The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association has released a report on violations against the press during the month of November in Turkey.
The report states that while 91 journalists are already imprisoned, in November another eight were detained, two were arrested, five were sentenced to 20 years and three months in prison, and 47 were still on trial.
In addition, one newspaper was sentenced to an advertising ban, two television channels were fined, and access to 30 media outlets and one website was blocked. The report also showed that, 26 years after Özgür Ülke Gazetesi was bombed, the outlook for freedom of the press in Turkey remains as bleak as ever.
Jin News correspondent Şehriban Abi, journalist Nazan Sala, the Mesopotamia Agency’s correspondent Adnan Bilen and Cemil Uğurlu were imprisoned after they reported on the incident of two villagers being thrown from a military helicopter in Van. The Mesopotamia Agency’s reporter Dindar Karataş was imprisoned as part of the investigation launched by the Erzurum chief Prosecutor’s Office.
The report pointed out that the right to access news was violated by the imprisonment of journalists. “The profession of journalism and the right to access news should be respected and all of our imprisoned collaborators should be released immediately”, concluded the report.
