Threat against female journalist! 'You cannot buy ÇGD members!'

The Mediterranean branch of the Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD) announced that one of its members, a female journalist, has received threats for covering a sexual assault and abuse case filed against an employee of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. In a statement, the ÇGD declared, "Journalists who are members of the Progressive Journalists Association are not afraid and cannot be bought."

The full statement is as follows:

"You cannot buy ÇGD members!

The news regarding the sexual assault and abuse case filed against an employee of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, involving young girls, caused alarm in certain circles while it was still in the drafting stage; these individuals attempted to persuade our journalist member, Ceren Deniz, who was writing the story, not to publish it; they requested that certain names, written with their initials, be removed from the story, and went even further by attempting to intimidate journalists with threatening messages.

Journalists who are members of the Progressive Journalists Association are not afraid and cannot be bought.

A journalist is obligated to write and publish, on behalf of the public, about all forms of corruption, lawlessness, and injustice, regardless of who they come from.

This obligation cannot be determined by any law other than the journalist's conscience and cannot be restricted by any law other than our conscience.

If it were otherwise, there would be no journalists left who could write two lines, other than sycophants, in the face of so much pressure and intimidation that has lasted for years.

Those who are obligated to clean up the corruption spread around them should perform their duties instead of looking for fault in journalists. The Progressive Journalists Association will, as always, stand united against any kind of threat or attack directed at its colleagues.

ÇGD Mediterranean Branch

Board of Directors"