The journalist is a mother of two children, a 6-year-old and a 4-month-old. Yıldız spoke to Sputnik Turkey in an interview regarding the court's decision that has deprived her of her parental rights.
“Sooner or later the justice system will start working. Yes, currently it is paralyzed, but in the end, I am convinced justice will be restored.”
“Those who take journalists into custody, arrest judges and prosecutors and accuse gendarmes of treachery – such people will not be able to cover up their dealings and crimes for long. Sooner or later they will suffer the penalty for this,” the journalist said.
She further said that her children would be able to visit her only after obtaining special permission because the court has deprived Yildiz of her parental rights.
“They took away my parental rights. Just imagine if I was divorced, my husband would have the right to take my 4-month-old baby from me,” the journalist stressed.
According to her, in recent years the persecution of journalists has become extremely widespread in Turkey. “Currently, trials against journalists are conducted with far more zeal than judicial investigations into fraud, corruption and bribery,” Yildiz noted.
However, Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet published photos and video recordings that showed that the trucks actually contained boxes with ammunition and were transporting this ammunition into Syria.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan demanded criminal proceedings against the newspaper. Chief Editor of Cumhuriyet, Gian Dündar, was sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in prison and the bureau chief in Ankara, Erdem Gul, to 5 years.
