The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was greeted with honour at the Brussels Royal Palace this Monday morning. After the warm welcome of the Belgian King and Queen and the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, Mr Erdoğan was pleased to receive accolades from the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the European Council President, Donald Tusk. All of those who welcomed him to Brussels should know that they gratify one of the worst censor of press freedom in Europe. In only two days, the International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) submitted five serious violations of press freedom…

The 13th Congress of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) was held from 30 September to 2 October at the House of Mutuality in Paris. Five hundred delegates attended, discussed and voted some reports on the future of European workder and trade unions in the 39 countries covered by the ETUC. The delegation of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) consisting of three journalists Paco Audije (FAPE, FeSP), Patrick Kamenka (SNJ-CGT) and Jean-François Cullafroz (CFDT-Journalistes). But the Swedish delegation with fifteen members included an EFJ member, Jonas Nordling, president of the Union of Swedish Journalists (Svenska Journalistförbundet). Luca Visentini, the…

The offices of the Kurdish daily newspaper Azadiya Welat and Kurdish news agency DIHA in Diyabakir (Turkey) have been attacked on 28/09/2015 by police forces and 32 journalists and media workers were taken into custody for interrogation for more than seven hours by the authorities. According to media reports, Turkish police used forces, by breaking several doors, to enter the headquarters of the Kurdish media outlets and publishing houses without a proper warrant issued by the authorities. “The police said they were looking for evidence following recent explosions in the neighbourhoud. Our colleagues have asked them to show a judicial warrant to enter…

In a letter sent today to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the European and International federations of journalists and the European and International Trade Union Confederations denounce current threats against press freedom in Turkey and increased censorship ahead of elections. The organisations call for urgent reforms to ensure that Turkey’s media is able to recover its position as an effective profession that is independent, pluralistic and in the service of the public interest. Since April 1, the IFJ and the EFJ reported 22 alerts on Turkey to the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of…

During a conference hosted by the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC) leading journalists from across the political spectrum united in condemning the surge in attacks on press freedom led by the government in recent weeks. Participants recounted how, since the inconclusive June elections and the relaunch of the conflict with the PKK in July, journalists and media have come under sustained assault from the government and their supporters. Newspapers are regularly attacked by angry mobs, numerous websites of press agencies and trade unions are repeatedly blocked, foreign journalists are being deported, while many…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC) will be jointly hosting the conference ‘Turkey: Fighting for journalists’ rights and freedoms in a politically polarized country’ in Istanbul 17/18 September 2015. This international conference is the culmination of five years campaigning on journalists’ rights, freedoms, working conditions and capacity building for the journalist trade union organisation whose strength is fundamental to the future protection and promotion of Turkish journalism. The political context in which the conference will be taking place could not be…

According the NVJ (Dutch Journalists Association, EFJ-IFJ affiliate), Frederike Geerdink, a Dutch correspondent based in Diyarbakir (Turkey), has today (10/09/2015) been deported by the Turkish authorities to Amsterdam after being detained two days for reporting on a Kurdish group protesting clashes between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and the Turkish military. The Turkish authorities are accusing the Dutch reporter of “hindering a military operation and supporting a terrorist organisation”. Frederike Geerdink lived Turkey since 2006 and has been based in Diyarbakir since 2012 where she writes about Turkish and Kurdish matters for Dutch and international media as well as a critical…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) are jointly calling the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to immediately lift all the bans against news organisation, protect press freedom (including journalists’ work places) and release all journalists being detained. According to media reports, the Turkish Telecommunications Authority (TIB) has geographically blocked access to the website of Dicle News Agency (DIHA), dedicated to the coverage of the Kurdish issue. “This is the eleventh times that free access to the Dicle News Agency’s online version is being blocked based on a request coming from the Prime minister office. DIHA continue to…

UPDATE (09/09/2015) : Dutch journalist likely to be deported from Turkey The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on Turkish authorities to immediately release Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink. She was arrested early Sunday, at around 2 am, near the city of Yüksekova (Hakkari province, southeastern Turkey), while covering an activists group of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), a Kurdish opposition organisation. Geerdink was following a “human shield group” of 32 people when she was detained, with all the members of the group. The police told them they were in a restricted area. The arrest comes just a week after two journalists for Vice News,…

Update (03/09/2015): the Vice News journalists arrested earlier this week in Turkey’s south-east on charges of having links to a terrorist organisation have been released today. But the journalists’ fixer, Mohammed Ismael Rasool, a journalist and translator who has worked extensively across the Middle East with VICE News, Associated Press, and Al Jazeera, has had his appeal of release rejected.  The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined Vice News today to call on the Turkish authorities for a swift end to this unjust detainment and to grant his immediate release. ———– The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists…

Article 19, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) today reported to the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism the new wave of censorship targeting certain media outlets’ websites in Turkey (read our submission here). On 25 July 2015, the Ankara Gölbaşı Penal Court of Peace ruled to block 96 Kurdish websites in Turkey, many of which were news websites, after receiving a complaint from the Turkish Communications Authority that the websites were spreading terrorist propaganda. Among the blocked news websites were ANF (Ajansa Nûçeyan a…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have demanded Turkey to drop the “terrorism charges” against 18 journalists who could face 7.5 years in prison for publishing a photo. Following a series of crackdown on online media during the past weeks in Turkey, the chief prosecutors’ office in Istanbul yesterday launched a prosecution against 18 journalists working for nine different newspapers on charges of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation” after publishing a picture from a hostage siege that took place on 31 March 2015 in Istanbul when two terrorists from the outlawed Marxist Revolutionary…

Since the end of July, media organisations and journalists in Turkey are particularly affected by the growing armed conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Access to over 100 news and information websites including major news portals on Kurdish issues such as Dicle News Agency (DIHA), Etkin News Agency (ETHA), Özgür Gündem newspaper and Sendika.org news portal on Turkish trade unionism have been blocked in Turkey by the High Council for Telecommunications (TIB). Based on the initiative of the TGS (Journalists Union of Turkey, EFJ-IFJ affiliate), TGC (Association of Journalists in Turkey), Disk Basin-Is (Progressive Journalists Union…

The International and European Federation of Journalists has published the second edition of its special bulletin called Set Journalism Free in Turkey. The bulletin details the agenda of the upcoming International Conference on Press Freedom and Labour Rights to be held mid-September in Istanbul, a summary of actions run by our affiliate TGS and the latest news about the international campaign on Set Journalism Free in Turkey. See the special edition HERE More information is available on our campaign page

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have today expressed deep concerns about the violence used against journalists and media workers covering labour issues in Turkey. “International standards like freedom of association, right to collective bargaining and right to strike must be respected by all parties and journalists who are playing a key role to assess the effectiveness of those rights should be totally free to do their job”, said EFJ-IFJ. According to media reports and local trade unionists, journalists and freelance media workers reporting on labour issues for the daily Evrensel Gazetesi and the…

On Sunday (28/06/2015), the police in Istanbul used tear gas and water cannon to disperse  LGBTi Pride Parade peaceful participants before even the beginning of the demonstration. Journalists and press photographers have prevented by the police from doing their job. The 13th edition of the Istanbul LGBTi Pride Parade was authorised and scheduled to start on Sunday at 5 pm at Taksim Square but the demonstration had “suddenly been banned by the Istanbul Governor’s Office using the month of Ramadan as the reason without any announcement”, according to the Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week Committee. Tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets have been used against…