International groups call for release of journalist Sedef Kabaş

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Twenty-seven human rights and journalism groups have released a joint statement demanding the release of journalist Sedef Kabaş, who was arrested on January 22 for "insulting the president."

Kabaş should be released immediately and judicial harassment of the independent media should end, the groups said.

They listed three demands:

The release of Kabaş and all arrested journalists,

An effective investigation into the death threats against journalist Alican Uludağ

Withdrawal of the fines imposed on TELE1 TV by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) because of Kabaş's remarks.

The following groups signed the statement: International Press Institute (IPI), Association of European Journalists (AEJ), Articolo 21, Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), Gazetecileri Koruma Komitesi Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Danish PEN, English PEN, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Freedom House, German PEN, Index on Censorship, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), PEN America, PEN Centre of Bosnia-Herzegovina, PEN International, PEN Iraq, PEN Melbourne, PEN Norway, PEN Turkey, PEN Québec, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), San Miguel PEN, South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), Swedish PEN, World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)

What happened?

Journalist Sedef Kabaş was arrested on January 22 for "insulting the President" because of her words during a live broadcast a week ago.

"There is a famous saying, 'A crowned head will get wiser.' But we see that this isn't the reality. There is also a saying that is the exact opposite: 'When cattle go into a palace, they don't become the king; the palace becomes a barn'," Kabaş said during a program on TELE1 TV on January 14.

A week later, she posted the second quote on her Twitter and Instagram accounts as a "Circassian proverb," replacing the word "cattle" with "ox."

Shortly after, at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, she was detained during a police raid. Hours later, a penal judgeship of peace remanded her in custody.

The İstanbul 58th Criminal Court of First Instance has rejected the appeal against the pre-trial detention of journalist Sedef Kabaş, who has been arrested for "insulting the President" following a program that she attended on TELE 1 and sent to Bakırköy Prison in İstanbul.

(HA/VK)