Turkish journalist Furkan Karabay arrested over reporting on opposition arrest
Istanbul, November 11, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish authorities to immediately free reporter Furkan Karabay, who was seized from his home at dawn on Friday after he published a report about the arrest of an opposition mayor. “Journalist Furkan Karabay is the latest in a long line of journalists who have ended…
Turkish court sentences 5 journalists from shuttered newspaper to prison
Istanbul, May 9, 2024 — After an Istanbul court on Thursday sentenced five journalists for “aiding a terrorist organization without being a member” in connection to their work at the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgürlükçü Demokrasi (Liberal Democracy), the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Turkish authorities to not fight their appeals and end the judicial…
Turkish court sentences journalist Barış Terkoğlu to 2 years under terror law
Istanbul, May 2, 2024 — Turkish authorities should not contest the appeal of journalist Barış Terkoğlu after he was sentenced to two years on terrorism-related charges and review the related legislation to prevent retaliatory prosecution against journalists for their critical reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. The 13th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes…
Drop in jailed Turkish journalists belies a long-simmering press freedom crisis
In CPJ’s 2023 annual prison census, Turkey was the world’s 10th worst jailer of journalists—its most press-friendly ranking in almost a decade—with 13 behind bars, down from 40 the previous year. But the latest numbers don’t tell the full story. Turkey has consistently vied with China for the top slot in CPJ’s list of shame…
Mehmet Kamış
Mehmet Kamış, a former columnist and deputy chief editor for the shuttered Turkish daily Zaman, was arrested in November 2023. He had evaded an arrest warrant for more than seven years on charges, filed in the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup, of terrorism and attempting to overthrow the government. After the July 15, 2016,…
Celalettin Can
Celalettin Can, an author and spokesperson for the activist group the 78’ers Initiative, is serving a 15-month sentence for working as a guest editor for the now-shuttered newspaper Özgür Gündem for one day in 2016. The daily Özgür Gündem was a leading pro-Kurdish publication before it was shuttered by authorities in October 2016 due to…
Mehmet Kamış
Mehmet Kamış, a former columnist and deputy chief editor for the shuttered Turkish daily Zaman, was arrested in November 2023. He had evaded an arrest warrant for more than seven years on charges, filed in the aftermath of the failed 2016 coup, of terrorism and attempting to overthrow the government. After the July 15, 2016,…
Celalettin Can
Celalettin Can, an author and spokesperson for the activist group the 78’ers Initiative, is serving a 15-month sentence for working as a guest editor for the now-shuttered newspaper Özgür Gündem for one day in 2016. The daily Özgür Gündem was a leading pro-Kurdish publication before it was shuttered by authorities in October 2016 due to…
Turkish editor Furkan Karabay arrested for reporting on corruption trial of judiciary members
Istanbul, January 2, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Turkish authorities to immediately release journalist Furkan Karabay and to stop criminalizing reporting on the judiciary. Istanbul police took Karabay, an editor for independent news website Gerçek Gündem (The Real Agenda), into custody on December 28, 2023 according to news reports. The next day, he…
Turkish courts find 2 journalists guilty on terror charges
Istanbul, April 18, 2023—In response to Turkish authorities’ sentencing of two journalists on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “By issuing prison sentences to Mehmet Güleş and İsmail Çoban, Turkish authorities have yet again abused the country’s anti-terror legislation,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey…