Freedom of expression in Turkey has hit a new low

The Turkish government increased its crackdown on critical media outlets and journalists. A total of 95 journalists appeared in court in March, a report drafted by a journalist Barış Yarkadaş revealed.

The report, titled, “Rights Violations in the Media,” also revealed that three journalists were detained; seven others were given prison sentences amounting to 11 years, two months, 15 days in total; two journalists were subjected to physical attacks; access to two news websites was blocked; and one journalist was slapped with a fine.

According to Turkish Minute, Turkey’s top court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal by a leading pro-Kurdish lawmaker against his expulsion from parliament due to a conviction linked to a social media post.

The Turkish Parliament this month stripped Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of his seat after he was convicted of “spreading terrorist propaganda” on social media.

According to the Stockholm Center for Freedom’s “Jailed and Wanted Journalists in Turkey” database, 175 journalists are behind bars in Turkey and 167 are wanted and either in exile or at large.

A world leader in jailing journalists, Turkey was ranked 154th out of 180 countries in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Dozens of journalists were jailed while more than 200 media outlets were closed down in the aftermath of a failed coup in July 2016 under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.