FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Latest News

• Erdoğan among the “Press freedom predators” on RSF list 

  RSF’s 2021 “Press freedom predators” gallery – old tyrants, two women and a European.
• DFG report for June: Journalists are not safe in Turkey 

  The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) has released its Report on Rights Violations Against Journalists in June 2021.
• Court rules closure of Özgür Gündem newspaper was unconstitutional 

  Turkish Constitutional Court decided that the temporary closure of the pro-Kurdish newspaper "Özgür Gündem" in August 2016 violated freedom of the press and freedom of expression and was therefore unconstitutional.
• CFWIJ documents 70 cases of violations against women journalists in May 

  Types of violations against women journalists in May include murder, abduction, detentions, and physical assaults in the field.
• Journalists tried for reporting on 'helicopter torture' appear in court 

  The hearing of the 5 journalists who reported on the ‘helicopter torture’ of villagers in Van was held.
• RSF: Turkey using press accreditation to pressure journalists 

  Condemning the arbitrary manner in which the Turkish president’s office issues and renews press accreditation in order to put pressure on the media, RSF is spotlighting the cases of four journalists who are combatting this arbitrary practice in courts.
• Court sentences journalist Ismail Çoban to 4 years and 6 months in prison 

  Ismail Çoban, the former editor-in-chief of the Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat, which was closed by decree, was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for news and articles he had published in the newspaper.
• Journalists' associations protest against police violence 

  Journalists' associations in Turkey have taken to the streets to protest police violence. The background is the violent arrest of AFP correspondent Bulent Kilic at the Istanbul Gay Pride on the weekend.
• Journalist Qahraman Shukri sentenced to seven years in prison 

  Journalist Qahraman Shukri, imprisoned in southern Kurdistan, has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the absence of his legal counsel. The charges brought against the 24-year-old are unclear.
• Press organizations slam dirty relations in the Turkish media 

  12 professional press organizations have blasted the dirty relations of ‘journalists’ in the Turkish media, saying corruption is rampant more than ever.
• CPJ calls for release of Kurdish journalist Omed Baroshky 

  “Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq have again displayed their unhindered determination to shrink the space in which [journalists] are able to operate,” said CPJ and called for immediate release of journalist Omed Baroshky.
• US seizes websites linked to Iranian Government 

  Thirty-three websites used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union, and three websites operated by Kataib Hezbollah, were seized, the Justice Department said in a release.
• Six journalists on trial over journalistic activities 

  Six journalists are on trial in Istanbul and Izmir for their reporting. The defendants are accused of terrorism and defamation of the fight against terrorism on the basis of their journalistic activities.
• Journalist Akdemir commemorated where he was murdered in Amed 

  Özgür Gündem correspondent Hafız Akdemir was commemorated on the street where he was murdered in Amed (Diyarbakır).
• DFG reports continued detention, violence and obstacle against journalists in May 

  Dicle Fırat Journalists Association announced that one journalist’s home was raided and one was taken into custody, 7 news and 11 websites were banned in May.
• Turkey: Crackdown on journalists 

  Expression Interrupted said that 213 journalists have been tried in 4 months and 20 journalists have been sentenced to 57 years and 10 months in prison in Turkey.
• MA journalist Mehmet Aslan released after 5 months in pre-trial detention 

  Journalist Mehmet Aslan is to be released after five months of pre-trial detention in Antalya. That was decided by the court in the first hearing of the trial against the correspondent of Mezopotamya Agency.
• Reporter for Mezopotamya news agency detained 

  Journalist and MA correspondent Lezgin Tekay has been detained at the entrance of Ankara.
• CPJ urges Iran to release journalist Najaf Mehdipour 

  Iranian authorities must immediately release journalist Najaf Mehdipour, known as Kaveh, and stop arbitrarily arresting members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.
• Court blocks access to Jinnews website  

  Diyarbakır 4th Criminal Court of Peace ordered access restrictions to Jinnews website.
• IPI expresses solidarity with journalist Melis Alphan 

  The International Press Institute (IPI) has called on Turkey to drop charges against journalist Melis Alphan, who faces up to 7.5 years in prison for a photo she took during the celebrations of Newroz in Diyarbakır in 2015.
• Open debate in Sulaymaniyah underlines role of some media that justify Turkish occupation 

  An open debate held in Sulaymaniyah underlined that some media outlets make publications legitimizing the occupation of the Turkish state.
• EU expresses "concern" about trial of journalists in South Kurdistan 

  Criticizing the latest court ruling against journalists and activists in South Kurdistan, the EU issued a statement calling for the respect of rights in many issues, including fair trial and freedom of expression.
• Life sentence demanded for one of every ten journalists tried in Turkey 

  “Turkey consistently fails to meet its obligations under international law,” the report proves, providing a detailed analysis of legal provisions and practice concerning journalist prosecutions in Turkey against international human rights law standards.
• “We will not allow the honor of journalism to be degraded” 

  “Despite all pressures and crackdown, there are journalists who rely on the universal rules of the press instead of government regulations. These friends, who raise their voices over the injustices, will not allow the honor of journalism to be degraded."