Beril Eski

“Studying law at college with a full scholarship, I was expected to become a corporate lawyer with a rewarding salary and privileges. And I became one. But my search for meaning in my profession continued and took me back to my early age passion: writing.

When I met the Editor-in-Chief of Agos, an Armenian weekly, I knew I wanted to become a journalist. So, I asked for a job.

I wrote for Agos for almost two years, trying to bring attention to under-covered stories. Then I moved to London to work for BBC Turkish, where I excelled in my reporting and editorial skills. In 2016, I made an unpopular decision to move back to Istanbul when most people, unhappy with the rising authoritarianism, were leaving the country. I worked with non-governmental organisations focusing on refugees and human rights and expanded my network in various communities.

During my work for Amnesty International’s Turkey office, I became a committed press freedom advocate, paid visits to journalists in prison, and published their stories. I still visit imprisoned journalists for the Committee to Protect Journalists and am an active member of Turkey’s Journalists’ Union and the International Press Institute. I continue to be part of programmes to train Roma community representatives in media and local journalists in long-term investigations.

Since 2019, I have been focusing on investigations, mostly in big teams, looking at immigration, government accountability and gender across Turkey. I have written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and more.

I am a tenacious and determined journalist, striving for accuracy and fairness. I travel to the scene to verify events and speak to people on the ground. I work hard to prove allegations and pursue documents and witnesses to support my report. As a lawyer, I try to contribute to the content with my knowledge and unique access to legal documents.”

See some of Beril’s work:

• Lethal dissent: Iran’s hunt for its citizens abroad
• Meet the Syrian aid workers who came to help Ukraine