The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined media freedom, freedom of expression, and human rights organisations in calling on Turkish authorities to stop the systematic harassment and intimidation of Kurdish journalists, media workers, media outlets, the lawyers that defend them, and Kurdish political party officials, give them access to legal counsel, disclose full details of charges brought and to ensure that they are released from detention. We reiterate the need for a free and pluralistic media atmosphere in the run-up to the elections that will be held on 14 May 2023. On 25 April, coordinated dawn raids in Turkey targeted…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response and 20 press freedom, freedom of expression and human rights organisations in calling on Turkey’s broadcast regulator (RTÜK) to immediately stop fining broadcasters for their critical reporting. Journalists and broadcasters must be allowed to do their jobs of informing the public over critical issues and holding the government to account. Instead of upholding freedom of expression and media pluralism in the country, RTÜK is being weaponised by the governing parties to silence legitimate criticism and provide them with an unfair advantage in the May 2023…

The existence of vibrant and independent local media that serves the public interest of its local communities is a cornerstone of our democratic societies. They are the key to empowering citizens to grasp and exercise their rights in the communities where they live. However, the very existence of these media has become uncertain across different parts of the European Union. We spoke to people researching this phenomenon in Turkey, Portugal and Croatia. They spoke to us about the news deserts emerging in their countries, a term developed by US scholars and policymakers to explain the crisis of traditional news media…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s largest organisation of journalists, has launched a solidarity call to support journalists in Turkey and Syria, following the devastating earthquake that took place on 6 February and affected many media professionals and their families. Thousands of people were killed and many more were injured by a devastating earthquake that shook south-eastern Turkey near the Syrian border on 6 February. IFJ affiliates in both countries: DİSK Basın-İş Sendikası, Gazeteciler Cemiyeti Dernegi (GCD), Turkiye Gazetciler Cemiyeti (TGC), Turkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS), Syrian Journalists Association, and the Syrian Journalists Union told the IFJ that many of…

Two weeks after the terrible earthquake that shook Northern Syria and Eastern Turkey, Kenan Şener, Secretary General of the Ankara Journalists Association (GCD), describes the dire humanitarian situation for the inhabitants and the local journalists who are trying to tell their stories despite everything. Şener recounts the daily grind of journalists reporting on the ground, as well as how the Association is responding to their urgent needs, and preparing for a long crisis. What are the main issues journalists are facing in the field? The protection of journalists’ rights and freedoms has become more difficult due to the declaration of a…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined today the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium in expressing our condolences with the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and reiterating the need for a free media atmosphere as a crucial element of all disaster relief processes. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes with epicentre in the province of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey on Monday 6 February 2023, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners have received multiple reports of press and media freedom violations including detentions of journalists and media workers, investigations for incitement to hatred in…

On 25 October 2022, eleven journalists were arrested following raids on their homes in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul, Van, Diyarbakir, Urfa and Mardin in Turkey. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) join their affiliates, the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Press Labour Union (DİSK Basın-İş) in urging the authorities to immediately release the detained journalists and stop the raids on their homes. According to IFJ and EFJ affiliates, Turkish authorities raided the homes of 10 journalists as part of “terrorism-related” investigations led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to DISK, the journalists were…

Turkey’s parliament on 13 October 2022 approved a tough new media law that provides for up to three years in prison for journalists and social media users spreading false or misleading information. The Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) denounced the law as a move by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to stifle critical voices ahead of the general elections in June 2023. We spoke to EFJ Vice-President Mustafa Kuleli about the impact on journalism and free speech in Turkey. What will the law passed yesterday change for Turkish journalists? The purpose of this law is not to fight disinformation but to…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) call on the Turkish government to immediately dismiss the “disinformation law”, expected to be turned into law by the end of the week. The law was submitted to the parliament on May 27 by the governing alliance of Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s Islamic party, and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), their ultra-nationalist allies. The draft will be presented at the Parliament General Assembly this week, and is expected to be voted on and passed promptly after. Such a bill, giving very vague definitions of “disinformation” and “intent”, would, if implemented, enable the government…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in expressing solidarity with the twenty journalists blacklisted by the Turkish General Directorate of Security (EGM) for their writing and joined Turkey’s Journalists Union (TGS) in denouncing an apparent attempt to intimidate independent journalists and trade unionists. On 5 September, the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) revealed that the General Directorate of Security (EGM) had blacklisted 20 journalists in relation to their writings for the online magazine Journalist Post, a periodical run by journalists living in exile. No legal proceedings have yet been initiated…

On Sunday, 26 June, Turkish police broke up the Istanbul Pride march, assaulting and detaining over 200 demonstrators and several journalists including an AFP photographer. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) stand with their Turkish affiliates in condemning the crackdown on journalists while doing their job. Despite the ban on the march ordered by the governor and the heavy police presence, protestors gathered in large numbers around Taksim Square. The last authorised march in 2014 drew thousands of participants and the event has taken place every year since 2015, even though it was banned each year. Police detained about…

A Turkish court imprisoned pending trial 16 Kurdish journalists and media workers for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda” on 16 June 2022. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) and their four Turkish affiliates strongly condemn these massive arrests of journalists on groundless charges and urge for the immediate release of all of them. Last week, Turkish police detained 21 Kurdish journalists and media workers in a massive operation in the Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakir on terrorism charges. Police raided the homes of several Kurdish journalists working for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency, the all-female Jin News website, a…

After the call to parliament in Turkey by seven leading journalism organisations, including the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) joined 24 international media freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organisations to call for the immediate dismissal of the bill on “disinformation and fake news” which was submitted to the parliament on May 27 by the governing alliance of Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The bill threatens up to three years imprisonment for those found guilty of the deliberate publishing of “disinformation and fake news” intended to instigate fear…

The Turkish Association of Journalists (GCD) recently published its Annual Media Monitoring Report documenting the state of press freedom in Turkey for the year 2021. The report, funded by the Media 4 Democracy project, addresses a number of topics such as journalists’ safety and censorship, disinformation, the new internet regulation, the situation of imprisoned journalists and journalists’ current professional satisfaction. According to the Media Monitoring Report, “in 2021, no steps were taken for the betterment of the conditions troubling freedom of expression and the press in Turkey.” In particular, the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, to not implement the European…

On 19 February 2022, Güngör Arslan, owner, editor-in-chief, and columnist of the daily Ses Kocaeli, was killed in a gun attack in front of his newspaper’s editorial office. The European and the International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) and its Turkish affiliates condemn this brutal killing and call for justice. Güngör Arslan was shot by an assailant in the chest and in the right leg outside his office in the city of Izmit. He was rushed to a hospital where he died of gunshot wounds. Kokaeli region governor, Seddar Yavuz, said the authorities had arrested a suspect in connection…

A dozen employees at the BBC Istanbul bureau, supported by the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), have finally seen their demands met on 28 January 2022, after a historic 15-day strike.  The journalists got an annual pay rise of 32%, private individual and family health insurance, a daily 60TL lunch voucher and 1,200TL support for glasses and contact lenses.  The labour action was prompted by the skyrocketing inflation rate in the country (nearly 36%) and no adequate access to health care since the Covid-19 pandemic, after a five-month negotiation process with the BBC that was not successful.   The strike, the…