11 Kurdish journalists from the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) and JINNEWS were detained after house raids on October 25 in 9 provinces as part of an Ankara-based investigation. The journalists who have been held at Ankara Police Department were allowed to meet with their lawyers yesterday after a ban on legal counsel was lifted. MA reporter Deniz Nazlım, Mehmet Günhan, who briefly worked as an intern in the Ankara office of MA, and Öznur Değer sent a message through their lawyers.

“We are proud to hold on to the truth. It is the duty of a journalist to seek the truth for the public. We are doing our duty, we will come out soon,” Deniz Nazlım said.

“When I was working for MA, I realized how difficult it is to reveal the truth. We call on our people to defend MA against attempts to divert the Free Press employees from this pursuit. We will overcome this darkness together,” Mehmet Günhan said.

“We, defenders of the Free Press tradition that was established by prominent journalists like Musa Anter and Ersöz from Gurbeteli in the 90s, did not bow down when 16 fellow journalists were arrested. Nor will we do so after our own arrests. We are strong and in good morale. Thanks to everyone who showed solidarity with us. We will continue to make heard everywhere the voices that are wanted silenced,” JINNEWS reporter Öznur Değer said.