In a letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Committee to Protect Journalists voiced its concerns about the continued press freedom crisis in Turkey.

The CPJ letter was delivered yesterday to Kenan Özdemir, deputy undersecretary in the Ministry of Justice, who met with a delegation from CPJ to discuss the organization's concern. The delegation consisted of CPJ Chairman Sandra Mims Rowe, board member John Carroll, Executive Director Joel Simon, and Turkey correspondent Özgür Öğret.

Referring to the special report CPJ published in October 2012, which highlighted the widespread criminal prosecution and imprisonment of journalists and the government's use of various forms of pressure that promotes self-censorship, the Committee remarked that almost a year later, the media environment in Turkey remained extremely difficult.

The CPJ has re-voiced its concerns over the following points;

-The continued jailing of journalists in retaliation for their work, and the linkage of reporting that challenges government policies with terrorism;

-The heated anti-press rhetoric coming from the top echelons of power that emboldens zealous prosecutors to go after critics, and causes jittery media owners to clear their newsrooms of independent voices in order to protect their businesses;

-The attempted government-sanctioned censorship of sensitive topics and news events;

-The official threats to restrict Turkey's social media--a vibrant space for Turkey's independent and opposition voices;

-The use of social media by a public official to smear at least one independent reporter;

-The crackdown on journalists and media outlets in retaliation for their independent or pro-opposition coverage of June's anti-government rallies, commonly known as the Gezi Park protests.

Reminding that Turkey held 49 media workers behind bars, making it the world's leading jailer of journalists, when CPJ published its annual global census of journalists imprisoned for their work on December 1, 2012, the Committee pointed out that in January, Turkey arrested 11 more journalists on the charge of belonging to a banned terrorist organization.CPJ remarked that this charge--a part of Turkey's anti-terror law--has been used in the past against journalists who cover sensitive issues.

CPJ added that; "As of June, when CPJ did an internal, mid-year update of the imprisoned roster in Turkey, we accounted for seven releases--all conditional, where journalists were let out of prison pending the outcome of their trials--and at least five new imprisonments. In addition, an August court verdict in the Ergenekon case--an alleged broad anti-government conspiracy--declared at least 20 journalists guilty of involvement in the plot, and they were given lengthy prison sentences".

According to CPJ, while the restrictive laws and prosecutions are central to the media crisis in Turkey, so too is the atmosphere fostered at the top levels of government. When top officials use the term "terrorists" to describe critical journalists they send a disturbing message that could cause others to take action.

Remarking that with traditional media under pressure, the Internet, including social media, has become an important outlet for free expression in Turkey, CPJ also voiced concerns over recent official comments, including threats to restrict the online flow of information.

Referring to the statements of Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç who said during the process of Gezi protests early June that government had the capacity to limit internet access, CPJ underlined that the government of Turkey ought to encourage a vibrant debate, a diversity of opinions, and independent reporting on news events crucial to the public.

CPJ indicated that less than a month before the Gezi Park events, when twin car bombs shook the district of Reyhanli in the southeastern province of Hatay near the Syrian border, killing at least 51 people and wounding dozens of others, a local court issued a gag order on all news coverage of the attack. The ban was unprecedented both in scope and in the way it was imposed, it added.

CPJ said they have also documented numerous cases of attacks on and the obstruction and detention of journalists during the clashes between police and anti-government protesters in Istanbul, Ankara, and elsewhere in Turkey. They include -it added- instances in which journalists were targeted deliberately by police in retaliation for photographing the clashes. Both local and international reporters were affected.

CPJ also reminded of the decision of the Turkish state media regulator, RTÜK, to penalize four television stations in connection with their coverage of the Gezi Park demonstrations.

Reminding PM Erdoğan that he had publicly accused the international media of biased coverage of the Gezi Park events, singling out CNN International, the BBC, and Reuters in mid-June, with tensions running high, CPJ said they found Erdoğan's suggestion that international coverage was part of a plot to subvert his government highly disturbing.

CPJ said it was also alarmed by reports of numerous firings and forced resignations of critical columnists, editors, and reporters, and in apparent retaliation for their coverage of the Gezi Park protests. "According to our colleagues at the Turkish Union of Journalists, an independent media association that documents attacks on the press, at least 22 journalists were fired and another 37 were forced to quit their jobs over their coverage of the anti-government protests. As a result of direct or indirect government pressure, media owners have dismissed many popular journalists and the absence of their voices has been conspicuous", it underlined.

CPJ ended the letter to PM Erdoğan by calling on relevant authorities to take the following steps to ensure that the press is able to operate freely and without fear of harassment and persecution during this critical time in Turkey's history:

-Release all journalists held in pre-trial detention without delay.

-Review the cases of journalists behind bars, including ones who have already been convicted under broad anti-terror law and penal code charges.

-Halt the criminal prosecution of journalists in connection with their reporting and commentary; cease using journalism as evidence of criminal activity.

-Stop equating reporting that challenges government's policies with terrorism.

-Stop the pressure being applied to the Turkish media to tone down their coverage or get rid of critics.

-Review the actions of Turkey's law enforcement against journalists covering the Gezi Park protests, and prosecute any responsible for attacking, detaining, obstructing, or otherwise targeting journalists on the job.

-Reform all laws routinely used against the media, including provisions of the penal code and anti-terror law that criminalize news gathering and dissemination of critical, sensitive, or opposing views. Narrow down and clearly define the meaning of the term "terrorist." In abolishing or drafting amendments to those laws, work closely with Turkey's media, press freedom organizations and international institutions experienced in advising countries on adopting national legislation that meets international standards of human rights and press freedom.

CPJ added they looked forward to Erdoğan's government's response to the concerns raised and to continuing engagement in public dialogue around these critical issues.