite everything. We will continue to walk the path of the legacy left to us by the free press workers. We will carry the flag of our killed colleagues. We will continue to walk on this path and report the truth to our people and the public. We are aware of how important our profession is and the oppression policies against women. We know that our profession is a sacred profession and that it is a profession that scares the state.”