Turkey, world’s leading jailer of journalists

Turkey is considered one of the world’s leading jailer of journalists, and is ranked 154 out of 180 countries on a Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey violated free speech and unlawful arrest protections when it detained 10 journalists and managers of a newspaper critical of the government in 2016.

The 10 worked for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, one of the oldest newspapers in Turkey, and were arrested following a series of articles and social media posts criticizing government policies.

The detained journalists had lodged various applications for release, but all were rejected by Turkish courts. One of the group was detained for 16 months, another for over 14 months, one for nearly nine months, and the rest for over seven months, the rights court in Strasbourg noted.

The court judges, including one from Turkey, ruled unanimously that Ankara had violated the group’s right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as their right to free speech.

The court ordered Turkey to pay damages of 16,000 euros (about $18,800) to each of the applicants.

According to the Stockholm Center for Freedom’s “Jailed and Wanted Journalists in Turkey” database, 174 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey, while 167 are wanted and are either in exile or remain at large.