Freedom for Meşale Tolu! Freedom for all arrested journalists in Turkey!

In the early hours of April, 30, 2017 a specialised Anti Terrorism squat team of the Istanbul police department raided the home of Mesale Tolu. The officeres, who were heavyly armed and masked, forced their way into her flat at 4.30am. At this point she was alone with her 2.5 year old son Serkan, both asleep. During the raid, the officers created a path of destruction thorughout the apartment. After arresting Meşale Tolu that night she was being held at the Department of Anti Terrorism by the police until May, 6, 2017. She than was taken to court to face the judge and got send to detention waitng trial. Now she is in a women's prison in Bakirköy (Istanbul).

Measle Tolu is accused of using her position as journalist to spread “propaganda for an organisation of terrorism” and herself being “a member of an organistation of terrorism”. The court has claimed the files regarding her case to be sealed and kept secret, leaving Mesale Tolu as well as her lawyer unable to view these files or accssess thm in any other way. Neither of them know the exact accusations made agains Meşale Tolu.

Meşale Tolus husband, Suat Corlu, is also being held in custody since his arrest in Ankara on the 5th of April, leaving their two year old son Serkan without his parents. He now has to be taken care of by relatives.

We are asking for the immidiate freedom of Meslae Tolu who is not only our colleague but also our friend!

In Turkey, more and more journalists are getting arrested due to "suspicion of terrorism". Deniz Yücel and 158 other journalists were arrested under similiar circumstances and are still under arrest right now.

We are asking for the help of the German Government and the Department of Human Services to do everything in their power to help us achieve freedom of Meşale Tolu.

Biography

Meşale Tolu was born in 1984 in Ulm, Badem-Württemberg.

She went to the local primary school and than moved on to the Gymnasium reaching the Abitur.

After that, she moved to Frankfurt in order to study Ethic and Spanish at the local university to become a Gymnasium teacher. Later on she moved back to Ulm.

In 2007 she received her citizenship in Germany and - at the same time – cancelled her turkish citizenship. Meşale Tolu is acitvely supporting various initiatives/organisations for migrants. To name only a few she helped at the “Bund Sozialistischer Frauen (SKB)” (“Federation of Socialistic Women”) and the 'Föderation der ArbeitsmigrantInnen in Deutschland e.V. (AGIF e.V.)” (Federation of Working Migrants in Germany e.V.”).

After the birth of her son, Meşale Tolu and her family moved to Istanbul in 2014. She started working at the regional radio channel “Özgür Radyo” until it got shut down following the dorect order of state president Reccep Tayip Erdogan. From than on Meşale Tolu worked as a journalist and translator for the news agency “Etkin Haber Ajansi (ETHA)”.