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September 26, 2025September 25, 2025 – Belgium –
The Kurdish Women Journalists Association (ROJIN) has condemned the detention of Heval Arslan, a founding member of ROJIN and presenter at Medya Haber TV, and urged Belgian authorities to release her immediately.
Arslan was summoned to the Ninove police station on the evening of September 22, where she was detained without a court order. During her arrest, her personal belongings were confiscated, she underwent a strip search, and was placed in a cell. Officials allegedly threatened that she might be extradited, first to France and then onward to Turkey. Currently, she is held in a Bruges deportation center pending further action.
ROJIN’s statement emphasized that the arrest lacks legal justification and constitutes a direct attack on journalistic freedom. It cautioned that if Arslan is extradited to France, her asylum status may be jeopardized, with the looming risk that she could eventually be handed over to Turkey, where she reportedly faces legal pressures and criminalization as a Kurdish journalist.
Born in France and educated in journalism, Arslan has worked in Kurdish media since 2003, including with Roj TV, Med Nûçe, and Medya Haber TV. Although she has lived in Europe for years, she has been denied French citizenship, and Turkish authorities have refused to issue her a passport, constraining both her mobility and her ability to practice journalism freely.
In response, AVEG-KON (Confederation of Oppressed Migrants in Europe) also released a statement condemning the detention. They described it as part of a broader pattern of European states suppressing Kurdish voices, especially in journalism and migrant communities. AVEG-KON urged solidarity from migrant workers and press freedom advocates, demanding that Belgian authorities free Arslan and halt any attempts to deport or extradite her unjustly.
The case has drawn sharp attention because it combines aspects of press freedom, asylum law, and the rights of Kurdish journalists under international protection. By detaining Arslan without due process and threatening extradition, authorities risk setting a precedent that undermines both media independence and protections for asylum seekers.
Reference –
ROJIN calls for the release of journalist Heval Arslan detained in Belgium