Turkey / Europe & Central Asia

  
In this October 2008 file photo, opposition lawmakers hold copies of Azadiya Welat newspaper during a meeting of the parliament to protest a month-long ban on the publication. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Turkish police raid newspaper office, detain at least 23 employees

New York, August 29, 2016–Turkish authorities should immediately release 23 employees of the Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat detained yesterday in a police raid of the newspaper’s office, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addresses supporters in Istanbul, August 7, 2016. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 28

Government revokes press credentials for 115 journalists Turkey’s General Directorate for Press, Broadcasting, and Information (BYEGM, by its Turkish acronym) — the bureau within the prime minister’s office responsible for accrediting journalists — today revoked the credentials of 115 journalists, Turkey’s official Anatolia News Agency reported. The government alleged the journalists were affiliated with the…

Read More ›

Demonstrators in central Istanbul protest the detention of three people on charges arising from their participation in a show of solidarity with pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, June 21, 2016. Police on August 16 raided the newspaper's offices and detained at least 21 journalists following a court order temporarily shuttering the newspaper. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkish court arraigns newspaper editors, columnist on terrorism charges

New York, August 23, 2016 – Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against two newspaper editors and a columnist jailed on terrorism charges and release them without delay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

Relatives mourn outside a hospital in the southern Turkish town of Gaziantep after a suicide bomb attack killed at least 30 people, August 20, 2016. A court banned all coverage of the attack the following day. (AFP/Ahmed Deeb)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 21

Kurdish wire reporter, newspaper employee arraigned on terrorism charges A court in Turkey’s eastern Van Province today arraigned Erdem Mühirci, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), and ordered him jailed, pending trial, on charges of “being a member of a [terrorist] organization” and “recruiting members for a [terrorist] organization,” DİHA reported. Mühirci…

Read More ›

Demonstrators in central Istanbul protest the detention of three people on charges arising from their participation in a show of solidarity with pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem, June 21, 2016. Police on August 16 raided the newspaper's offices and detained at least 21 journalists following a court order temporarily shuttering the newspaper. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkish newspaper closed, journalists detained in police raid

New York, August 16, 2016–Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against the country’s oldest pro-Kurdish daily newspaper, Özgür Gündem, and its staff, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Following a court order shuttering the newspaper, police in Istanbul today raided Özgür Gündem’s office and detained at least 21 journalists, according to news reports.

Read More ›

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.…

Read More ›

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…

Read More ›

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…

Read More ›

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.

Read More ›

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,…

Read More ›