The hearing of 22 journalists working for Özgür Gündem, DIHA (Dicle News Agency), Azadiya Welat and Fırat Nes Agency will resume at Istanbul 15th High Criminal Court in Silivri Prison Complex on 25-27 September.

Workers of the free press issued a press release at Istanbul's main Galatasaray Square in Taksim on Sunday in solidarity with 22 journalists who have been arrested in the scope of “KCK /Kurdistan Communities Union) Press Committee” trial for nearly two years now.

BDP (Peace and Democracy Party)  co-chair Gültan Kışanak, group deputy chair Pervin Buldan, Istanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel and Mersin deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü also joined the demo during which press workers demanded the urgent release of their colleagues in prison.

The press release was read by Özgür Gündem editor in chief, lawyer Eren Keskin, who pointed out that workers of the free press have been arrested and suffered from killings and attacks for telling about the human rights violations, villages burnt down and evacuated, disappearances and rapes in custody and killings by counter guerilla units in Kurdistan. Keskin added that the attacks against press workers have however strengthened their will to tell the truth on the Kurdistan reality.

Speaking after Keskin, BDP co-chair Gültan Kışanak underlined that the freedom of the press was an essential condition to pave the way for other basic freedoms.

Reminding that many workers of the free press tradition were killed by the state in 90's, Kışanak said that the AKP government is still maintaining the mentality of the repressive regime of 90's by arresting those who write the truths and reducing the media to silence to prevent the exposure of massacres.

“It is a duty of ours to protect the free press in order to make sure that everyone knows the truths. We will obtain democracy and peace should we manage to defeat the rule of lies”, she added.

Speaking after, BDP Mersin deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü also pointed out that press workers are being arrested for writing the truth and working to enable people to receive information.

Arzu Demir, who spoke on behalf of the Journalists' Union of Turkey, said that there were currently 64 journalists in Turkish prisons and demanded the urgent release of all jailed press workers. Demir underlined that democracy cannot come into question in a country where journalists are subjected to imprisonment, investigations, censorship and assaults.