FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Latest News

• Turkish court sentences Wall Street Journal reporter to prison 

  Turkey has taken legal action against yet another foreign journalist reporting on the conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdish people.
• 176 journalists behind bars in Turkey 

  The Free Journalists Initiative has pointed out that the rights violations against the journalists continued in September and said, “176 of our colleagues are in prison.” The initiative gave the message: “We will not give up any press freedom.”
• Musa Anter Journalism Awards Ceremony in Istanbul banned 

  25th Musa Anter and Free Press Martyrs Journalism Awards Ceremony due to be held in Istanbul today, has been banned by Beyoğlu District Governorate.
• Cameraman for Rojnews detained in Sulaymaniyah 

  Rojnews cameraman Mihemed Welî has been taken into custody by the asayish in Sulaymaniyah while covering a demonstration before the arrival of KDP leader Masoud Barzani.
• Journalist Candemir sentenced to 18 months in prison 

  Journalist Oktay Candemir who stands trial for his news articles has received 18 months prison sentence.
• Press freedom in Turkey: 30 journalists detained in August 

  30 journalists were detained and 14 of them are arrested and set to prison between 1-31 August in Turkey, Free Journalists’ Initiative (OGI) said in a report.
• Turkey revokes passport of writer Aslı Erdoğan 

  Writer Aslı Erdoğan who was to travel to Germany to accept a peace prize had her passport seized by Turkish authorities.
• KDP halts local broadcast of NRT channel 

  The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has halted local broadcast from the channel NRT through the Directorate of Media, Printing and Publications in Hewler.
• Macron urges Turkey to release French journalist 

  The French state that has long remained silent on Turkey’s fascistic practices has finally reacted to Turkey for jailing a French journalist.
• Kurdish newspaper 'Welat' starts publication 

  The Kurdish newspaper 'Welat' (Homeland) has started publication. The first issue of the newspaper has been published today with the headline ‘Free press will not be crashed, will not fall'.
• Journalist Mete jailed 

  Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee Semiha Mete who was detained during newspaper distribution in İzmir’s Buca district on August 21, has been jailed.
• Dihaber news agency central office in Amed sealed 

  The central office of Dihaber news agency, which was shut down with statutory decree No 693 issued at midnight, has been sealed.
• Gazete Şûjin won't be silent: We were, are, will always be here 

  The women’s journalism website Şûjin, with their motto “A packing needle [“şûjin”] against the masculine language of the mainstream media”, has been shut down by the government of Turkey with a statutory decree targeting the free press.
• Dihaber, Şûjin and Rojeva Medya shut down 

  The AKP government has issued two new Statutory Decrees and shut down the Rojeva Medya newspaper, the Gazete Şûjin website and the Diyarbakır-Dicle Medya news agency.
• Cyber attack against Gazete Şûjin 

  The women’s journalism website Şûjin, with their motto “A packing needle [“şûjin”] against the masculine language of the mainstream media”, is recovering from a cyber attack.
• English PEN calls for immediate release of journalist Doğan 

  English PEN has joined colleagues around the world in calling for immediate release of Kurdish journalist and artist Zehra Doğan.
• Media attacks and jail – the price of solidarity in Turkey 

  Turkey is ranked 155th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index. The already worrying media situation has become critical under the state of emergency. Around 150 media outlets have been closed and more than 100 journalists are jailed.
• YouTube closes YPG account 

  After Facebook and Twitter, YouTube is now suspending the accounts of the Kurdish accounts that are providing independent reports from the Kurdistan territory.  
• Loic Bureau: My son is a journalist and journalism is no crime 

  Father of French journalist Loup Bureau, Loic Bureau, spoke to ANF about the imprisonment of his son by the Turkish state for an interview he had made with the YPG in Syria in 2013.
• Detained French journalist’s lawyer: French government should act 

  Journalist Loup Bureau has been in custody for days because he had photographs of YPG fighters on his person as he entered Turkey through the Habur border gate. His lawyer has called on the French government to act.
• Editor of BirGün Daily detained in house raid 

  One of the editors for Birgün Daily, Burak Ekici, has been taken into custody.
• DİHABER reporters accused for their articles and photographs 

  DİHABER reporters who were detained while they were on assignment for a story, have been accused for the articles they produced. The reporters’ pieces on borders and ecology, and Al-Nusra’s activity in Turkey were included in the accusation.
• Reporter sued while killer walks free 

  The police had raided Şefik Tunuç’s home in Gevaş and held a gun to his head in 2014, and Tunuç had died after he suffered a heart attack. Journalist Hülya Emeç who reported on the incident, Tunuç’s wife and other agency employees are being sued now.
• OSCE Representative calls on Turkey to release jailed journalists 

  The start of the trial against journalists and board members of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet today highlights the urgent need to protect journalism and improve media freedom in Turkey, Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media stated.
• BIA Media Monitoring Report: 136 journalists behind bars 

  136 journalists entered July 2017 in prison; 301 journalists are under threat of 142 aggravated lifetime, 5 lifetime and from 4,259 years and 10 months in prison. 18 journalists face 90 years in prison for insulting Erdoğan.