In the month of September, four journalists in Turkey were detained, one was arrested, 110 appeared in court hearings, five were given a total of 21 years, three months in prison and 11 were released pending appeal, according to a Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGİ) report.
The report also criticized the expansion of the authority of Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) over Internet broadcasting.A new regulation allowed RTÜK to monitor, fine or suspend Internet broadcasting channels, including Netflix in Turkey. Also radio and television broadcasting via the Internet is now subject to permission from RTÜK and the country’s intelligence agency.
“The intent of these regulations is to declare free journalism as illegal,” the report said.The report also cited the detention of two journalists for their reporting, one of which was about felling a hundred-year-old tree in Rize province and the other concerned a 45-year-old father’s suicide over economic problems.Turkey in recent years has become the biggest jailer of journalists in the world, with more than 200 journalists behind bars.
