News Center- The Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (Turkish: Mezopotamya Kadın Gazeteciler Derneği, MKG) has released its April report on rights violations against women journalists in Türkiye.

Press freedom in Turkey is under immense pressure, the report said, pointing out that women journalists are targeted for their gender and journalism, facing judicial harassment.

‘The aim is to silence journalists’

Journalists face detentions, investigations, physical obstructions and digital censorship that have now become structural methods, the association said in the report.

“Reports in the favor of the public have been criminalized because the aim is to silence journalists. Statements by journalists in prison reveal serious human rights violations such as isolation, denial of the right to health and communication restrictions. These rights violations are a black mark on Türkiye’s history of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Freedom of thought and freedom of expression are constitutional rights. However, when journalists want to use these rights, they often find themselves in courtrooms, detention centers or prison.

According to the report, four women journalists were summoned to testify in April 2025. Two women journalists were subjected to maltreatment, two others were prevented from covering. Seven women journalists were subjected to rights violations in prison and three others were prosecuted. The number of the women journalists, who have stood trial for their journalistic activities were seven in April. 

Nine women journalists are behind bars in Türkiye, the report said.