2016 prison census - Turkey: Aysel Isik
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 1 December 2016 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016 prison census - Turkey: Aysel Isik, 1 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/586cb84a11.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
| Aysel Isik, Jin News Agency (JINHA) | |
|---|---|
| Medium: | Internet |
| Charge: | Anti-state |
| Imprisoned: | November 21, 2016 |
Police in the southeastern Turkish town of Sirnak on November 21, 2016, detained Aysel Isik, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Jin News Agency (JINHA), which is staffed entirely by women, her employer reported. The same day a court ordered her held pending trial on charges of "propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization"-the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which the Turkish government classes as a terrorist organization-in her posts to social media websites, JINHA reported on its website.
Turkish authorities have long pursued JINHA journalists for their reporting, and on October 31, 2016, ordered the news agency closed by decree, using emergency powers the government granted itself after a July 2016 failed military coup. The news agency's website was still operational in late 2016.
Isik was in Sirnak's Yeni Mahalle neighborhood when she was detained, according to JINHA's website. She was taken to the Sirnak police station. CPJ was unable to determine her location or identify her legal representation as of late 2016.