News Center_The Women's Media Union (YRJ) has issued a statement commemorating journalists Kilistan Tara and Hero Bahadin, who were targeted by a Turkish drone on August 23, 2024, while they were traveling, and were martyred as a result.

The statement, published today, Saturday, August 22, read: "We remember with pride and sorrow the pioneers of free media, the martyrs Kilistan Tara and Hero Bahadin, who were martyred when a Turkish state drone targeted the vehicle they were traveling in, in the Sayyid Sadiq sub-district of Sulaymaniyah city in the Kurdistan Region. We remember them today as bearers of a message who chose to be at the heart of events, to convey what was happening to the world, and to give a voice to those long deprived of a platform to express their issues and discuss their future."

The statement affirmed that "Kilistan Tara and Hero Bahadin were journalists who understood that the women's issue is not merely a media topic but an issue linked to social and political transformation, and to women's right to be decision-makers and to write their own narrative with determination. From this belief, they carried the camera and pen and conveyed women's reality and struggles, contributing to amplifying their voice to wider spaces, believing that the change women bring about deserves to be seen, heard, and documented."

The Union also commemorated "colleague Najmuddin Sinan, who was martyred on August 23, 2023, as a result of targeting, and colleague Dalila Akid, who was seriously injured when their vehicle was targeted on the Qamishli-Amuda road in Rojava while working for JIN TV."

The statement noted that the timing of the targeting of the JIN TV crew alongside the martyrdom of journalists Kilistan Tara and Hero Bahadin is no coincidence, but clearly reflects the scale of systematic targeting of journalists who perform their duty in conveying the truth, and confirms that free media has been and remains a target for forces seeking to silence free voices and obscure the truth. "We at the Women's Media Union renew our pledge that the path of our martyrs remains present in our work, and that we will continue to carry the camera, pen, and voice from where they left off, completing a message they believed in and for which they gave their lives."

The statement explained that "Kilistan Tara, Hero Bahadin, and Najmuddin Sinan will remain part of our media memory, and their sacrifices will remain a reminder that the path you chose was one worth continuing, no matter the challenges. We will continue to convey the truth, amplify women's voices, document their journey and struggles, and carry forward the free media mission they believed in, with even greater determination and responsibility, in loyalty to our martyrs."