Category Archives: Journalism

Sardasht Osman: Death Did Not Silence Him

By Arian Mufid: We are republishing this article, first published in 2012, to mark the recent 10th anniversary of the murder of Sardasht Osman. It remains relevant today. 10 years on, there is still no justice for Sardasht Osman’s family. His killers remain protected by the KRG and unpunished. At the beginning of May 2010…

Turkey: Release Imprisoned Journalists and Human Rights Defenders at Risk of Coronavirus

By the European Federation of Journalists: Amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the Turkish government is accelerating the preparation of a draft law that will reportedly release up to 100,000 prisoners. This is a welcome step. Overcrowding and unsanitary facilities already pose a serious health threat to Turkey’s prison population of…

A Kurdish Journalist Is Brutally Murdered

By Suzan Jamal: I want to inform the entire world about the current situation in my homeland of Kurdistan, although it is difficult to do so. I do not like to speak negatively of Kurdistan, yet there is much injustice taking place there. In my homeland people live under hard circumstances; no salaries paid for…

Journalism is Not a Crime!

Campaign Statement: Introduction After Erol Önderoğlu, Şebnem Korur Fincancı and Ahmet Nesin’s arrests, a group of journalists (mostly former the News Watch group) gathered and launched a new initiative named “I am a journalist” to cry out “Journalism is not a crime!” again. As you know, there are still 44 journalists and distributers in jail…

Turkey’s Detention of Journalists Who Showed Solidarity With Kurdish Newspaper Widely Condemned

KT Report: There has been widespread condemnation of the Turkish authorities following the arrests yesterday of two journalists and a human rights activist who had supported a campaign of solidarity with the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem. An Istanbul court ordered the pre-trial detention of Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu, Human Rights…

Jacky Sutton, British Journalist: Suspicious Death in Istanbul Airport

By Amy L. Beam, Ed.D.: British journalist Jacky Sutton, 50, travelled from London Heathrow to Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on Saturday night, October 17, but failed to make it onto her next plane to Erbil in Kurdistan, Iraq. According to local media, she was told by airport personnel that she would have to buy a new…

Dutch Journalist Should Never Have Been Put on Trial

By Reporters Without Borders: Reporters Without Borders travelled to the southeastern city of Diyarbakır for the start of Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink’s trial (yesterday – KT) on a charge of propaganda in support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). She is among the first foreign journalists to be tried in Turkey since 1995. Geerdink…

Turkey Bans American Writer

Press Release, March 9 2015, Ankara: According to Reporters Without Borders, Turkey has dropped to number 154 out of 180 countries in its 2014 Press Freedom Index. Foreign journalists in Turkey have been silenced through fear of losing their residence permit or actual deportation and banning.   These bans often come without explanation. Dr. Amy L….

Türkiye, Amerikalı Yazar Ülkeye Girişini Yasakladı

Basın Bildirisi, 9 Mart 2015, Ankara: Sınır Tanımayan Gazeteciler örgütüne göre Türkiye, 2014 Basın Özgürlüğü Endeksi’nde 180 ülke arasında 154. sıraya düştü. Türkiye’de bulunan yabancı gazeteciler, oturma izinlerinin iptaliyle, fiili sınır dışı edilmeyle ve girişlerinin yasaklanmasıyla korkutulup susturulmakta. Bu yasaklar çoğunlukla hiçbir açıklama yapılmadan konulmakta. Ülkeye girişi yasaklanan son gazeteci, Mount Ararat Trek turizm şirketinin…

Amerikalı Yazar Türkiye’ye Girişi Yasaklandı

Dr. Amy L. Beam: Amerika’da bir söz vardır: “Vereceğin ceza, suça uygun olsun”. Türkiye’de çok uzun süredir bu özdeyişin tam tersi geçerli: Önce ceza geliyor, ardından suçlama. Son yıllarda Türkiye’de gerçekleri söylemek en büyük suçlardan biri haline geldi. Ama cezalandırma her zaman gizli bir şekilde gerçekleştiriliyor: Ya “oturma izninizin süresi doldu” gibi sıradan bir nedene…

American Writer Banned from Turkey

By Dr. Amy L. Beam: In America they have a saying: “Let the punishment fit the crime.” In Turkey, for too many years, this adage has been reversed: first comes the punishment, then comes the accusation. Truth-telling has become the leading crime in Turkey, but it is always disguised, either as something mundane like “overstaying…

Regulating the Media in Kurdistan: Mission Impossible or Ignorable?

By Harem Karem & Kamal Chomani: In 1898 Miqdad Medhet Bedirxan launched the first Kurdish media outlet, a newspaper called Kurdistan. More than a century later the Kurdistan Region’s (KR) media is in chaos, lacking a clear structure, identity or mission while also being too parochial, politicised and subject to manipulation by political parties and businessmen. The…

KCK Statement on the Paris Massacre

By the KCK Co-Presidency: To the Press and the Public Opinion We vehemently condemn the assault and massacre conducted by the fascist thugs against the weekly satirical magazine and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the victims, the French press, and the French people. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook…

Kurd Journalist Kaboudvand, Jailed in Iran, Wins International Human Rights Prize

By Ava Homa (who received the award on his behalf): The International Center for Human Rights (ICHR) has awarded the 2014 Human Rights Prize to Muhammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, a Kurdish Journalist serving a ten-and-a-half year sentence in Evin Prison. Kaboudvand, an adopted member of PEN International was also named the international journalist of the year…

Keep KT Alive! Back Independent Global Kurd Media

Mufid Abdulla

By Arian Mufid, Chief Editor: This is a defining moment for the Kurdistan Tribune (KT). After more than 3.5 years as an independent platform for Kurdish news and opinion, KT’s existence is at stake. But with your support, KT can survive and also grow into a media resource belonging to the global Kurdish community. The…