“The country is going through a time in history whereby the concept of “criticism” has lost its substance. Any opinion opposing the views and positions of the politically powerful and not praising them are perceived as an “insult” or “defamation”. Any political dissent is subjected to intimidation. Triggered by this attitude, negative effects on political and social polarization has reached all segments of the society as well as the social life including publishing,” states a new report published this week by the Turkish Publishers Association (TYB). Although focusing mainly on freedom to publish for book writers and authors, the report also shows significant interest for…

Pressure against journalists and media workers was already alarming before the elections in Turkey and unfortunately the situation isn’t cooling down after the elections. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have today (11/06/2015) learned that several attacks on physical integrity of journalists in Diyarbakir have taken place in the past few days : DHA female correspondent Canan Altintaş and her cameraman Serdar Sinar have been badly injured by a group of unidentified armed individuals (09/06/2015) İHA correspondent Burak Emek has been injured by a group of unidentified armed individuals (09/06/2015) Kurdish journalist and TGS member Ozan Kilinç (and board…

According to several media reports, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has urged the Communications Ministry to hamper all media communications linked to the Gülen movement by withdrawing state means used to facilitate the broadcasts. If executed, the general request will lead to forbid specific opposition TV channels to use satellite infrastructure controlled by the state. The office’s Bureau for Crimes against the Constitutional Order sent the Ministry a written request on April 26 to target the broadcasting and publication of TV channels, radio stations, print media outlets and websites owned by the Gülen movement claiming that the US-based preacher Gülen…

The IFJ – EFJ has published a special edition newsletter on Turkey. The newsletter highlights key trends, tips and best practices about journalists in Turkey 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 : http://europeanjournalists.org/campaigns/turkey-set-journalists-free/

A new documentary called Persona non grata*, directed by Tuluhan Tekelioğu and supported by the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24), puts the lights on the poor working conditions of journalists in Turkey. From the basic court reporter to the star columnists of mainstream newspapers, all journalists in the country are currently struggling between legal harassments, political pressures, increasing self-censorship, pressures to quit jobs for covering sensitive issues or pressures to avoid affiliation to a professional trade union movement. In this 41 minute documentary officially presented in Istanbul at the Swedish Consulate for World Press Freedom Day, Mustafa Kuleli (General Secretary of the…

Frederike Geerdink, freelance journalist and correspondent in Turkey, is to appear before the court in Diyarbakir, Turkey on Wednesday 8 April. Early January, Geerdink was arrested and held for a short time. According to the authorities in Turkey, Geerdink is accused of spreading propaganda for the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey. The Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the arrest and prosecution of Geerdink saying that the charge against Geerdink is in violation of international law and treaties ratified by the Turkish government on freedom of…

Turkish cartoonists Bahadir Baruter and Ozer Aydogan, from the Turkish satirical magazine Penguen, have been found guilty of insulting Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a cartoon on the cover of the magazine’s August issue. The court sentenced both cartoonists to 11 months and 20 days in prison on March 24. That sentence was subsequently commuted to a fine of 7,000 Liras (2,500 euros) each. The cartoon depicted newly elected Erdogan arriving at his presidential palace and saying: “What a bland celebration. We could have at least sacrificed a journalist.” The prosecutor alleged that the cartoon was insulting in that one…

Board members of the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), together with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), organised this weekend (21-22 March 2015) in Istanbul the union’s third Strategic & Development workshop in a year. This was an opportunity for the new board (elected at the TGS Congress in December 2013) to evaluate their recruitment and development strategies, identify new areas of potential growth, reassess all ongoing projects with partners and take the necessary steps to move forward. Although Turkey’s Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labour unions “without obtaining permission”, “to possess…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) marks 8 March, International Women’s Day, by celebrating the courage of women journalists across Europe. The EFJ supports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) campaign calling for access to leadership in unions and media organisations for women. A recent report from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) concluded that “persistent gender inequalities in the media sector can be challenged by advancing women in decision-making.” “While women have considerably outnumbered men in university level and practice-based journalism programmes and women are employed in media professions in ever-increasing numbers, the organisational culture of media organisations remains largely masculine, and women are still significantly…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) last week sent journalist Barry White (NUJ UK) to observe the new press trials in Turkey, 29 – 31 January. Barry White, also a member of the EFJ Steering Committee, was joined by Mustafa Kuleli (General Secretary of the Journalists Union of Turkey, TGS), atthe first hearing against journalists Can Dündar (Cumhuriyet), Utku Çakirözer (Cumhuriyet), Hakan Gülseven (Yurt) and Nazli Ilicak (Bugün). The journalists are being sued by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine and son Bilal for violation of privacy and defamation following their…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the adoption of a new resolution by the European Parliament on freedom of expression in Turkey. The resolution adopted (551 votes in favour, 11 against and 31 abstentions) by members of the European Parliament (MEP) condemned the police raids on 14 December 2014 against Zaman newspaper and Samanyolu TV and the detention of a number of journalists and media representatives in Turkey. They recalled that a free and pluralistic press is the core of a democratic system and stressed that judicial independence was not respected in the country.”The government’s response to the allegations…