Turkey

Turkey has faced an unprecedented crackdown on the media and justice system following the failed coup in July 2016. Abuse of Turkey’s vaguely worded anti-terror legislation is widespread: scores of journalists, human rights defenders, opposition parliamentarians and academics are on trial facing terror charges, without clear evidence or logical charges. Many have been held for over a year in pre-trial detention. Attacks on freedom of expression are compounded by pressure on the judiciary exerted through increasing dismissals, prosecutions and arrests of judges and prosecutors. Restrictions on expression also severely undermine the public’s right to information, with Turkish courts regularly ordering media blackouts after terrorist attacks and wholesale blocking of websites.  Nowhere is this felt more strongly than in the South-East of the country, where reliable information on human rights abuses is increasingly hard to access and journalists struggle to safely report news.

According to official government sources, there are no journalists in jail in Turkey – they are in fact all “terrorists”. Calls from the international community for Turkey to ensure that no one is prosecuted on the basis of their journalism have been rejected as interference in independent judicial processes. By monitoring trials, drafting expert legal opinions on cases and sharing this information with the international community, ARTICLE 19 aims to dismantle this narrative.

Turkey: Security unit blacklists 20 journalists including union leaders
09.09.2022 3 min read

Turkey: Security unit blacklists 20 journalists including union leaders

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Turkey: Restore independent newspaper’s right to publish public advertising
26.08.2022 5 min read

Turkey: Restore independent newspaper’s right to publish public advertising

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Turkey: Scrap the ‘disinformation bill’ and stop digital censorship
08.06.2022 4 min read

Turkey: Scrap the ‘disinformation bill’ and stop digital censorship

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Turkey: End abuse of criminal proceedings against Selahattin Demirtaş
07.06.2022 9 min read

Turkey: End abuse of criminal proceedings against Selahattin Demirtaş

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Blog: Regulating disinformation and social media platforms ‘alla Turca’
19.05.2022 22 min read

Blog: Regulating disinformation and social media platforms ‘alla Turca’

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Turkey: Another striking example of the absence of an independent judiciary
29.04.2022 12 min read

Turkey: Another striking example of the absence of an independent judiciary

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Turkey: Rule of law under fire as activists handed down crippling sentences
27.04.2022 9 min read

Turkey: Rule of law under fire as activists handed down crippling sentences

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Turkey: End judicial harassment of Osman Kavala and his co-defendants
20.04.2022 8 min read

Turkey: End judicial harassment of Osman Kavala and his co-defendants

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Blog: COVID-19, social media and freedom of expression in Turkey
08.04.2022 22 min read

Blog: COVID-19, social media and freedom of expression in Turkey

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