Turkey: Leading independent newspapers suffer extended state ad ban

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, journalists and media executives, is deeply concerned about an ongoing state advertising ban imposed on two of Turkey’s main remaining independent newspapers. Evrensel and BirGün newspapers are four months into an indefinite ban imposed by the state advertising agency, BIK, and they risk being excluded [...]

IPI condemns mass cancellation of journalists’ press cards in Turkey

The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned Turkey’s cancellation of the press cards of over a dozen journalists and staff members of the independent daily Evrensel. The newspaper said that at least 17 of its journalists, including Editor-in-Chief Fatih Polat, had their press cards cancelled without explanation. Among those whose press cards are cancelled are [...]

IPI marks Turkey’s “Working Journalists Day” 2020

On January 10, journalists across Turkey will mark “Working Journalists Day” to recall the struggle for the rights of journalists and their crucial democratic role in informing the public. The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, takes the opportunity of the Working Journalists Day to express solidarity [...]

Doing journalism while doing time in Turkey’s jails

SEDA TAŞKIN / Prominent former jailed journalists describe their experiences reporting from prison

Turkey Free Expression Trial Monitoring Report November – 2019

The International Press Institute (IPI) in collaboration with the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), today published the fourth trial monitoring report on freedom of expression cases in Turkey. This report is part of a programme of monitoring that started in June 2018 and confirms findings of the earlier reports, published in September, July and January 2019, that the country’s [...]

‘The admiralship is sinking’: Mass layoffs next blow to Turkey’s mainstream media

On October 30, some 45 journalists were dismissed without notice from the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, which had held the title of the largest print newspaper in circulation in Turkey for decades. The dismissals marked a continued upheaval at the newspaper, which was formerly owned by the independent Doğan Media Group but was sold to a [...]

Four stories of Turkish journalism surviving under extraordinary circumstances

By MEHVEŞ EVİN / Independent media share how they manage to carry on amid government repression

Turkey Trial Blog: Turkey’s release of Kurdish journalist highlights rule of law concerns

The release last month of Turkish-Kurdish journalist Idris Sayılğan, after more than 1,000 days in prison, was a joyous moment. But the timing of the release raises – once more – questions about political influence over Turkey's judiciary, coming just as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is examining Sayilgan's case in what could [...]

Turkey Trial Blog: One day inside Istanbul’s Justice Palace

On November 28, an International Press Institute (IPI) delegation spent a day in Istanbul’s Justice Palace to monitor four different journalists’ trials. The cases reflected the breadth of Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on the press. Trial in absentia Our first court hearing was due to start at 9.05 against Can Dündar, former editor of the secular [...]

Press Conference: Turkey’s Journalists in the Dock (Istanbul, Nov 29, 2019)

• Over 120 journalists remain in jail in Turkey • Over 100 terror-related investigations opened since Turkey’s incursion into Syria • Fair trial principles routinely breached • New efforts to stifle online media • Is the judicial reform strategy a sham or an opportunity? The International Press Institute (IPI) recently led a press freedom mission to [...]