Turkey / Europe & Central Asia

  
Reports
A June 5, 2019, photo shows a "media interview area" for reporters set up near the Idkah mosque on the morning of Eid al-Fitr, when Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan, in Kashgar, in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. China was the world’s leading jailer of journalists in 2019, with at least 48 in prison. (AFP/Greg Baker)

China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt are world’s worst jailers of journalists

For the fourth consecutive year, at least 250 journalists are imprisoned globally as authoritarians like Xi Jinping, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Mohammed bin Salman, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi show no signs of letting up on the critical media. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Features & Analysis
Semiha Şahin, an editor at ETHA, is in legal limbo after Turkish authorities failed to fully implement the terms of her house arrest. (ETHA)

‘I could be jailed at any moment’: Turkish editor in limbo over terms of prison release

If somebody is legally under house arrest but in practice not, are they free? Semiha Şahin, an editor at the socialist Etkin News Agency (ETHA), confronts this question—and the legal ambiguity that it poses—every day. A Turkish court released the journalist under house arrest in June, pending the outcome of her trial, but authorities have…

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Alerts
President Donald Trump walks toward the Oval Office after posing for photographers with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on November 13. Turkey detained at least six journalists in the same week as Erdoğan's visit to the U.S. (AP/Evan Vucci)

As Erdoğan visits Trump, Turkey jails more journalists

Istanbul, November 14, 2019—Turkey must end its harassment of the press and stop jailing journalists simply for doing their job, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the past week, Turkish authorities have jailed at least three journalists, and detained three others overnight, according to reports.

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Alerts
In this photo taken from the Turkish side of the border with Syria, in Akcakale, Sanliurfa province, smoke billows from targets inside Syria during bombardment by Turkish forces on October 10, 2019. Turkey has banned critical reports on the assault. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkey bans critical reports on military operation in Syria, detains 2 journalists

Istanbul, October 10, 2019 –Turkish authorities must stop censoring news reports on the country’s military incursion into Syria and detaining or harassing journalists who cover it, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Features & Analysis
A court where journalists from the Zaman newspaper were tried is seen in Istanbul on July 6, 2018. CPJ joined 12 other groups in issuing a statement calling on U.N. member states to urge Turkey to improve its freedom of speech record. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

CPJ joins call to UN rights council for end to press crackdown in Turkey

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 12 other press freedom and freedom of expression organizations calling on the member states of the U.N. Human Rights Council to urge Turkey to end its repressive policies against independent reporting and free speech.

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Features & Analysis
Former staffers of the Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet--cartoonist Musa Kart (C), columnist Guray Oz (L), board member Onder Celik (L2), layers Mustafa Kemal Gungor (R2), and columnist Hakan Kara (R)--speak with journalists after their release near from Kandira prison, in Kandira, Turkey, on September 12, 2019. A joint mission to Turkey found that the press freedom situation remains highly restrictive, despite some room for very cautious optimism. (Stringer/Cumhuriyet Daily Newspaper/AFP)

Press freedom situation in Turkey remains highly restrictive, despite some room for very cautious optimism, joint mission finds

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined an international press freedom mission to Turkey that met with journalists, civil society, diplomats, the judiciary, and government officials. The visiting delegation voiced concern about the continued crackdown on journalists in the country and the need for the authorities to protect a free press, address inconsistencies and…

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Statements
The headquarters of the Cumhuriyet newspaper is seen in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 16, 2017. Five imprisoned staffers of the paper were released following an appeals court decision today. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Five staffers of Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper released from jail

Istanbul, September 12, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed a decision by the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn a verdict by a lower court and release five former staffers of the Cumhuriyet newspaper who have been imprisoned since April.

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Case
A Turkish court is seen in Istanbul on July 6, 2018. Turkey's courts recently opened their new judicial year with fines and stiff penalties for journalists. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkish courts open new judicial year with fines, jail sentences for journalists

Turkish courts opened their new judicial year on September 2, 2019, with delayed sentences of jailtime, fines, and mandatory library time for journalists, according to news reports.

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Alerts
Police detain a protester in Istanbul on August 20, 2019. At least seven journalists were recently arrested throughout Turkey. (AFP/Yasin Akgul)

At least 7 journalists arrested throughout Turkey

Istanbul, August 21, 2019 – Turkish authorities must immediately release the seven journalists who were detained by police since August 19, as well as all journalists jailed for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Statements
Journalists hold placards on January 10, 2016, during a march in Istanbul as they protest against the imprisonment of journalists. On July 16, 2019, a Turkish court ordered service providers to block access to several news sites. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkish court orders service providers to block access to news sites

Istanbul, August 6, 2019–An Ankara court on July 16 ordered Turkish internet service providers to block access in Turkey to 136 web addresses, independent news website Bianet reported today. The blocked addresses include the websites of news outlets Bianet, ETHA news agency, Halkın Sesi TV, Özgür Gelecek, osp.org, geziyisavunuyoruz.org, Gazete Fersude, Yeni Demokratik Gençlik, Umut…

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