Belgian authorities detain journalist Heval Arslan

Belgian authorities detained the journalist Heval Arslan and deported her to France after summoning her to a police station in the Belgian city of Ninove without any judicial order.

According to human rights sources, Heval Arslan, the journalist and presenter for the TV channel "Mediya Haber," was detained for two days without a judicial order before being deported to France, despite being in formal asylum proceedings in Belgium.

Her lawyers confirmed that she is in good health, but indicated, in a statement, that Belgian authorities ignored her asylum application process in an attempt to revoke her residency rights.

Furthermore, a number of journalists and activists called on the Belgian government to immediately release Heval Arslan and respect her legal and human rights, stressing that what happened constitutes a clear violation of press freedom and refugee rights.

Who is Heval Arslan?

The journalist Heval Arslan immigrated with her family to France when she was five or six years old and completed her university education in the media department. Since 2003, she has worked for Roj TV, MED Nûçe, and most recently, MEDYA HEBER, a Turkish-language satellite channel. Despite her long years of residence in France, the French authorities have not granted her citizenship, and she has been subjected to pressure due to her activism in the free press.

She is also a board member of the Kurdish Women's Association (RO-JIN), established under Belgian law.

J.J