Turkey
2012
In Turkey, Odatv publisher conditionally released
Istanbul, December 28, 2012–Turkish authorities on Thursday released Soner Yalçın, owner and publisher of the ultranationalist-leftist news website Odatv, from prison for the duration of his trial, according to news reports. Yalçın, who has been jailed since February 2011 on anti-state charges, could be re-arrested and jailed if he is convicted.
For Turkey, world’s leading jailer, a path forward
Turkey has no business being the world’s leading jailer of journalists. But the numbers don’t lie. With 49 journalists imprisoned for their work, according to CPJ’s annual worldwide prison census, released today, Turkey holds more individuals behind bars than Iran (45), China (32), or Eritrea (28). How did Turkey find itself in this situation? Unlike…
Turkey, jailer of journalists, hedges bets on democracy
More reporters are jailed in Turkey than in any other country in the world. According to CPJ’s recent survey, at least 61 are imprisoned directly for their work, representing the second biggest media crackdown in the 27 years we have been documenting such records. (Only Turkey itself has rivaled the extent of this crackdown, when…
Questions about CPJ’s Turkey report? Here, our answers.
Last week’s release of CPJ’s report on Turkey’s press freedom crisis generated widespread domestic media coverage and sparked a robust public debate. The response from Turkish journalists and commentators was largely positive, but there were some negative reactions as well. Turkey’s Justice Ministry has promised a detailed response this week. Here is a summary of…
Mission Journal: First of two CPJ delegations visits Turkey
This week I joined CPJ board Chairman Sandra Mims Rowe, Executive Director Joel Simon, and Turkish researcher Özgür Ögret in Istanbul to present CPJ’s latest report, “Turkey’s Press Freedom Crisis,” and convey our main press freedom concerns, including the mass imprisonment of journalists.
Turkey’s Press Freedom Crisis
The Dark Days of Jailing Journalists and Criminalizing Dissent Turkish authorities are engaging in widespread criminal prosecution and jailing of journalists, and are applying other forms of severe pressure to promote self-censorship in the press, a CPJ analysis shows. CPJ has found highly repressive laws, particularly in the penal code and anti-terror law; a criminal…
Turkey’s Press Freedom Crisis
About This Report Nina Ognianova, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, is the lead author of this report and directed its research. CPJ Senior European Adviser Jean-Paul Marthoz, Deputy Director Robert Mahoney, and Executive Director Joel Simon contributed reporting, as did CPJ’s Turkey-based researchers, Özgür Öğret, Şafak Timur, and Nebahat Kübra Akalın. Attorney Fikret…