Azadiya Welat

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Turkish journalist and press freedom advocate Hakkı Boltan sentenced to 2 years in prison for insulting president and prime minister

Istanbul, June 29, 2021 – Turkey must not contest journalist Hakkı Boltan’s appeal, and should ensure that all members of the press can work freely and without fear of imprisonment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Earlier today, the 12th Diyarbakır Court of First Instance, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, convicted Boltan of…

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Children wave the Turkish flag outside the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara on April 23, 2018. A Turkish government minister in December 2017 said that Turkey blocked Wikipedia because it insults Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, according to reports. (AFP/Adem Altan)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 21, 2018

Turkey will continue to block Wikipedia During a May 18 press conference, Turkish Transportation, Maritime Affairs, and Communication Minister Ahmet Arslan said that Wikipedia will remain blocked in the country because the website portrays Turkey as a supporter of the Islamic State militant group, the daily Cumhuriyet reported.

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A woman takes pictures with her cellphone as a ferry approaches Besiktas pier in Istanbul, Turkey on March 27, 2018. Turkish authorities continue to crackdown on the country's press. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 7, 2018

Journalists arrested On May 3, authorities in the southern city of Mersin transferred İsmail Çoban, former news editor for the shuttered Kurdish language daily Azadiya Welat, to the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, where he will remain in custody pending trial, according to reports.

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People relax near Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey on April 4, 2018. An Istanbul court convicted in a retrial Hasan Cemal, a veteran journalist and a columnist for the news website T24, on charges of "making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to news reports. (Reuters/Osman Orsal)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 2, 2018

Journalists sentenced An Istanbul court convicted in a retrial Hasan Cemal, a veteran journalist and a columnist for the news website T24, on charges of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” and issued a suspended sentence of 18 months and 22 days, according to an April 3 report from the daily Cumhuriyet.

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People take souvenir photos along the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey in February 2018. Turkey continues to crackdown on the press; a Turkish court sentenced four journalists to life without parole on February 16, 2018, on charges relating to their journalistic activity. (Reuters/Osman Orsal)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 19, 2018

Journalists acquitted, released Turkish authorities on February 17 released from jail Deniz Yücel, Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, who had been imprisoned for a year pending investigation, according to Reuters. A Turkish court on the same day also indicted Yücel on charges of “propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization” and “provoking the people…

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Willing Accomplice

Collusion by the Turkish media compounds the country’s crisis By Andrew Finkel Turkey’s bloody, failed military coup on July 15, 2016, and the ruthless crackdown that followed are testament to the country’s escalating crisis of democracy. Though the crisis had been developing for years, with journalists and independent media outlets facing intense legal pressures from…

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Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 5

Erdoğan says jailed Die Welt correspondent ‘German agent,’ Kurdish separatist Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 3 said that Deniz Yücel, the Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt and a dual citizen of Germany and Turkey jailed in Turkey since February 14, was a “German agent” and a member of the Kurdistan…

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A float depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stands ready for the upcoming Rose Monday carnival parade in Mainz, Germany, February 21, 2017. The signs say 'democracy' and 'freedom of speech.' (Reuters/Ralph Orlowski)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 19

Detention of Die Welt Turkey correspondent complicates relations with Germany The detention of Deniz Yücel, Turkey correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, has complicated relations with German officials, the socialist daily Evrensel, the German news website Handelsbatt Global, and the pro-Turkish-government Daily Sabah reported. According to a February 21 Handelsbatt Global report, German Chancellor…

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks in Istanbul, December 20, 2016. (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 8

Erdoğan praises Trump for ‘beating down’ CNN reporter Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for “beating down” (“benzetmek”) CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Costa in a January 11 press conference, according to media reports and video widely distributed on the internet. Trump refused to take a question from CNN at…

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Supporters of Cumhuriyet newspaper protest a police raid of the daily's Istanbul's office, October 31, 2016. The signs read, "Free media cannot be silenced" (center), and "Don't bow down" (rear). (Reuters/Murad Sezer)

Turkey closes 15 media outlets, raids newspaper office, detains at least 12

New York, October 31, 2016 — The Turkish government should immediately reverse an emergency decree closing at least 15 news agencies, newspapers, and magazines and should immediately release all journalists imprisoned on bogus charges for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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