Arshad Sharif – Status: Solved
June 4, 2025
Daphne Caruana Galizia – Status: Solved
June 4, 2025
Cihan Bilgin, a 29-year-old journalist, and Nazim Dastan were both killed on Thursday in a suspected Turkish drone strike while reporting on clashes near the Tishrin Dam in northern Syria. Bilgin, who worked for the Kurdish media outlet Anha news agency, was documenting fighting between the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Journalist Information:
Name: Cihan Bilgin & Nazim Dastan
Age: 29 & 32
Gender: Female & Male
DOB:
Nationality: Kurds
Last company worked for: Kurdish Hawar News Agency & Firat News Agency
Family: Collegues Chihan and Nazim hail from North Kurdistan, and to transfer their bodies to their hometowns, their families have requested the Human Rights Organization and the Human Rights Association for Freedom in the city of Mardin, North Kurdistan, to facilitate the transfer
Incident Information:
Date of incident – 19 December 2024
Location of incident – Tishreen dam, Northern Syria
Offense victim of: Assassination
Weapons included – Drone Attack
Journalist Cihan Bilgin and Nazim Dastan were killed in a suspected Turkish drone strike while covering clashes in northern Syria. Their deaths drew sharp condemnation as an attack on press freedom and a “crime against humanity.”
Suspect(s) Information:
Perpetrator Identified: Yes
Name: Turkish Government
Proof of Targeting the Journalist: “Throughout history, journalists have always been targeted by forces that wish to conceal the truth. Despite these attacks aimed at preventing people from learning the truth, there have always been journalists who insist on revealing it. When it comes to Kurdistan as a territory and the truths of the denied Kurdish people, the attacks and resistance have both been very heavy. Nazim Dastan and Chihan Bigen are not the first martyrs of the Free Media tradition. They are successors to figures like Ape Musa, Gurbetelli Ersoz, Gulistan Tara, Seyid Evran, Dilisah Ibis, and hundreds of other martyrs.
Reason for Killing: To understand why they were targeted, it I enough to look at the headlines of the numerous reports and stories they worked on. They were targeted because they practiced journalism with integrity. These attacks, crimes against humanity, continue because perpetrators are not held accountable before independent courts.”
Progress of the Case: No case has been made.
Read More: https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/article/nazim-dastan-cihan-bilgin