NEWS CENTER - There has been no news from journalist Süleyman Ahmet for 210 days. Journalist Araz İbrahim said: "KDP is attacking the free press, just like in Turkey. Because it is afraid of the free press."

 

The fate of Rojnews' Arabic editor Süleyman Ahmet, who İs detained by units affiliated with the KDP at the Pêşxabûr (Sêmalka) Border Gate while returning from the Syrian city of Aleppo to the Federated Kurdistan Region on October 25, 2023, has not been disclosed for 210 days. Upon receiving information that Ahmet was taken to the city of Duhok, his lawyers applied to the Duhok Public Order Office. The Public Order acknowledged that they had Ahmet, but the lawyers were not allowed to meet.

 

Despite all the applications of the lawyers, Ahmet's whereabouts are not disclosed.

 

'JOURNALISTS ARE EITHER ARRESTED OR MURDERED'

 

Araz İbrahim, a journalist in the region, stated that KDP violated the law and committed a crime. İbrahim said: “Our journalist friend Süleyman Ahmet has been held captive by the KDP for 210 days. This is against human rights. The killing of Kurdish journalists due to KDP's practices has been normalized here. To date, countless journalists have been detained, arrested and disappeared in Southern Kurdistan. This party, which calls itself 'a democratic party' and says it always supports the right to journalism, has violated all the laws here."

 

(Journalist Araz İbrahim)

 

Stating that those who do not think like the KDP are either arrested or killed, “KDP does not fulfill any obligations of the law. The kidnapping of Suleyman Ahmet will remain a black mark for the KDP and Mesrur Barzani. Regions where KDP is present pose a danger to journalists. Journalists who do not think like the KDP and do not write news the way it wants are either arrested or kidnapped. There are many examples of this; Our journalist friends such as Serdeşt, Osman, Vedat Hisên were murdered by KDP members. However, many journalists are being held captive in KDP prisons" İbrahim said.

 

'KDP IS AFRAID OF FREE PRESS'

 

Stating that the reason for the policies implemented by the KDP towards journalists is to silence the voice of the truth, İbrahim said: "This style and treatment of the KDP towards journalists is only for its own interests. It attacks the free press in the same way as the Turkish state. However, it is still important for the free press to expose the policies of the KDP here. KDP is afraid of free press."