NEWS CENTRE - CFWIJ made a statement on journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were killed by Turkish drones while following news, and said: ‘Deliberately targeting the press in a conflict zone is a war crime. Turkey must be held accountable for the increasing number of Kurdish journalists killed and injured in drone strikes.’  

 

The Coalition of Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) made a written statement about journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, who were murdered on 19 December while following news. 

 

The statement included the following statements:

 

Women Press Freedom is outraged by the Turkish drone strike that killed journalists Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan near the Tishrin Dam, on the outskirts of Kobani. They were reporting on attacks on the dam when, according to local human rights groups, their vehicle was "directly" targeted. Their driver was also injured in the strike.  

 

Third woman journalist murdered 

 

This tragedy comes amid escalating Turkish attacks in northern and eastern Syria.  Cihan Bilgin is the third woman journalist killed by a Turkish drone strike this year, following the deaths of Gulistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn in Iraq in August.  

 

We strongly condemn this attack and demand an immediate, independent investigation to determine if these journalists were deliberately hit. Purposefully targeting the press in a conflict zone constitutes a war crime. Türkiye must be held accountable for the growing number of Kurdish journalists killed and injured by its drone strikes.  

 

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, colleagues and loved ones of Cihan and Nazım.