Elif Akgül

Elif Akgül is a journalist from Turkey. She began her journalistic career as a reporter at IMC TV, a pro-Kurdish station that was forced to close after the failed military coup in 2016. For six years, she worked as the editor in charge of news and freedom of expression at the website bianet.org. Meanwhile, she published a handbook on "Gender Based Journalism" with her colleague Çiçek Tahaoğlu.

For her coverage of the fallout from the murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 and the subsequent court case, Akgül was awarded the Special Prize of the Metin Göktepe Journalism Award together with her colleague Canan Coşkun. Akgül also currently works as a freelance journalist, for example Deutsche Welle, +90 and various Kurdish media. For ten years, she has been reporting on freedom of expression and court cases against journalists. She observes and reports on trials for organizations such as the Clooney Foundation and the Media and Law Studies Association, of which was a founding member.

Akgül is currently a fellow in the Berlin Scholarship Program, where she is learning more about digital security. She looks forward to sharing her new knowledge with other independent journalists in Turkey.