The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed concern over the most recent discussions on a new bill that would criminalize the spreading of “fake news”. Initial details about the bill raise serious alarm about a further step forward in Turkey’s efforts to control media and information online. On August 18, 2021, Hüseyin Yayman, an MP [...]
The IPI global network today condemned sanctions imposed by Turkey’s Radio and Television High Council (RTÜK) on six television channels – KRT, Fox TV, Haber Türk, Halk TV, TELE 1 and TR 35 – in response to the channels’ coverage of the most recent wildfires in southwestern Turkey. The sanctions were imposed during a meeting [...]
The IPI global network today condemned the physical assaults against several journalists in Istanbul covering protests against the murder of a Kurdish family. IPI calls on the Turkish authorities to hold those responsible to account and ensure journalist safety. On July 31, a group of assailants, using iron rods, attacked reporters Derya Saadet and Ceylan [...]
23 July 2021 The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and undersigned partner organisations are concerned about and condemn recent statements by Turkish President Erdoğan and other government officials pertaining to the introduction of new regulation of so-called fake news and “foreign-funded” news in the country. Officials’ targeting several critical and independent media outlets for securing [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI) condemned the Turkish police violence against journalists covering the protests yesterday, July 20, in Istanbul and İzmir, and called for an immediate end to the use of excessive force. According to local reports, at least 20 reporters and photojournalists were beaten by the police and injured by rubber bullets. Local [...]
The Personal Data Protection Authority (abbrev. in Turkish: KVKK) published its reasoning on July 7 on a complaint brought by the Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun against independent newspaper Cumhuriyet following articles which reported on an illegal construction on a property he rented. IPI welcomed the decision and said it represented a milestone for the [...]
The IPI global network today warned that the most recent appointments to the executive board of Turkey’s state-run Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) by President Erdoğan risk a further loss of impartiality and push the public broadcaster to become an absolute state-propaganda outlet. On July 14, 2021, TRT’s entire executive board was replaced by a [...]
On July 7, 2021, Turkish journalist Erk Acarer, who is living in Germany, was attacked and beaten by three assailants armed with knives who broke into his residence in the evening. Acarer, who works for BirGün, Artı TV and German outlet Taz.de, received medical treatment in hospital. He later wrote on his social media accounts [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI) condemned today the police violence against Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Bülent Kılıç while he was covering the Pride March in Istanbul on June 26. Kılıç, who is an award-winner photojournalist in Turkey, posted on social media that police officers had pressed their knees into his back and throat, leaving him unable [...]
The International Press Institute (IPI) called today on Turkish authorities to dismiss all charges against local journalist Ozan Kaplanoğlu who was sentenced earlier this month to almost two years in prison for reporting on a press release. Kaplanoğlu, the editor-in-chief of the online news site BursaMuhalif.com and a board member of the Bursa Association of [...]