The year 2019 was a “black year” for journalists in Turkey with more than 100 newspapers being shut down, a lawmaker from the main opposition party said on Tuesday.
Atila Sertel, an MP from Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a former journalist, said more than 10 000 media workers lost their jobs in the past ten years, referring to the economic crisis and crackdown under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
“Dailies, including high-circulation newspapers Haberturk, Vatan, Gunes, Star, as well as Yeni Haber, a local daily in Balikesir province, which had been published for many years have been shut down due to the economic crisis [in the country],” said Sertel.
The lawmaker also emphasized the AKP’s pressure on the media critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referring to the latest move by a Turkish press authority against two critical dailies and recent convictions of journalists from the critical Sozcu newspaper.
Advertising to two critical dailies Cumhuriyet and BirGun, have been cut by Turkey’s Press Advertisement Institution, the authority for distributing official adverts to newspapers.
Critics described the act as an attempt to silence dissidents in the country.
The move came following a recent change in the administration of the institution.
On Friday, seven Sozcu journalists were convicted of terrorism for aiding the Gulen movement, which is accused by Ankara of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, with prison terms ranging from two years and one month to three years and six months.
The AKP government accuses the faith-based movement, led by the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, of masterminding the coup bid that targeted Erdogan’s AKP government on July 15, 2016.
However, Gulen and his followers, labeled by the AKP as terrorists, deny any accusations linked to the 2016 coup or any terror incidents.
An online platform reporting on imprisoned journalists, Jailed Journos (JJ)said in a report published on Tuesday that more than 300 journalists were jailed, and as many more were prosecuted during the two-year state of emergency that was declared in Turkey in the aftermath of the abortive putsch.
According to the JJ, there are 89 reporters, editors, and columnists among a total of 161 press members currently behind bars in Turkey.
CHP’s Sertel added that 119 media outlets were shut down after the coup and that 3,804 press cards were canceled in the past five years.
The MP also mentioned a blacklisting of journalists in Turkey where an influential think tank, known to have close ties to the AKP government, is blamed.
Turkey’s Foundation for Political, Social, and Economic Research (SETA) came in for harsh criticism last July when it published a report which allegedly blacklisted journalists working for international media outlets.
These included DW Turkish, BBC Turkish, and Euronews in Turkey and tried to criminalize the profession of journalism.
Titled The Turkey extensions of the international media organizations, the SETA report published detailed information of journalists, including their resumes, social media posts, retweets, and even people who retweeted their posts.
“By using the word ‘extension,’ the so-called SETA report displayed clearly the intolerance against the staff of international media outlets by making them a target,” Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said at the time.
Some social media posts accused SETA of using intelligence-gathering methods used by Turkish police.
At the time, a criminal complaint was submitted against the institution by the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a nongovernmental organization offering journalists legal protection.
Sertel also listed in detail the threats and attacks which targeted the journalists as they criticized Erdogan and his party’s policies.
The post 2019 black year for journalism in Turkey – opposition MP appeared first on IPA NEWS.
from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2020/01/02/2019-black-year-for-journalism-in-turkey-opposition-mp/
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