2017

Twelve witnesses against journalist say testimony extracted under torture Twelve out of 13 witnesses prosecutors called yesterday to testify that Nedim Türfent, a former reporter for the shuttered, pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was a member of a terrorist organization recanted their written testimony, saying police extracted it under torture, the daily Evrensel reported. Police…

News websites blocked for 25th, 44th time, respectively The Turkish telecommunications regulator BTK blocked access to the website of the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi–for the 25th time–and to the leftist news website sendika.org–for the 44th time, the press freedom collective Ben Gazeteciyim (“I am a journalist”) reported yesterday. Özgürlükçü Demokrasi continues to publish at…

Chair and editor of shuttered news agency arrested Police in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır on the night of May 31 arrested Zekeriya Güzüpek, the former chair of the board of the shuttered pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), and Mehmet Ali Ertaş, a former Kurdish-language editor at the news agency, the news website Artı…

Two journalists arraigned, finance manager released A court in Istanbul arraigned Gökmen Ulu and Mediha Olgun, journalists for the secularist, nationalist daily Sözcü, one of the last remaining widely circulated newspapers to be consistently critical of the government, on charges of “committing a crime in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member,…

Police search homes of opposition newspaper owner, staff Police searched the homes of the owner and three employees of the daily newspaper Sözcü, one of the last remaining large media outlets that opposes the government, the newspaper reported today.

Editor detained at courthouse Police in Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse today detained Çağlar Özbilgin, an editor for the leftist news website sendika.org, his employer reported. Özbilgin was there to attend a hearing of his trial on charges of “insulting the president,” but police detained him for a separate criminal investigation into him on suspicion of “provoking…

Court overturns reporter’s terrorism conviction The Fourth Court of Appeals in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır today overturned its previous conviction of Bertitan Canözer, a former reporter for the shuttered JİNHA news agency, on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” the news website Gazete Sujin reported. Police detained Canözer in December 2015…

German magazine correspondent denied credentials for ‘insulting president’ Turkish authorities denied Raphael Geiger, the Turkey, Greece, and Middle East correspondent for the German magazine Stern, an extension of his press credentials, saying he had insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish service of Deutsche Welle reported on April 26. Geiger, who is currently in…

Wire reporter jailed The Supreme Court of Appeals on April 14 upheld the Second Mardin Court for Serious Crimes’ November 2016 sentence of two years and four months in prison against Meltem Oktay on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization,” the news website Dihaber reported yesterday.

Erdoğan vows jailed Die Welt correspondent will never return to Germany Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last night vowed that Die Welt Turkey correspondent Deniz Yücel, a dual citizen of Germany and Turkey would never be allowed to return to Germany so long as he was president, the online newspaper Diken reported.