The Guardian: The Turkish Press is under pressure

The British newspaper The Guardian has published an article analyzing the situation of the press in Turkey. According to the article, in recent years attacks against journalists have increased, and self-censorship is now the main rule. Many Turkish newsrooms “resemble an open prison rather than a creative hive and fear has gripped those of the so-called mainstream media institutions.” According to Turkey’s journalist union, only 1.5% of Turkish journalists belong to a union.

On 19 March 2015, a new case against a journalist was on the news. Mine Bekiroglu, 28, was sentenced to five months in jail due to her Facebook comment against current president Erdoğan. Last week, a student was sentenced to fourteen months after she called Erdoğan “dictator”.

Intimidation against journalists is normal, too. According to the latest report on 2014 by the Independent Communication Network (BIA), 22 journalists are currently in jail. More than 61 were found guilty of defamation against Erdoğan in the past three years.

The author of the article in The Guardian accused the government and the high-level corruption of the situation that Turkish journalists have to face daily: “It is a system based on corruption that also requires full complicity. If Erdoğan or his aides do not call the top managers and editors of the media to publish propaganda or censor undesirable content, the owners themselves do it.”

Reporters without Borders have also denounced on several occasions the situation in this country, especially in the digital field, after the Government’s attempt to close several websites.

According to the Freedom House rating, the situation of the press in Turkey is “not free” because of the relation between the corruption, the Government, the media, and the justice.