2019

Court dismisses trial of Paradise Papers reporter Pelin Ünker The trial of Pelin Ünker, a former reporter for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, who faced charges related to her coverage of the Paradise Papers, was closed on March 28 after the judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, Medyascope reported. Ünker was accused of…

Evrensel journalist acquitted over Paradise Papers charge An Istanbul court on March 19 acquitted Çağrı Sarı, the former responsible news editor for the leftist daily Evrensel, of insult and libel, her employer reported. The case focused on Evrensel’s coverage of the Paradise Papers in April, which alleged that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak,…

Court convicts Gün Printing House owner and staff An Istanbul court on March 11 convicted seven employees of the Gün Printing House, including the owner, Kasım Zengin, of anti-state charges and sentenced them to prison, the pro-Kurdish Mezopatamya News Agency reported. The court acquitted 15 other employees who were also on trial.

On International Women’s Day, CPJ has highlighted the cases of female journalists jailed around the world in retaliation for their work. At least 33 of the 251 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s prison census are women. At least one of those–Turkish reporter and artist Zehra Dogan–was released in February after serving a…

Journalist and former CHP politician sentenced An Istanbul court on March 1 convicted Eren Erdem, the former chief editor for the defunct daily Karşı and a former parliamentary deputy in the main opposition party CHP, of “knowingly and willingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization’s hierarchical structure,” and sentenced him to…

RSF Turkey representative in court Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative for the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was in court in Istanbul on February 25 alongside Şebnem Korur Fincancı, a columnist for the leftist daily Evrensel and president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and Ahmet Nesin, a writer and a columnist…

Appeals court upholds Cumhuriyet verdict An Istanbul appeals court on February 19 upheld the terrorism-related convictions of staff from the daily Cumhuriyet who were earlier sentenced to five years or less in prison, according to reports. CPJ condemned the decision. The decision means that at least six defendants, including a cartoonist, journalists, a lawyer, an…

Istanbul, February 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Istanbul appeals court’s decision today to uphold the terrorism-related convictions of the staff of pro-opposition daily newspaper Cumhuriyet.

Police detain two journalists in separate raids Police on February 12 detained Salih Turan, a freelance journalist who formerly worked for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America and the Kurdish service of the Russian-state-funded outlet Sputnik, on accusations of “making propaganda of a [terrorist] organization” on social media and “being a member of a…

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 47 members of the European Parliament and other press freedom organizations to call on Turkey to end its crackdown on the press and the mass imprisonment of journalists.