December 18, 2014

CPJ report: Turkey world’s 10th most dangerous country for journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Logo
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday released a special report for 2014 designating Turkey one of the world's 10 worst countries for journalists, once again underlining the country's deteriorating situation for freedom of expression and free media.

EP slams Turkey over breaches of freedom of expression

Protests staged by people across the world who disapprove of the Dec. 14 police operations against the free media in Turkey continue to take place in front of Turkish consulates and in famous squares in several world cities.

EU criticism of mass media arrests in Turkey mounts

European Union officials are continuing to criticize Turkey for recent government-backed police operations in Turkey over the weekend in which several journalists were detained.

EPP Group on Turkey media crackdown: Do you want to join EU or not?

The European People's Party Group has condemned the recent arrests of journalists in raids by the Turkish police on a newspaper and TV station, asking Ankara if they really want to join the European Union.

Journalists, lawyers see violation of basic rights during lengthy detention

Rights violations during the four-day-long detention and interrogation of Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and STV network executive Hidayet Karaca at the İstanbul Police Department on Wednesday are reminiscent of coup-time practices.

Dumanlı, Karaca referred to court for arrest, lawyers kept in dark

Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı and STV network executive Hidayet Karaca have been referred to a court for arrest while their lawyers are being kept in the dark, a development observers have characterized as a "judicial scandal."

EP member: Dream of European Turkey has become nightmare

Our dream of a European Turkey has turned into a nightmare and it is time for a wake-up call, Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament (EP) said in an EP plenary debate on Turkey's Sunday detention of senior journalists, police officers and screenwriters.

Opposition: Charges against detained journalist Dumanlı ‘ridiculous’

Charges related to defamation and membership in a terrorist group that have been leveled against the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, Ekrem Dumanlı, have been slammed by members of the opposition parties who find the charges farcical.

Detained Zaman editor-in-chief denies charges against him in testimony

Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı, who was detained on Dec. 14 as part of a government-backed police operation against high-level media members, directors and producers of a popular television serial and police officers, has denied all charges against him during his testimony to prosecutors, saying that he has never been involved in any kind of criminal activity and that he is not a member of an illegal organization.

Zaman daily’s chief editor charged under anti-terror laws for doing his job

As part of an intensified government campaign of cracking down on critical and independent media outlets in Turkey, Ekrem Dumanlı, the editor-in-chief of the nation's best-selling daily, has been charged with "establishing and administrating an armed organization" under the anti-terrorism law based on two op-ed pieces and one article published in his newspaper five years ago.

Who let the dogs out?

Günal Kurşun

There is an anecdote told by some old grandfathers in Turkey who are rare because they are not very nationalistic. Three good friends -- a Turk, a Kurd and an Armenian -- were walking near a garden. They realized there were plums in the trees and wanted to taste some. It is called “eye right” in Anatolian culture, and means if somebody wishes to eat fruit from a tree, the owner should offer some.

Set journalists free now!

Prosecutors claim Zaman and Samanyolu journalists contributed to an alleged legal plot against a group with suspected ties to al-Qaeda through their intellectual work. They are accused of receiving orders from prominent Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen to carry out the job, with Mr. Gülen's sympathizers in the police then supposedly following through with it. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held Mr. Gülen and his admirers in the bureaucracy responsible for last year's corruption scandal, describing it as a coup against him. The president declared the group an enemy of the state and publicly said the Turkish government will pursue a “witch hunt” against it.

US congressmen ask Kerry to press Turkey on media freedom

Several members of the US Congress have expressed their concerns over the arrest of journalists in Turkey, asking US Secretary of State John Kerry to press Turkey over its violation of democracy.

Why the case against these journalists is so suspicious

Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Governmental circles and their supporters in the media say “journalists are not immune from committing crimes.” There is no doubt about that. Of course journalists may commit crimes.

Chomsky says media crackdown ’very serious attack on press’

World-renowned philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky has slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over government-orchestrated arrests of journalists, warning that Turkey is going toward a more "authoritarian and repressive society."

Turkey is becoming a ‘party state’

Suat Kınıklıoğlu

The detention of dozens of journalists on Dec. 14 signifies a new level of escalation in the Turkish government's drive to suppress the graft allegations from Dec. 17-25, 2013. For weeks it was obvious that the anniversary of the scandalous graft allegations directed at four ministers and their sons would become a national rallying point to protest the farce that has taken place since then.

Journalism now a crime under Erdoğan dictatorship

Bülent Korucu

On Dec. 14, 2014, an incident unlike any we've seen previously in Turkey took place: The police raided the offices of Zaman -- the country's best-selling daily newspaper -- arresting the editor-in-chief, Ekrem Dumanlı. That same day, police also arrested Hidayet Karaca, the general manger of a leading Turkish television and radio broadcaster, the Samanyolu Media Group. The arrests, which were apparently triggered by accusations that both Dumanlı and Karaca were “seizing state sovereignty,” have shocked the world. As to what legal grounds for these arrests there really are, this remains a topic for widespread curiosity.

Turkey’s media crackdown: World reactions in quotes

The detention of prominent journalists known for taking a critical stance on the Turkish government from Zaman, the most circulated daily in Turkey, and Samanyolu, a major television broadcaster, has drawn harsh reaction from all over the world. Foreign government officials and human rights watchdogs have defined the media crackdown as another blow to freedoms in the country and called on Turkey to respect media freedom, as well as shown support for the detained journalists and television producers.

US senators express concern over crackdown on media in Turkey

The Turkish government's crackdown on the media with the detention of several journalists has been met with harsh reactions in the US, with several US senators expressing concern about Turkey's limitations on press freedoms.

Detained Turkish Journalists Follow Teachings of US-based Preacher

When around 20 journalists in Turkey from the Zaman newspaper and Samanyolu TV were detained earlier this week because of ties to a U.S.-based Turkish preacher, a supposedly official arrest list that included additional names was circulated via Twitter.