At least 11 journalists in custody after police raids in Turkey
Istanbul, October 25, 2022—Turkish authorities should immediately release the Kurdish journalists in police custody and stop harassing them with secret investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday. Early Tuesday morning, Turkish police simultaneously raided several homes and one newsroom in the cities of Ankara, Diyarbakır, Istanbul, Mardin, Urfa, and Van, as part of…
Pro-government Turkish daily Sabah publishes locations of exiled journalists
New York, October 24, 2022—Turkish authorities and their allies at pro-government media outlets should take steps not to expose the physical locations of exiled journalists, which puts them at great risk, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. The leading pro-government Turkish daily newspaper Sabah revealed the locations of at least three exiled Turkish journalists…
Turkish parliament to vote on criminalizing the spread of ‘false information’
Istanbul, October 5, 2022—The Turkish parliament should not approve the draft bill on misinformation that would criminalize spreading “false information,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. Turkey’s parliament, known as the Grand National Assembly, started discussing the draft bill on Tuesday evening and is set to finish voting this week, according to multiple news…
Turkish journalist Hatice Şahin sentenced to more than 6 years in prison on terrorism charge
Istanbul, September 20, 2022—Turkish authorities should not fight the appeal of journalist Hatice Şahin and stop persecuting journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Monday, September 19, Şahin, a freelance journalist who was a former reporter for the pro-Kurdish privately owned daily newspaper Yeni Yaşam, was sentenced to six years and three months…
Turkey’s legal year begins with new terrorism charges, convictions for journalists
In the first week of the legal year when courts open, Turkish courts convicted two journalists on terrorism charges, brought new terrorism charges against two others, and rejected an appeal for the release of 15 journalists and one media worker, who have been in pretrial detention for nearly three months. On Wednesday, September 7, 2022,…
Turkish authorities arrest journalist Sinan Aygül for refusing to pay fine
Istanbul, September 13, 2022—Turkish authorities should immediately release journalist Sinan Aygül and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. Aygül, chief editor of the privately owned local news website Bitlis News and chair of the Bitlis Journalists Society, a local trade group, was arrested by police in the eastern city…
Greek journalist Evangelos Areteos denied entry to Turkey
Istanbul, August 29, 2022–Turkish authorities should allow Greek journalist Evangelos Areteos to work freely, and should not let political considerations influence journalists’ admission into the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Thursday, August 25, authorities at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul detained Areteos, a reporter for the Greek newspaper Real and…
CPJ joins calls for Turkish regulator to reverse ad ban on Evrensel daily
On August 26, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined the International Press Institute and 17 Turkish and international groups in a joint statement calling for Turkey’s Press Ad Agency, the state regulator of government advertisements in print media, to reverse its cancellation of advertisements carried by the leftist daily Evrensel. In the statement, the…
Turkish court rejects request to release 15 journalists from pretrial detention
Istanbul, August 22, 2022 – In response to news reports that a Turkish court in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır rejected appeals to release 15 journalists and one media worker from pretrial detention, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “We are deeply disappointed by the court’s decision to reject a…
Turkey blocks websites of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle
Istanbul, July 1, 2022 – In response to news reports that Turkish authorities blocked the websites of the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America and German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Turkish authorities’ censorship of the international broadcasters Voice of America and Deutsche…