Reports of anti-press attacks amid Turkey protests
Istanbul, June 3, 2013–The press has come under fire from both government officials and protesters amid nationwide demonstrations in Turkey, with instances of attacks, obstruction, detention, and vandalism being reported, according to news accounts and local journalists.
Hrant Dink murder to be retried, but concerns remain
A decision last week in the murder case of Hrant Dink will lead to a retrial, but Dink’s supporters are still not satisfied. The ruling on May 15 by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals in Ankara acknowledged that there was a criminal conspiracy to murder the ethnic Armenian journalist, but stopped short of opening the…
News blackout deepens Turkey press freedom doubts
When twin car bombs shook the district of Reyhanli in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hatay near the Syrian border last Saturday, killing at least 51 people and wounding dozens of others, a local court issued a gag order on all news coverage of the attack. The ban was unprecedented in scope and in the way…
Turkey’s press freedom must be on Obama-Erdoğan agenda
When President Obama meets with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyp Erdoğan today, he needs to deliver the message that Turkey’s failure to improve its record on press freedom is eroding the country’s strategic relationship with the United States and sabotaging its regional leadership ambitions, CPJ’s executive director, Joel Simon, and Reporters Without Borders’ director general,…
Turkish editor convicted of insulting the president
Istanbul, April 25, 2013–An Istanbul court convicted a Turkish editor of “publicly insulting the president” and sentenced him to a conditional term of 14 months in prison, according to news reports. Ali Örnek would be jailed if he repeats the perceived offense sometime in the next five years under amendments to Turkey’s criminal code introduced…
Turkey peace talks positive; press freedom still in peril
Today, hope for peace between the government of Turkey and Kurdish rebels is closer than ever to becoming reality. A resolution to the conflict, after more than 30 years, could have ramifications for Turkey’s standing as the world’s worst jailer of journalists. According to CPJ research, three-quarters of the journalists imprisoned in Turkey are from…
In Turkey, journalist freed from prison pending trial
A court in the city of Adana released Özlem Ağuş, reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), from prison on February 25, 2013, pending a trial, DIHA reported. The journalist was imprisoned on March 6, 2012, on charges that included membership in the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, which the government…