Representatives from nine international and Turkish journalism organizations, including PEN International and Reporters Without Borders, will come together in front of Silivri Prison on Saturday in support of 146 journalists who are behind bars in Turkey.
Family members of the jailed journalists will also be at Silivri Prison, where the press organizations will release a statement demandingthat journalists be tried without incarceration and insisting onthe removal of obstacles in the way of freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Turkey.
Dozens of media outlets in the country, including Turkey’s best-selling newspaper Zaman, have been closed down and scores of journalists have been jailed by the government since a failed coup attempt on July 15.
The Turkish government declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt, which has enabled it to issue decrees having the force of law. The closure of the media outlets has been accomplished through such decrees.