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Turkish journalists are experiencing unprecedented pressure and censorship that has seen hundreds of reporters prosecuted, according to the annual report released by the Journalists’ Association of Turkey (GCD) on press freedom in the country.
The report, published as part of the European “Media For Democracy” (M4D) project, focuses on the deteriorating situation of press freedom in Turkey. While the number of imprisoned journalists has decreased, pressure on members of the press from the judicial authorities has increased.
Hundreds of journalists are currently being prosecuted and can be imprisoned at any time.
The report criticizes the repressive role of state regulatory authorities, including the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) and the Press Advertisement Institution (BİK). It also points to the inclusion of new provisions in the penal code that threaten the dissemination of “false information” with penalties of up to three years in prison.
At least 33 journalists were investigated and 16 were detained or arrested in 2023 under the new provision, the report states. The report also notes an increase in complaints against local journalists by influential groups, parties or individuals working with the government in small towns, leading to investigations and arrests.
The report details the authorities’ censorship of media coverage of the devastating February 2023 earthquakes, government propaganda from state broadcaster TRT and increasing police violence against journalists. At least 67 journalists were attacked, prevented from reporting or had their equipment damaged in 2023.
The anti-terrorism law remains a popular tool of repression, as do the laws that criminalize “insulting authorities” or President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trials of journalists based on these laws increased in 2023, with 13 sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison and 22 given prison time or fined for allegedly insulting a public official.
The Union of Turkish Bar Associations reported that 35 journalists were behind bars at the end of 2023, 14 of whom were convicted.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemned the increased pressure on journalists and called on all associations and trade unions representing journalists in Turkey to stand together against the repressive forces.
Turkey is one of the world’s biggest jailers of professional journalists and was ranked 165th among 180 countries in terms of press freedom in 2023, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).