Media Watchdog Condemns Death Of Turkish Journalist In Iran

Demonstrators at a women's rights rally in Tehran on June 12 that was violently broken up (kosoof.com) PRAGUE, August 11, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) media watchdog is demanding that Iranian authorities shed light on the death of an ethnic Kurd Turkish journalist killed reportedly killed on July 24 in an operation against Kurdish militants.

Ayfer Serce was a reporter for Turkey's Euphrates News Agency and Western-based Kurdish media. Serce, also known as Silan Aras, was in Iran's West Azerbaijan Province to investigate suicides among women in the region when she was killed.


RSF condemns the death of the journalist and says the possibility that her death is linked to her work should not be ignored. The Euphrates News Agency has blamed the Iranian military for Serce's death.

Nowhere To Turn

Nowhere To Turn

This Afghan woman died of self-immolation injuries in a hospital in Nangarhar Province on 18 October 2004 (RAWA)

Self-Immolation In Afghanistan

"Before she committed suicide, my sister always said she hoped she would never return to Afghanistan and experience the closed atmosphere of Herat," an Afghan woman named Virdee told RFE/RL.

At a shelter in Herat Virdee met several women who had attempted to kill themselves through self-immolation. The most tragic case, Virdee says, involved a young pregnant woman who survived despite suffering severe burns over 60 percent of her body....(more)

See also:

South Asia: Recent Killings, Violence Underscore Lack Of Progress In Gender Justice

Central Asia: Women’s Rights Groups Fight Gender Violence

UN: Women's Conference Sees Progress On Rights Overshadowed By Violence