''Azadiya Welat'' (

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

for: "Freedom of the Country") was a newspaper in the

Kurdish language Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...

published in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was shut down on 28 August 2016 when police raided the newspaper's headquarters in Diyarbakir, taking all 27 staff into custody.

History and profile

The paper was first published as a weekly newspaper with the name ''Welat'' in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on 22 February 1992. In 1996 it began to be published with its current name, ''Azadiya Welat''. In 2003 the headquarters of the paper moved from Istanbul to

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

. In 2006 it became a daily newspaper. Its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

was sentenced to 3 years in prison in 2010. A journalist who was distributing ''Azadiya Welat'' was murdered in 2014. Kurdish inmates in some Turkish jails were not allowed to receive the newspaper in 2007. This interdiction is justified by a reference to the law no. 5275.Law No. 5275 on the execution of penalties and security measures
, 13 December 2004. In 2015, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

rules the unpredictability of how the law is applied is a violation of article 10 of the Convention.Mesut Yurtsever et al vs Turkey
20 January 2015.

References

External links

Official website
Defunct newspapers published in Turkey Newspapers published in Istanbul Defunct weekly newspapers Kurdish-language newspapers Turkish Kurdish organizations 1992 establishments in Turkey Newspapers established in 1992 Publications disestablished in 2016 Mass media shut down in the 2016 Turkish purges Weekly newspapers published in Turkey Banned newspapers {{Turkey-newspaper-stub