Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 11
Eid holiday leaves detained writers in legal limbo, lawyers say Veysel Ok and Ergin Cinmen, lawyers for Mehmet and Ahmet Altan, two prominent writers detained four days ago, yesterday made a joint statement saying that because of the Eid holiday they could not find the responsible prosecutor or a court in which to appeal their…
Venezuelan journalist arrested after reporting on protest
Bogotá, Colombia, September 7, 2016–Venezuelan authorities should immediately release online and radio journalist Braulio Jatar Alonso, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Domestic intelligence officers detained Jatar on September 3, a day after he reported on an anti-government protest.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 4
Police raid Kurdish magazine office Police raided Istanbul office of the pro-Kurdish magazine Özgür Halk today, the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reported. DİHA reported that the raid, which was in progress at the time of publication, was related to the magazine’s feature commemorating August 15, the date the banned Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) took…
Mission Journal: Gag orders make Jordan’s journalists skeptical of reform
Sitting uncomfortably in her chair because of a soccer injury, the Jordanian radio host Diala Dabbas said, “I know we are banned from talking about the king, his family, and the divine, but now I am also afraid to talk about anyone else who could be considered a ‘religious symbol’.”
Turkish prosecutors issue 35 arrest warrants for journalists
New York, August 30, 2016 — Turkish prosecutors should cancel orders for the detention of 35 journalists, and authorities should unconditionally release all journalists already jailed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police today detained at least nine of the journalists on the list, according to press reports.
Turkish police raid newspaper office, detain at least 23 employees
New York, August 29, 2016–Turkish authorities should immediately release 23 employees of the Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat detained yesterday in a police raid of the newspaper’s office, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Burundian intelligence service detains journalist one week without charge
Burundian authorities detained Gisa Steve Irakoze, a reporter for the independent Radio Buja FM on August 18, 2016, and released him without charge a week later, rights groups and the National Union of Journalists in Burundi reported.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 28
Government revokes press credentials for 115 journalists Turkey’s General Directorate for Press, Broadcasting, and Information (BYEGM, by its Turkish acronym) — the bureau within the prime minister’s office responsible for accrediting journalists — today revoked the credentials of 115 journalists, Turkey’s official Anatolia News Agency reported. The government alleged the journalists were affiliated with the…
Zambia suspends licenses of three broadcasters
New York, August 24, 2016 – Zambian regulators should immediately reinstate the broadcasting licenses of three media outlets it revoked, and police should drop all charges against four media workers arrested when police sealed the offices of the country’s largest privately owned television station, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 21
Kurdish wire reporter, newspaper employee arraigned on terrorism charges A court in Turkey’s eastern Van Province today arraigned Erdem Mühirci, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), and ordered him jailed, pending trial, on charges of “being a member of a [terrorist] organization” and “recruiting members for a [terrorist] organization,” DİHA reported. Mühirci…