On 14 December, at least 24 people were arrested in police raids on a leading newspaper and TV station in Turkey.
ARTICLE 19 has expressed concern over the arrests. Director of Programmes David Diaz-Jogeix said:
“ARTICLE 19 is concerned about the emerging trend of repressing dissenting media outlets in Turkey, restricting freedom of information and freedom of expression.
“The fact that the arrests of at least 23 people, including journalists, producers and scriptwriters, among them the editor-in-chief of Zaman newspaper and the chairman of Samanyolu TV, follows President Erdogan’s announcements of an operation against the opposition media, raises questions about the strength of the rule of law and the political motivation behind these arrests.”