Şebnem Korur Fincancı Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

A Banksy mural of Turkish journalist Zehra Doğan, in New York. Doğan was freed this week after completing her prison sentence. (AP/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 24, 2019

February 28, 2019 12:45 PM EST

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…

A view of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul on January 28. Journalist Ayşe Düzkan has started serving an 18-month prison sentence in an Istanbul prison over her participation in the Özgür Gündem solidarity campaign. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 28, 2019

January 31, 2019 2:55 PM EST

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…

The pro-opposition newspaper Sözcü on May 19 published a blank edition under the headline, "May 19 press freedom special edition" to protest the arrest of two of its journalists the day before.

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 21, 2017

May 22, 2017 10:51 AM EDT

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,…

A demonstrator walks around a bonfire to mark the spring festival of Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakır, March 21, 2016. Ethnic Kurds marked the occasion last year with a demonstration calling for the resumption of peace talks with the government. (Reuters/Sertac Kayar)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 19, 2017

March 20, 2017 9:37 AM EDT

Security forces detain reporter in southeastern Turkey Security forces in the southeastern province of Mardin today detained Dihaber reporter Murat Verim, the news agency reported. Dihaber said the arrest was part of an ongoing terrorism investigation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan adjusts his earpiece at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, September 5, 2016. (Reuters/Damir Sagolj)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 4

September 6, 2016 12:43 PM EDT

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…

RSF Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu, shown here at a May 2, 2016, press event in Istanbul, was released from pretrial detention today, following his June 20 arrest for participating in a campaign to show solidarity with embattled, pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem. (Ozan Kose/AFP)

Turkey releases journalist, press freedom advocate

June 30, 2016 1:11 PM EDT

New York, June 30, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s release of Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Şebnem Korur Fincancı, an academic, columnist, and president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and called on Turkish authorities to drop all charges against them.