Europe & Central Asia

Journalist and former CHP politician sentenced An Istanbul court on March 1 convicted Eren Erdem, the former chief editor for the defunct daily Karşı and a former parliamentary deputy in the main opposition party CHP, of “knowingly and willingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization’s hierarchical structure,” and sentenced him to…

Black-and-white portraits of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová, set amid unlit red candles, were the first things to greet me when I entered the building housing Aktuality, the news website where Kuciak, an investigative reporter, worked until his murder on February 21, 2018. One flight up is the newsroom where Kuciak’s colleagues continue his work.

RSF Turkey representative in court Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative for the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was in court in Istanbul on February 25 alongside Şebnem Korur Fincancı, a columnist for the leftist daily Evrensel and president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and Ahmet Nesin, a writer and a columnist…

Appeals court upholds Cumhuriyet verdict An Istanbul appeals court on February 19 upheld the terrorism-related convictions of staff from the daily Cumhuriyet who were earlier sentenced to five years or less in prison, according to reports. CPJ condemned the decision. The decision means that at least six defendants, including a cartoonist, journalists, a lawyer, an…

Police detain two journalists in separate raids Police on February 12 detained Salih Turan, a freelance journalist who formerly worked for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Voice of America and the Kurdish service of the Russian-state-funded outlet Sputnik, on accusations of “making propaganda of a [terrorist] organization” on social media and “being a member of a…

The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 47 members of the European Parliament and other press freedom organizations to call on Turkey to end its crackdown on the press and the mass imprisonment of journalists.

The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists today published its annual report, “Democracy at Risk.”

Court convicts parliamentary deputy and editor Barış Yarkadaş An Istanbul court on February 7 convicted Barış Yarkadaş, the parliamentary deputy for the main opposition party CHP and former chief editor of the online newspaper Gerçek Gündem, of “violating the secrecy of private life” and handed him a suspended 10-month prison sentence, the news website Gazete…

Düzkan starts jail term for Özgür Gündem campaignJournalist Ayşe Düzkan started serving an 18-month prison sentence in Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul on January 29 over her participation in a solidarity campaign with the daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, the independent news website Bianet reported. A court sentenced Düzkan in November. Before turning herself in, Düzkanb…

Jailed journalist Nazlı Ilıcak sentenced to extra 5-year prison term An Istanbul court on January 22 sentenced veteran journalist Nazlı Ilıcak to five years and 10 months in prison for “exposing secret documents,” the news website Diken reported. Ilıcak, who worked most recently with shuttered outlets Can Erzincan TV and the daily Özgür Düşünce, is…