Upon leaving prison after more than seven months in pretrial detention, Gayıp said: “I am one of the journalists who will continue to defend journalism and practice it, to defend the public’s right to information in this country and to report the truth. That is why they will not be able to silence the free press.”
Rabia Çetin
ISTANBUL — Journalist Pınar Gayıp, who had been held in pretrial detention since Feb. 6 on a charge of “membership in an organization,” was ordered released Tuesday at the first hearing in her case.
Gayıp, whose legal defense is being handled by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), an Istanbul-based organization that provides legal support to journalists, left Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul later in the evening following the court’s release order. She was greeted outside the prison by fellow journalists and friends.
Gayıp said she had waited about seven hours to be released from the prison and alleged that officials delayed her departure because she is a journalist and wanted to prevent images of her release from being recorded.
Speaking outside the prison, Gayıp said the actions cited as grounds for her detention and arrest stemmed from her adherence to the ethical principles of journalism.
“I am one of the journalists who will continue to defend journalism and practice it, to defend the public’s right to information in this country and to report the truth,” Gayıp said. “That is why they will not be able to silence the free press.”
