On 23 August, the Turkish state bombed a vehicle belonging to Chatr Production with drones in the Seyîdsadiq district of Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî). The vehicle was carrying journalists. Two of them, Hêro Bahadîn and Gulistan Tara, lost their lives as a result of the targeted attack.

A ceremony was held in the Azadi Park in Sulaymaniyah to bid farewell to Gulistan Tara before her final journey to her hometown, Batman province in Northern Kurdistan.

Kemal Heme Reza, General Manager of Chatr Production, made a statement here and condemned the Turkish state's attack on free press journalists and the attempts of the Anti-Terror unit of the KDP to distort the incident. Reza reiterated their promise to follow the path of free press martyrs Hêro Bahadin and Gulistan Tara.

“From the first moment of the attack, we reported that our comrades were in that region for journalistic activities. However, the occupying Turkish state targeted our team with drones in violation of international laws. We consider this attack within the scope of the crimes committed by the occupying Turkish state in the whole of Southern Kurdistan, targeting civilians, causing deaths and serious injuries, and we see it as another failed attempt to silence the free press,” Kemal Heme Reza stated.

The statement stressed that Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadin aimed to convey the truth to the public opinion and to reveal the true face of the enemies of Kurdistan. “Our comrades tried to reveal through the media the attitude of the Kurdish public opinion against the crimes and occupations committed in Kurdistan and to show the oppression and atrocities of the occupying states to the world and the international community.”

The statement continued; “Chatr Production condemns the attack and invasion of the terrorist Turkish state and the attempts of the KDP's Anti-Terror unit to cover up the crime committed by the Turkish state and to distort the case of the murder of journalists. We call on the international organisations and the representative offices of the world countries in Iraq and Kurdistan Region to consider the murder of journalists as a reason to stop the silence against the Turkish state’s crimes against civilians in Southern Kurdistan. Serious attempts must be made to stop the crimes of the Turkish state in Southern Kurdistan. We promise our friends and comrades Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadin that we will follow their path and their ideas and sharpen our pens against occupation and injustice.”

Ahmed Tekik, Gulistan Tara's brother, also spoke at the ceremony, saying: “Gulistan was my sister, but she was more than that, she was our friend and comrade. Gulistan was a journalist with a pen and a camera.”

Ahmed Tekik emphasised that, “Gulistan was martyred, but today we are all Gulistan.”