A year after attempted coup in Turkey, media landscape purged of critical voices
The history of modern Turkish politics is rife with military intervention–the army has toppled elected governments four times since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the modern Turkish state in 1923, and has strong-armed them into submission countless other times. One of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s greatest accomplishments has been returning the military to the barracks and…
US Senate report on leaks and national security is deeply flawed
Last week, Republicans on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs released a report on leaks to the media. The report, which was led by Chairman Ron Johnson, asserts that “an avalanche” of leaks under the Trump Administration is harming national security. It lists at least 125 news articles and their bylines -…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 9, 2017
Police detain two journalists Police in the southern Turkish province of Hatay detained Erdoğan Alayumat and Nuri Akman, two correspondents for the pro-Kurdish news website Dihaber last night as they worked, their employer reported today. Police detained them on a complaint that they were “suspicious,” according to the report. A third individual, İsa Nuri Demir,…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 2, 2017
Turkish president tells German newspaper jailed correspondent is a terrorist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an interview published yesterday, told the German newspaper Die Zeit that Die Welt Turkey correspondent, Turkish-German dual national Deniz Yücel, is a terrorist because he interviewed a leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist…
CPJ to use $50,000 Gianforte donated as part of body slam settlement to track other assaults on press
When the news came that Greg Gianforte was making a $50,000 donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists it was 10 p.m. on the East Coast, but 8:30 a.m. in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s Disney-like capital city, where members of our CPJ team were meeting officials to discuss that country’s punitive press laws.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 25, 2017
BBC reporter refused entry Police at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport yesterday detained BBC reporter Jiyar Gol for five hours before putting him on a plane out of the country, the journalist wrote on Twitter. The journalist tweeted that he believes he was not allowed in the country because of his reporting for the BBC. [June 30,…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 18, 2017
Prosecutor asks to reopen investigation into journalist for interview Public prosecutor Umut Tepe petitioned a Turkish court to allow him to reopen his investigation into jailed Cumhuriyet reporter Ahmet Şık on charges of producing propaganda for a terrorist organization, Cumhuriyet reported yesterday. Tepe had previously dropped charges against the journalist for publishing an interview with…
How surveillance, trolls, and fear of arrest affect Egypt’s journalists
As Egypt’s crackdown on the press extends to social media and other communication platforms, many journalists say phishing attempts, trolling, software to monitor social media posts, and a draft law that would require registration for social media users are making them think twice before covering sensitive issues.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 11, 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…