Turkish court sentences 5 journalists to prison over alleged role in 2016 coup
Istanbul, September 22, 2021 – Turkish authorities should not contest the appeals of five journalists recently sentenced to prison for their alleged involvement with a banned group, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Second Antalya Court of Serious Crimes convicted Cihat Ünal, Ömer Özdemir, Serhat Şeftali, Olgun Matur, and Osman Yakut on…
Assailant of Turkish journalist Can Dündar convicted over 2016 attack, but sentence delayed
On July 8, 2021, a Turkish court sentenced Murat Şahin, who attempted to shoot journalist Can Dündar in a 2016 incident in Istanbul that left journalist Yağız Şenkal injured, to a delayed prison term and monetary fine, according to news reports. The 28th Istanbul Court of First Instance found Şahin guilty of several charges, including…
Turkish presidency reintroduces press card controls that court found restrictive
On April 1 this year, press freedom groups in Turkey chalked up a small win when the nation’s top administrative court, the Council of State, suspended 2018 rules that made it easier for the authorities to cancel or refuse press cards. The changes had transferred authority over press cards to the presidency and barred them…
Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel charged with ‘degrading’ the country
Istanbul, May 13, 2021 – Turkish authorities must cease their legal harassment of journalist Deniz Yücel and drop all of the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, Turkish prosecutors charged Yücel, the former Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, with “publicly degrading the Turkish nation and the State…
CPJ welcomes release of Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan
Istanbul, April 14, 2021 — Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals today overturned the convictions of journalists Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak, who were found guilty of “aiding a terrorist organization” and sentenced to 10 and a half years and eight years and nine months, respectively, in a 2019 retrial, according to reports and CPJ research. Both journalists had been freed…
Turkish police raid Etkin News Agency, arrest reporter Pınar Gayıp
Istanbul, January 14, 2021 – Turkish authorities must release journalist Pınar Gayıp immediately and return all items confiscated in a recent raid on the Etkin News Agency, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Last night, police raided the Istanbul office of the Etkin News Agency, a news outlet supportive of the Socialist Party of…
Exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar sentenced to 27.5 years in prison
Istanbul, December 23, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a Turkish court’s conviction and sentencing of exiled journalist Can Dündar. Today, the 14th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes announced that Dündar, who lives in Germany, had been sentenced to 18 years and nine months in prison for an espionage conviction, and eight…
Berivan Altan
Berivan Altan, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency (MA), was one of 10 journalists detained for alleged terrorist links in various Turkish cities in October 2022. She was detained in Ankara where she remains in Sincan prison pending trial. The reason for the mass arrest remains unclear, but lawyers representing the journalists told…
Önder Çelik
Police detained Önder Çelik, a board member of the foundation that publishes the embattled opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, after a raid of the newspaper’s main office in Istanbul on October 31, 2016, alongside at least 11 other staff members and board members. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul released an official statement soon after the raid,…
Turhan Günay
Police detained Turhan Günay, the editor of the embattled opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet‘s literary supplement, in a raid of the newspaper’s main office in Istanbul on October 31, 2016, alongside at least 11 other staff members and board members of the foundation that publishes it. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Istanbul released an official statement soon…