#freerasool

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh9cju-8b4k)

It’s time to tell Turkey to #FreeRasool.

It has been nearly two months since Iraqi journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool was arrested in Turkey on the false charge of aiding terrorists, while working on a story for VICE News.

Today, for two hours, all of our digital channels went dark to protest this unjust treatment. In response, we've seen people and media organizations from around the world come together as one to call for Rasool's release and advocate for global press freedom. We at VICE want to thank all of you for your support and commitment to this fight.

The #FreeRasool hashtag trended globally in New York City, London, DC, and—most importantly—Turkey. In that short time, we also received over 8,000 signatures on our Change.org petition imploring the Turkish government to do the right thing and grant Mohammed Rasool his freedom.

Iraqi journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool was arrested in late August along with two British journalists from VICE News, Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, in Turkey's southeastern city of Diyarbakir. While Hanrahan and Pendlebury were released a week later, Rasool remains behind bars.

Rasool, who is based in Turkey, was acting as a fixer and translator for VICE News at the time of his arrest. Rasool, like many fixers, is an experienced journalist  who has worked extensively in the Middle East for The Associated Press and Al-Jazeera as well as VICE News.

Western newsrooms increasingly rely on local journalists as foreign bureaus shut down and reporting from conflict areas grows more dangerous. Without journalists like Rasool, international correspondents would struggle to navigate foreign terrain, and world news would have little local context.

Rasool’s imprisonment is a grave injustice, no less so than imprisoning two British journalists. All three were on assignment when they were detained. We call on Turkish authorities to release Rasool at once.