International and Turkish media and rights organizations have called on Turkey to cease its harassment of journalists following a court’s decision to uphold a 20-month prison sentence for journalist Bulent Mumay. The joint letter condemned the verdict as a severe attack on press freedom, emphasizing that the charges against Mumay, which include “illegally obtaining or disseminating personal data,” appear to be a thinly veiled attempt to silence critical journalism. This case highlights the broader repression of independent journalism in Turkey, where legal and financial pressures are used to stifle dissent. The letter also mentioned the recent blocking of 82 social media accounts linked to Kurdish journalists, part of a coordinated effort to undermine press freedom. Turkey ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Read more here.
Source: Balkan Insight