Many media workers from Kurdistan, Turkey and Europe made a joint statement for journalist Serdar Karakoç, who was arrested in the Netherlands, and demanded the immediate release of the journalist and the respect of the Kurdish people's right to receive information.

The statement reads as follows:

"On the morning of 23 May, Dutch police arrested Kurdish journalist Serdar Karakoç and then issued him a detention order in court, following a request for extradition fromt the request of Germany, and then arrested him in court.

Karakoç has been living as a recognized political refugee in the Netherlands for the past 23 years. He has worked for many Kurdish newspapers and televisions, including Özgür Gündem newspaper, while being subjected to all kinds of pressure and intimidation by the Turkish authorities for decades. For example, when the office of Turkey’s Özgür Ülke newspaper was bombed on December 3, 1994, on the orders of then Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, Karakoç was present in the building. The Turkish authorities did not pursue those responsible, instead arresting injured employees as they lay recovering in their hospital beds.

As a journalist and our friend and colleague, Karakoç has made great sacrifices, defending the inviolable right to free expression and access to information on behalf of the Kurds and other oppressed peoples and minority communities. As such, it’s unacceptable that the Dutch authorities detained Karakoç, arrested him and threatened to hand him over to Germany, where he would face the further threat of extradition into the hands of the Turkish authorities. This would pose a threat to his fundamental rights and wellbeing, as evidenced by the Dutch authorities’ decision to grant  Karakoç political asylum. Endangering Karakoç with refoulement runs counter to international humanitarian law, and the ethics and principles of Dutch society.

As journalists, press workers, writers and intellectuals, we demand that Serdar Karakoç be released immediately, and that the Dutch government refrain from policies and actions that criminalize Kurds and Kurdish media. We also call on the Dutch press, media organizations, journalist associations and colleagues to mobilize for the freedom of journalist Serdar Karakoç.

Democracy, law, freedom of information and freedom of the press are universal rights – they also belong to the Kurds."

The statement was signed by:

BARIŞ ABBASOĞLU /JOURNALIST

DERAV ALA / JOURNALIST

CEMİLA ALP / TV MODERATOR

ERCAN CAN AKTAŞ / AUTHOR

GÜNAY ASLAN /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

SELMAN ASLAN / TV MODERATOR

DEVRİM ARSLAN - JOURNALIST

HEVAL ARSLAN / TV MODERATOR

DİLGEŞ ARYEN – JOURNALIST

AYSEL AVESTA NEWS EDITOR

FATMA GÜLÇİÇEK ARI / TV MODERATOR

NURDOGAN AYDOĞAN /JOURNALIST

GÜLİSTAN AZAK - TV MODERATOR

DILVIN AZAM / JOURNALIST

KENAN AZİZOĞLU /JOURNALIST

BAYRAM BALCI /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

BARIŞ BARIŞTIRAN / MOVIE PRODUCER

AZADEH BARZADEH / TV MODERATOR

BARIŞ BOYRAZ / TV MODERATOR

SERHAT BUCAK /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

MIHEMED CEFAL / JOURNALIST

HÊLÎN CÛDÎ /JOURNALIST

DILYAR CIZIRI / JOURNALIST

RODIN SERGEANT / JOURNALIST

XAYRÎ ÇELİK /TV MODERATOR

SARA ÇEKDAR- CAMERAMAN

LEYLA DENİZ /JOURNALIST

ARZU DEMİR /JOURNALIST

NEWROZ DEMHAT / JOURNALIST

ERGÜN DEPÎ /JOURNALIST

BİLAL DERSİM /JOURNALIST

SOZDAR DERSİN /JOURNALIST

İZZET DERSİM /JOURNALIST

SEVİM DEVRİM / TV MODERATOR

MELISA DIPDERE - JOURNALIST

NAZLI DUMAN / TV MODERATOR

RIDVAN DÖNER / TV MODERATOR

MEMED DREWŞ / NEWS EDITOR

DİCLE ELYAS / MOVIE DIRECTOR

OĞUZ ENDER / NEWS EDITOR

BERİVAN EMİNOĞLU / TV MODERATOR

NESRİN ERGİN/ TV MODERATOR

NURULLAH EKİNCİ / JOURNALIST

FÜSÜN ERDOĞAN /JOURNALIST

FERMAN MOHAMED FETAH / JOURNALIST

SELİM FERAT / SOCIOLOGIST

MEDENÎ FERHO /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

HASSAN GHAZI /JOURNALIST

SABAHATTIN GÜLTEKIN / TV MODERATOR

MENİCE GUNAY /TV MODERATOR

MAZHAR GÜNBAT /JOURNALIST

ESİN AKGÜL GÜNEŞ / TV MODERATOR

İBRAHİM GÜMÜZ / TV MODERATOR

LATIFE GÜZEL / CAMERAMAN

SHOLOH GODARCİ / TV MODERATOR

ALI GÜLER /JOURNALIST

HÜSEYİN DAĞ /JOURNALIST

CANO HASAN / CAMERAMAN

NASSER HATEMI / JOURNALIST

ABDULLA HEJAB / POLITICAL ACTIVIST

BERİVAN HISO/ JOURNALIST

OMER HOJEBRÎ / JOURNALIST

ORHAN İBRAHİM / DIRECTOR

AZIME INAN /JOURNALIST

FENYA IGREK / TV MODERATOR

DENİZ İKE /JOURNALIST

FEHİM IŞIK /JOURNALIST

SELAHATTİN IŞILDAK /JOURNALIST

TEVFİK KALKAN / AUTHOR

AHMET KAHRAMAN /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

ZİNAR KARA / JOURNALIST

TAHİR KARA / NEWS EDITOR

ELİF KAYA / JOURNALIST

İSMET KAYHAN / NEWS EDITOR

HAYRİ KIZILER / DOCUMENTARY MAKERS

MOHAMAD KHELLO / DIRECTOR

ALAN MAIŞ / JOURNALIST

RENDE MECIT / JOURNALIST

RONI MEDIA /JOURNALIST

CAHİT MERVAN /JOURNALIST

ARAM MELEKŞAH / TV MODERATOR

WİRYA MİHEMEDÎ / TV MODERATOR

LAWAN MİHEMEDÎ / TV MODERATOR

SASAN MÊHRABÎ / TV MODERATOR

MEHMET EMIN MUTLU / JOURNALIST

ZEDAN XALAF MİRAD /TV MODERATOR

MOHAMAD MUSTAFA/ CAMERAMAN

XEZNE NEBI / JOURNALIST

SERDAR UREK / JOURNALIST

LEYLA UYAR /JOURNALIST

KENDAL MIDYAD PRODUCT / NEWS EDITOR

SEDAT OKTAYKAN /JOURNALIST

KARZAN ALI OSMAN /NEWS EDITOR

RAMADAN ÖLÇEN / TV MODERATOR

HEBUN OMER / JOURNALIST

SİNAN ÖNAL / POLITICAL SCIENTIST

CİHAN ÖZGÜR /JOURNALIST

YELİZ ÖZTÜRK / JOURNALIST

HASAN RAMO / JOURNALIST

ŞİLAN PELŞİN /JOURNALIST

MUSTAFA REZAN /JOURNALIST

FERİBOZ REZAİ / TV MODERATOR

CÛDÎ RONAHÎ / DIRECTOR

CIHAT ROJ / JOURNALIST

FARUK SAKIK /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

VEYSİ SARISOZEN /JOURNALIST

MAHMUT SEVEN /JOURNALIST

BARZAN SHASWAR / TV MODERATOR

MAHMUT SIDO / JOURNALIST

REŞAD SORGUL /JOURNALIST-AUTHOR

ERDOĞAN SÜRGEÇ / VIDEO EDITOR

SAMAN ŞEHABÎ / TV MODERATOR

EJDER SHEXO / TV MODERATOR

ZIVER ŞEXO / JOURNALIST

MEDINE TEMO / JOURNALIST

AZİZ TUNÇ / AUTHOR

MAHİR UZMEZ /JOURNALIST

RIDVAN YAĞIZAY / CAMERAMAN

ARZU YILDIZ /JOURNALIST

ENES YIDIZ / JOURNALIST

BOKAN YİGİT / JOURNALIST

AHMET YÜCEDAĞ /JOURNALIST