JOURNALISTS, trade unionists and human rights organisations have been urged to take action in solidarity with Mesopotamia Agency (MA) reporter Mehmet Aslan ahead of his court hearing in Istanbul, Turkey, tomorrow.

Reporters at the agency told the Morning Star that it was essential to take a stand and “build a stronger voice for the freedom of journalists” who are persecuted for their professional activities.

MA is frequently targeted by the Turkish state. Two of its journalists were held for months in relation to the so-called Van case, after they exposed atrocities committed by the military, including throwing two Kurdish farmers from a helicopter, one of whom subsequently died.

Mr Aslan was detained in January and is being held in the Antalya
L-type closed prison. He is charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation and “making news that provokes the masses.”

The Dicle Firat Journalists Association (DFG), formed in response to the major unions’ failures to defend Kurdish journalists, said that once again its profession is under trial.

“News, interviews with news sources, broadcasting news on television: all of these activities are referred to as accusations in the indictment,” it said in a statement. Those who carry out “courageous reporting” are consistently branded terrorists and punished by the judiciary, the DFG said.

Mr Aslan has previously denied the charges against him, saying he has been a journalist for two years and has “never been a member of any illegal structure” and has no political affiliations.

The British National Union of Journalists general secretary Michelle Stanistreet condemned the arrest of Mr Aslan and called on the Turkish state to end its persecution of journalists.