Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 8
Erdoğan praises Trump for ‘beating down’ CNN reporter Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for “beating down” (“benzetmek”) CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Costa in a January 11 press conference, according to media reports and video widely distributed on the internet. Trump refused to take a question from CNN at…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of November 6
Opposition newspaper CEO detained Police at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport detained Akın Atalay, CEO of the embattled opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, as he disembarked from his flight from Berlin today, Turkey’s official Anadolu News Agency reported. The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office for Press Crimes had issued a warrant for his arrest in the scope of authorities’ investigation…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of October 2
Reporter arraigned on terrorism charges for Facebook posts The Mersin Court of Penal Peace last night arraigned Cemil Uğur, a reporter for the left-wing Evrensel newspaper, on charges of “being member of a [terrorist] organization,” and “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization,” his employer reported. Police held Uğur for 16 days in August, before a court…
Turkey closes at least 20 TV, radio stations
New York, September 29, 2016–Turkish authorities should immediately reverse an order to close at least 20 television and radio stations and allow them to continue broadcasting without interference, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The government used emergency powers to order the stations closed last night, and police raided and sealed the offices of…