Red flags in the European Union press freedom debate
The European Union enjoys waving the banner of press freedom overseas. However, it is sometimes at a loss when it has to define its approach to press freedom among its own member states. Last year, the EU tried and failed to convince the Hungarian government to radically amend its highly controversial media law. The conservative…
Conflating critics with terrorists in Turkey
The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is quick to brand critics as “terrorists,” and that’s one of the main reasons that Turkey was the world’s worst jailer of the press when CPJ conducted its recent census of imprisoned journalists. This week, the prime minister and two pro-government newspapers applied the label once again…
Press freedom: Barometer of the Turkish model
With Turkey recently in the spotlight because of its press freedom record–including dishonorable distinction as the world’s worst jailer of journalists–many international observers wonder how Ankara will overcome its image crisis and whether it will choose to resolutely base its broad strategic ambitions on the respect of global standards of press freedom. A new report…
Several journalists jailed in new Turkish crackdown
January 22, 2013, Istanbul, Turkey–Turkish authorities should halt their practice of jailing journalists on vague anti-terror charges and allow the local press to report freely without fear of imprisonment or harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
In Turkey, Odatv publisher conditionally released
Istanbul, December 28, 2012–Turkish authorities on Thursday released Soner Yalçın, owner and publisher of the ultranationalist-leftist news website Odatv, from prison for the duration of his trial, according to news reports. Yalçın, who has been jailed since February 2011 on anti-state charges, could be re-arrested and jailed if he is convicted.
For Turkey, world’s leading jailer, a path forward
Turkey has no business being the world’s leading jailer of journalists. But the numbers don’t lie. With 49 journalists imprisoned for their work, according to CPJ’s annual worldwide prison census, released today, Turkey holds more individuals behind bars than Iran (45), China (32), or Eritrea (28). How did Turkey find itself in this situation? Unlike…
Turkey, jailer of journalists, hedges bets on democracy
More reporters are jailed in Turkey than in any other country in the world. According to CPJ’s recent survey, at least 61 are imprisoned directly for their work, representing the second biggest media crackdown in the 27 years we have been documenting such records. (Only Turkey itself has rivaled the extent of this crackdown, when…