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                  CPJ: Turkey is Leading Jailer of Journalists

   by Marissa Melton

   For many people in the West, Turkey is a light of democracy in the
   Middle East. But a new report from the [1]Committee to Protect
   Journalists says Turkey is the leading jailer of journalists worldwide,
   with 76 journalists currently imprisoned and thousands of cases against
   them and others circulating through the courts. Turkish journalists who
   cover controversial topics say they face constant pressure of
   prosecution.
   Protests against the prosecutions of journalists have been going on in
   Turkey for years, but they have intensified in the past year.
   As many as 100 journalists have been in and out of jail in that time,
   waiting to be charged for serious crimes.
   The Kurdish insurgency in southern Turkey is one topic the Turkish
   government doesn't want covered. Many of the journalists in jail are
   there because they covered the insurgency.
   But in March 2011, two prominent journalists, Ahmet Sik and Nedim
   Sener, were arrested for another common alleged crime: plotting against
   the government.
   Sik had written a book about police corruption. Sener wrote about the
   assassination of Hrant Dink, a prominent journalist.
   "According to local groups, at the end of last year, 2011, there had
   been between 3,000 and 5,000 pending cases -- criminal cases -- against
   journalists on a variety of charges that stretch from insulting
   Turkishness to trying to influence the outcome of a trial," said Nina
   Ognianova, an analyst with the Committee to Protect Journalists in New
   York.
   After 13 months of detention, Sik and Sener were released  -- but they
   still face trial. Sik vows to continue the fight for free speech. He
   spoke to VOA in Istanbul.
   He believes international pressure led to his release.
   "I was released on the special order of Prime Minister Erdogan, both me
   and Nedim," he said.
   The Turkish government did not respond to requests for comment, either
   on Sik's release or on the broader issue of media freedom.
   But the European Union says increasing concerns about press freedom are
   endangering Turkey's bid for membership. The U.S. has also voiced
   concern.
   "There's a chilling effect," said Francis Ricciardone, the U.S.
   Ambassador to Turkey. "There's a feeling that one can lose one's job
   for what one writes or says on television, that one might even be
   harassed or go to prison, be questioned by the authorities."
   Despite pressure from allies, the situation for Turkish journalists
   doesn't seem to be getting better. And the protests continue.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/cpj-turkey-is-leading-jailer-of-journ
   alists/1530962.html

References

   1. http://http://cpj.org/reports/2012/10/turkeys-press-freedom-crisis.php
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/cpj-turkey-is-leading-jailer-of-journalists/1530962.html