Füsun Erdoğan

Füsun Erdoğan (born 4 September 1960 ) is a radio journalist from Turkey that was sentenced to prison during Operation Gaye. She was accused of involvement in a banned organization, the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (MKLP), under the Anti-Terror Law of Turkey. She was imprisoned in the Gezbe Women's Prison near Istanbul without completion of a trial for eight years. She claims that she was targeted due to her political opinions and her status as a journalist, stating that the "police was trying to intimidate members of the progressive, independent, democratic and alternative media."

Career Erdoğan has been a journalist at least since she returned to Turkey in 1989. She founded the leftist radio station, Özgür Radyo (English: Free Radio), in 1995 and worked as the chief coordinator and director. Erdoğan was also a columnist at Bianet, a rights-focused website. She was later sent to Gebze Women's Prison, also near Istanbul.

Evidence and accusations She was detained because of accusations that she was a member of the MKLP, which had been declared a terrorist organization, along with Ibrahim Çiçek, Bayram Namaz, Sedat Senoglu, and Ziya Ulusoy.

Human rights concerns and demands for release Erdoğan became sick while she was imprisoned, though it took two years before the prison would allow her to go to the physician. Once she went to the doctor, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Other advocacy groups such as Turkish Journalists’ Union, the European Federation of Journalists, and the Committee to Protect Journalists also petitioned for her release. Due to the fact that she is not only a citizen of Turkey, but also the Netherlands, the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) also advocated for her. The NVJ made 10,000 posters of Erdoğan along with text in Dutch reading "Füsün Erdoğan must be free" and "journalists are not terrorists". They also sent out messages to their magazine readership requesting them to share the posters on social media.

Her son believes the international pressure demanding her freedom helped her case. Immediately following her release she was sleeping notably less than before.

Aftermath After May 2014 she began living as an asylum seeker in the Netherlands, seeking refuge from re-imprisonment. She has also received help from the Danish union. Her case has been submitted to the Council of Europe's Platform for journalism and the safety of journalists. The Council of Europe held a hearing on Erdoğan from in mid-May 2014.