Kurdish media employees called for participation in the rally to be staged in front of the Palace of Justice in Brussels on Saturday to protest against the police raid on the studios of free press organisations Stêrk TV and Medya Haber TV on the night of 23 April.

The text of the call for the rally to be held on Saturday stated that the police displayed "a great example of vandalism" during the raids and called for solidarity with the Kurdish media.

The call text reads as follows:

"On the night of 23 April, 200 police officers unlawfully raided the studios of Kurdish TV channels STERK TV and MEDYA HABER TV.

Company owners and television employees were not allowed to take part in the search. During the search, the police broke down doors, removed screen panels, cut cables, smashed tables, and even threw flowers on the ground in an act of vandalism.

As far as the press is concerned, this unthinkable, unlawful attack was announced to have been carried out 'at the request of another country'.

Unfortunately, the Belgian authorities have also participated in the international dirty negotiations by criminalising Kurds and media organisations.

This attack is not only directed against the Kurds' right to information, but also an attack on freedom of the press and democratic values as a whole.

We, as journalists, intellectuals, writers and media employees from Kurdistan, do not accept this situation and protest against it.

We call on the Belgian press and media organisations, our journalist colleagues and the entire public to oppose this injustice and to stand in solidarity with the Kurdish media.

For this reason, we invite you to the 'Free Press Cannot be Silenced' rally we will hold on Saturday (27. 04. 2024) at 13:00 in front of the Palace of Justice in Brussels (Place Poelaert 1, 1000 Bruxelles).

Your participation and solidarity with us will strengthen us."