Attacks on the press workers are unacceptable
It is reported that two journalists, Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, were killed in a Turkish drone strike while carrying out their work near the Tishrin Dam in Syria. Dozens of journalists, members of the press have lost their lives in the civil war waged in Syria since 2011. It has been observed that Kurdish journalists have been targeted in recent years by Turkey’s military operations in the territory of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq and in Rojava in Syria.
These attacks against journalists, who make significant contributions to the truth in the regions of war and conflict, are not only targeted at individuals but should also be considered as serious acts of concealment of the truth.
According to the Geneva Convention, unless they are directly involved in a conflict, journalists have ‘civilian’ status and must be protected. In this context, attacks on journalists are a clear violation of international humanitarian law.
We, therefore,
- call on the government of Turkey to make a statement on this strike immediately.
- call for an effective and transparent investigation into the attack and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
- call on international human rights mechanisms to undertake a task for the enlightment of this attack and for the prevention of similar attacks.
Freedom of the press, is one of the cornerstones of the people’s right to information. Targeting journalists is not only a violation of a human right, it is also detrimental to democracy and truth. Such attacks can never be acceptable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
Human Rights Association