ISTANBUL - Condemnning the pressure on the Free Press, which they call "our voice", relatives of the prisoners said: "They are the successor of Musa Anter who spoke the truth. We are with them as mothers.”

 

As part of an Ankara-based investigation, 11 journalists from the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) and JINNEWS were detained in house raids on October 25 in 9 cities. Nine of the journalists were arrested on the allegation of "being members of a terrorist organisation" by the court they were brought to on October 29.

 

Kumri Akgül, Fince Akman and Peace Mother Zeynep Calıhan, who are on the Justice Watch for the ill and the prisoners who are held despite they served their sentence, condemned the arrest of the journalists.

 

Condemning the repression of journalists and stating that the Free Press was targeted because it exposed the lies of the AKP government, Kumri Akgül said: “Journalists see and expose the oppression and persecution applied to us, the relatives of the prisoners.”

 

JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS

 

Stating that the government wants to restrict the freedom of the press, Akgül said: “They want that the Kurdish people should not to speak up and the Kurdish people always be under pressure. We want justice for the press. Our journalists are getting tired of us and are being taken into custody. They are tortured with us. I respectfully greet them. I condemned those who put these pressures on them.”

 

The prisoner's relative, Fince Akman, also explained the reasons why the Free Press was targeted: “They know that journalists reveal the truth. They don't want anyone to know the truth. The state tries to scare them and that they will not be able to do journalism. However, the press does not shut up, they cannot finish the Kurds. They should release the journalists. We know the hatred and grudge of the state. We will tell those who do not know. They are killing the children of the Kurds. They did not leave young. They burned the country of the Kurds and put them in prison. They are using chemicals against Kurdish children."

 

'FREE PRESS IS MY REALITY'

 

Saying that The free press expresses their truth, Peace Mother Zeynep Calıhan said: "They hold our children in prison, but they will continue to work in prison as well. They think that journalists will keep silent when they are imprisoned. They can never be silenced. We must protect our children in the Free Press. We are with them as mothers. They are our honor, our pride. It is our children who speak the truth. They are the successor of Musa."