 has called on the Turkish government to clarify the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two Kurdish journalists in a reported Turkish drone strike in northern Syria, the Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Monday.){kind=link}
The German Association of Journalists (DJV) has called on the Turkish government to clarify the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two Kurdish journalists in a reported Turkish drone strike in northern Syria, the Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Monday.
Journalists Nazım Daştan, 32, and Cihan Bilgin, 29, were killed on December 19 near the Tishrin Dam, east of Aleppo, while covering clashes between Ankara-backed forces and US-supported Kurdish fighters.
Although Turkey has been accused in several media reports of deliberately killing the journalists in a targeted strike by an armed drone, the Justice and Development Party government has remained silent in the face of these allegations.
According to a statement issued by the DJV on Monday, both journalists had been working for Kurdish media for many years and were recently covering Turkish military operations and attacks by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army, a coalition of rebel groups, on Kurdish territories in northern and eastern Syria.
The association cited eyewitness claims that a Turkish armed drone deliberately targeted Daştan and Bilgin in Rojava, Syria.
“This is an alarming allegation that must be investigated by the Turkish government. If Turkish security forces are targeting reporters, those responsible must be brought to justice,” said DJV Chairman Mika Beuster.
Calling for diplomatic support from the German foreign ministry to demand accountability, Beuster suggested that if the deaths of Daştan and Bilgin were proven to be deliberate acts due to their journalistic work, it could impact Germany’s diplomatic relations with Turkey.
Turkish authorities on Monday arrested nine people, including six members of the press, for protesting the killing of Daştan and Bilgin in İstanbul’s Şişhane Square over the weekend. The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office also launched an investigation into İstanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and board members of the organization over a press statement issued following the killings of the journalists.
Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey’s government of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, especially since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan survived a failed coup in July 2016.