Ahead of June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 18 other international press freedom and freedom of expression organizations in calling on to the future leader of Turkey to prioritize press freedom and safety of journalists in the country.
Turkey is the world’s leading jailer of journalists, with at least 73 in jail in direct retaliation for their work when CPJ conducted its most recent prison census on December 1, 2017.
The joint letter, led by European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, calls on presidential candidates, including the incumbent, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to drop charges against all journalists and to release those in prison, and to protect and strengthen press freedom and independent journalism by restoring impartiality of the judiciary and ending the state control of media.
To read the letter, click here.