FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Latest News

• 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.
• Swedish journalists refuse AKP’s invitation 

  12 out of the 15 Swedish journalists invited to Turkey by the AKP to be informed on the July 15 coup attempt have refused the invitation.
• Two journalists for DİHABER taken into custody 

  Dihaber reporters Erdoğan Alayumat and Nuri Akman have been taken into custody.
• Erdoğan blacklisted, Merkel complied 

  The scandal of the ban on the press by Turkish President Erdoğan's demand in the G20 Summit in Hamburg grows.
• Indictment prepared against 6 journalists arrested in December 

  Indictment has been prepared against six journalists, three of whom already imprisoned, who were detained during a raid in Istanbul on 25 December, 2016.
• 3-year prison sentence for journalist Eskin approved 

  The prison sentence sought for journalist İsmail Eskin for "spreading terrorist propaganda" has been approved.
• Swedish Journalists' Union calls for action for Kurdish TVs 

  Swedish Journalists' Union (SJF) called upon the Swedish and French governments to take a stance against the Turkish state's efforts for the closure of Kurdish television channels.
• No release or acquittal in Özgür Gündem hearing 

  İnan Kızılkaya and Kemal Sancılı, who are jailed pending trial, have not been released during today's hearing in Özgür Gündem main case. Kızılkaya said: "Journalism is not a crime. I demand freedom for all imprisoned journalists."
• Journalists and writers from Norway in solidarity with Stêrk TV 

  Norway's Journalist Union and Norway's Writers Union expressed solidarity with Kurdish channel Stêrk TV that French satellite company Eutelsat seeks to shut down at Turkey's request.
• UN Rapporteur: We can’t talk of an independent media in Turkey 

  UN Freedom of Thought and Expression Special Rapporteur Kaye stated that it is no longer possible to speak of an independent media in Turkey and that the State of Emergency has been turned into a tool of oppression against the opposition.
• Access to 'Şûjin' news agency banned by Turkey 

  Access to another news agency has been banned by the Turkish state as the continuation of a long trail of crackdown on Kurdish and opposition media.
• Journalist Zehra Doğan jailed 

  Journalist-painter Zehra Doğan was detained while travelling on Amed-Mardin highway and she was remanded in custody due to an approved prison sentence given to her.
• Turkey releases French photographer after one month of detention 

  French photographer Mathias Depardon who was under arrest in Turkey since May 8 has been released and deported.
• Journalist Türfent faces 22.5 years in prison 

  Nedim Türfent received threats of execution during the period of the curfews and has been in prison for 13 months for his journalistic activity in Gever. He is facing 22.5 years in prison.
• Letter from imprisoned journalist Meşale Tolu 

  Meşale Tolu, journalist and translator for ETHA, sent a letter from the Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul where she is held since her arrest one month ago, together with her 2-year-old baby.
• This month’s toll on the journalists in Turkey 

  The Free Journalists Initiative condemned the detention of journalists Güzüpek and Ertaş and issued a statement on the rights violations journalists in Turkey experienced this month.
• Prison sentence for journalist Doğan approved 

  The 2 years, 9 months and 22 days prison sentence sought for journalist Zehra Doğan has been approved.