Turkey / Europe & Central Asia

  
A screenshot shows the August 19, 2016, front page of Özgür Gündem newspaper, released as a special edition of the socialist weekly Atılım, bearing the headline "Resistance continues."

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 14

Released journalists describe beatings in custody, headline ‘Resistance continues’ Journalists from the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, the pro-Kurdish DİHA news agency and broadcaster IMC TV released yesterday alleged that police beat and mistreated them in custody, Özgür Gündem reported on its website, which continues to publish despite a court order temporarily closing the newspaper.…

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Participants in an August 7, 2016, pro-government rally in Istanbul wear masks depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 7, 2016

Police detain 42 employees of state broadcaster The official Anatolia News Agency reported today that police detained 42 employees of state broadcaster TRT on suspicion of affiliation with the Hizment movement, which the Turkish government alleges orchestrated a July 15 failed military coup. Anatolia did not named the detainees or their positions at TRT but…

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan leaves a press conference in Ankara, July 20, 2016 (Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 31

Court indicts 12 media workers on terrorism charges An Istanbul court last night indicted 12 journalists on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization — the Hizmet movement, which the Turkish government classes as a terrorist group and alleges orchestrated a failed military coup on July 15 – Turkey’s official Anatolia news agency…

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Turkey detains at least 48 journalists in one week

New York, July 29, 2016–Turkish authorities should release and drop all charges against 48 journalists police have detained in the last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police have detained at least 48 journalists in the past week as part of a sweeping purge of the media, according to local press reports.

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Turkey shutters more than 100 media outlets as purge continues

New York, July 28, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Turkish authorities today to stop its sweeping purge of the media, and to allow all journalists to work freely at this critical time for the country. A decree published yesterday in Turkey’s Official Gazette ordered the closure of more than 100 broadcasters, newspapers,…

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Turkey issues at least 42 arrest warrants for journalists

New York, July 25, 2016–Turkish authorities should cease using a failed coup attempt as a pretext for purging critical journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the latest in a series of moves against the media, police have issued arrest warrants for at least 42 journalists, Turkey’s official Anatolia news agency (AA) reported…

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In this July 24, 2016, handout photo, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gives the Rabaa salute, a reference to Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawaya Square, where Egyptian soldiers and police in August 2013 killed hundreds of supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi protesting the military's ousting of the Egyptian president in July 2013. (Pool/AP)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 24

At least 48 journalists detained in one week Police in Turkey detained at least 48 journalists in the past week, according to the independent news website P24 and the Twitter account of Ben Gazeteciyim, a volunteer association of Turkish journalists formed to show solidarity with their threatened colleagues. At the time of publication, 21 of…

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Turkey's capital is calm as seen through a broken window at Ankara police headquarters, July 18, 2016, days after soldiers launched a failed attempt at a coup. (Osman Orsal/Reuters)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 17

Police raid and seal Meydan offices Istanbul police raided the offices of the pro-Hizmet daily Meydan at about 5 p.m. yesterday, local press reported. Police searched the offices in the Şirinevler district for three hours and confiscated documents, before sealing the building. The website of Meydan has not been updated since yesterday. The raid comes…

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In Turkey, one journalist killed, several newsrooms seized in attempted coup

Istanbul, July 16, 2016 – Turkish soldiers shot and killed one journalist and seized control of several newsrooms last night as factions of the Turkish military attempted to topple the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. A night of violence, which was most severe in Ankara, left…

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Turkish businessman Aydın Doğan, shown here in a 2009 file photo, on June 13, 2016, denied tax-evasion charges before an Istanbul court. (Murad Sezer/AP)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 10

Prosecutors interrogate journalist on suspicion of ‘insulting the president’ Prosecutors in Istanbul yesterday interrogated İhsan Çaralan, a columnist for the socialist daily Evrensel, on charges of “insulting the president” in connection with a May 31 article in the beleaguered, pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, Evrensel reported. Çaralan had symbolically acted as co-editor of Özgür Gündem…

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