FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Latest News

• CFWIJ demands action to end police brutality against journalists in Turkey 

  The international association CFWIJ sees police violence against women journalists in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan as one of the most pressing problems for press freedom and has launched a petition.
• Writer Gökhan Yavuzel attacked in Wales after exposing 'hit list' 

  Writer Gökhan Yavuzel, one of the names on a ‘hit list’ shared on a social media account, was attacked in Wales.
• Security forces attack 44 women journalists in Turkey in 2021 

  The Women in Journalism Coalition announced that 44 women journalists were attacked by law enforcement officers in Turkey in 2021.
• Journalists' Association condemns police violence against Suruç commemoration 

  The police used violence against journalists who were covering the commemoration event for victims of Şuruç massacre in Istanbul. Several journalists were injured by the shields and rubber bullets of the police.
• German police warn critical journalist from Turkey 

  Police have warned critical journalist Celal Başlangıç, who lives in Germany, that he is on an "execution list" and that his safety is in danger.
• Journalist Erk Acarer receives threatening message  

  Journalist Erk Acarer said that a threatening message was left in the garden of his house. Acerer was attacked a couple of weeks ago.
• CPJ sends letter to Turkish authorities calling for press card reform 

  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has sent a letter to Presidency’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun. Calling for a press card reform, the Committee has said, “We urge you to abandon your hostile rhetoric toward journalists in Turkey.”
• Trials against Özgür Gündem and Özgürlükçü Demokrasi postponed to November 

  The trials against Özgür Gündem Newspaper editor-in-chief Hüseyin Aykol and other journalists, and journalists from Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, both closed by Decree-Law, were postponed.
• Prison sentence for article about German Erdoğan cartoons 

  Due to an article about German Erdogan cartoons from 2015, Evrensel editor Cem Şimşek has been sentenced to almost one year in prison in Istanbul for presidential insult.
• Journalist Erk Acarer, in exile in Berlin, attacked and beaten up in his flat 

  Journalist Erk Acarer, who lived in exile in Berlin, was attacked in his Berlin apartment and beaten up.
• 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.