Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranks Turkey 165th out of 180 countries on its press freedom list, and the pressure on journalists continues. In addition to censorship and repression, 77 media professionals are imprisoned in Turkish jails for their professional activities, according to the latest report by the Dicle Firat Journalists' Association (DFG).

Media professionals working in the tradition of the "Free Press" are the ones who suffer the most from the AKP policy of censorship and repression.

Turkish police raided many houses on April 25 as part of an investigation launched by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Of the detained journalists, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) editor Abdurrahman Gök, JINNEWS reporter Beritan Canözer and journalists Mehmet Şah Oruç, Mikail Barut and Remzi Akkaya were imprisoned on April 27 on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization".

The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office prepared indictments against Mesopotamia News Agency (MA) editor Abdurrahman Gök and journalist Mehmet Şah Oruç on June 23.

The indictment against Oruç was sent to the Diyarbakır 4th Heavy Penal Court, which then referred it to Bitlis, where he resides. The indictment accepted by the 2nd Heavy Penal Court in Bitlis seeks up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for “membership in a terrorist organization” in connection with 35 news articles.