FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Latest News

• Journalist Çetin Kurşun sentenced to 13 years in prison in Mardin 

  Kurdish journalist Çetin Kurşun has been sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison for alleged membership of a terrorist organisation in Mardin. The court issued an arrest warrant.
• Mezopotamya Agency reporter subjected to police violence 

  Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reporter Hakan Yalçın was beaten by policemen while he was reporting on a protest.
• Prosecutor's office demands punishment for journalists Oruç and Müftüoğlu 

  The prosecutor's office demanded punishment for journalist Aziz Oruç (who is in prison) and DFG (Dicle and Firat Journalists Association) co-chair Dicle Müftüoğlu.
• SNJ sends postcards to 16 Kurdish journalists jailed in Amed 

  The National Union of Journalists in France sent a solidarity card to 16 Kurdish journalists imprisoned in Amed.
• IFJ calls for the release of journalists detained in Iran 

  The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges Iranian authorities to immediately release the reporters and restore the free flow of information.
• CPJ says at least 18 journalists arrested in Iran, calls for their immediate release 

  Iranian security forces step up arrests of journalists as anti-state protests spread.
• Journalist arrested in Iran after reporting on Amini's death 

  For being the first to publicise the case of Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, who was killed by the morality police, authorities in Iran have arrested journalist Nilufar Hamedi. Another reporter and a photographer have also been detained.
• Prison sentence for JinNews reporter for “terror propaganda" 

  Kurdish journalist Rabia Önver has been sentenced to prison in Turkey. A court in Van found the reporter for the all-female news agency JinNews guilty of disseminating "PKK propaganda" on social media.
• Journalist Nurcan Yalçın sentenced to prison for “supporting the PKK” 

  Kurdish journalist Nurcan Yalçın has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison in Amed for “supporting the PKK”. The background to the trial was a report on the siege of the old city district of Sur.
• Turkey on the verge of rewarding those who killed journalist Musa Anter with impunity, says RSF 

  Musa Anter was gunned down in Diyarbakır on 20 September 1992. Now the Turkish judiciary has come to the brink of rewarding those who killed him with impunity.
• Journalists commemorate Musa Anter at the scene of his murder 

  Kurdish writer Musa Anter was commemorated on the street where he was killed 30 years ago.
• Court sentences journalist Hatice Şahin to 6 years and 3 months in prison 

  Journalist Hatice Şahin, who was accused of "membership in a terrorist organization" for following DTK activities, was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison.
• Media Freedom Rapid Response exposes legal persecution of journalists in Turkey 

  The Media Freedom Rapid Response has published its first semi-annual report of the year.
• Protests in three cities for jailed Kurdish journalists 

  Journalists staged protests in the cities of Amed, Van and Mersin for their jailed colleagues, sending cards, letters and books to them.
• Call for support for the book and letter campaign for 16 jailed Kurdish journalists 

  Journalists will send books and letters to 16 Kurdish journalists who have been imprisoned in Diyarbakır for 3 months in a support campaign.
• Protests in solidarity with jailed journalists will be held in 5 cities on Friday  

  MKGP and DFG will hold protests in 5 cities in solidarity with 16 journalists arrested 3 months ago.
• Justice Ministry says number of jailed journalists 'doesn't concern public' 

  The Ministry of Justice refused to disclose information about journalists behind bars in Turkey, Bianet reports.
• Journalist Sinan Aygül sent to prison 

  Journalist Sinan Aygül, who told AKP Bitlis MP Vahit Kiler to stop being corrupt, has been arrested again.
• Court sentences MA journalists Eser and Topaloğlu to 6 years and 3 months in prison 

  Two former journalists for Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Sadiye Eser and Sadık Topaloğlu, have been sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for "being a member of an illegal organization."
• Journalists file a criminal complaint against violent police officers 

  Journalists Elif Bayburt (ETHA) and Doğan Kaynak (MA) filed charges in Istanbul for police violence they suffered while observing a rally. Both declared that they would continue to report on the resistance in Turkey.
• 16 journalists jailed in Turkey for three months without charge 

  For three months, 16 Kurdish media workers have been held in Turkish prisons without charge. The conditions of detention are getting worse and worse.
• Police blacklist and bring journalist Müftüoğlu to trial 

  The General Directorate of Security blacklisted 20 journalists, including DFG Co-Chair Dicle Müftüoğlu and TGS Chair Gökhan Durmuş. The blacklisting was revealed in a classified document attached to the case file of journalist Müftüoğlu.
• DFG report for August: Number of journalists in prison rose to 79 

  According to the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association, two more journalists were jailed in Turkey in August, bringing the number of journalists behind bars to 79.
• Journalist Ziya Ataman strip searched and put in isolation cell after prison transfer 

  Arrested journalist Ziya Ataman said that he was strip searched in Dumlu No. 2 High Security Prison, to which he was transferred, and was put in a solitary cell.
• Two journalists face prison for doing their job 

  Journalists Rozerin Gültekin (JinNews) and Ergin Çağlar (MA) face a prison sentence of up to three years in Turkey because they went to report on a demonstration against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan held in Bursa.