The Cyprus Union of Journalists on Monday expressed concern over the safety of Turkish Cypriot investigative journalist Ayşemden Akın who has received death threats over her reporting on alleged corruption between Turkey and the occupied north.
Akın, who heads the online newspaper “Bugün Kıbrıs,” has been threatened following her investigation into alleged corruption and collusion between Turkish officials and those in the Turkish-controlled northern part of Cyprus, the union said in a statement.
The board of the Cyprus Union of Journalists expressed “strong concern” for the safety of Akın and called for vigilance from free speech and press freedom defenders across Cyprus and international forums.
“The situation is seriously concerning,” the statement said, noting that Akın’s reporting had implicated high-ranking Turkish officials in illegal activities in northern Cyprus.
Cemil Önal, one of Akın’s sources, was murdered last week in the Netherland.
The Cyprus Union of Journalists joined the Turkish Cypriot press workers’ union Basın-Sen in condemning what it called “another operation to silence” media and journalists in the northern part of Cyprus.
