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…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 25
Reporter arraigned on terrorism charges for having app on phone A court in the southern Turkish city of Isparta on September 24 arraigned Ramazan Alkan, a reporter for the pro-government, Islamist daily Yeni Akit on terrorism charges for having an app on his phone authorities believe followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen use to communicate…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 18
Taraf chief editor detained hours after release Hours after his release from prison, the writer and journalist Ahmet Altan was detained again. Altan turned himself in late last night and was arrested after hearing that he was wanted by authorities, according to reports. According to a report in the daily, Hürriyet, the prosecution objected to…
CPJ testifies on Turkey’s press freedom record after failed coup attempt
CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova today testified before the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, at the hearing, “Turkey after the July Coup Attempt.”
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 11
Eid holiday leaves detained writers in legal limbo, lawyers say Veysel Ok and Ergin Cinmen, lawyers for Mehmet and Ahmet Altan, two prominent writers detained four days ago, yesterday made a joint statement saying that because of the Eid holiday they could not find the responsible prosecutor or a court in which to appeal their…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 4
Police raid Kurdish magazine office Police raided Istanbul office of the pro-Kurdish magazine Özgür Halk today, the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reported. DİHA reported that the raid, which was in progress at the time of publication, was related to the magazine’s feature commemorating August 15, the date the banned Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) took…
Award-winning editor’s wife banned from leaving Turkey, passport confiscated
New York, September 3, 2016–Turkish authorities should cease preventing Dilek Dündar, wife of exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar, from leaving the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Can Dündar told CPJ that security officers at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport this morning confiscated his wife’s passport and prevented her from boarding a plane to Europe,…
Freelance journalist Lindsey Snell detained in Turkey after leaving Syria
New York, September 1, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Turkish authorities today to release Lindsey Snell, an American freelance journalist who has been detained since August 7 after traveling to Turkey from Syria, where she said she had been filming.
Turkish prosecutors issue 35 arrest warrants for journalists
New York, August 30, 2016 — Turkish prosecutors should cancel orders for the detention of 35 journalists, and authorities should unconditionally release all journalists already jailed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police today detained at least nine of the journalists on the list, according to press reports.