‘Tough year’ for journalists in Turkey, says a recent report

ISTANBUL

The press council released a report assessing 2014 for the media and members of the press, which it described as a “tough year.”

Pınar Türenç, the head of the press council, said it is hard to understand the signals given by a “hunt against journalists” in the last days of the year, speaking on Dec. 29 about the report. “The court’s decision to arrests two journalists scared us. We are still having difficulty understanding the new signals from this ‘journalist hunt,’” she added, referring to Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, who has been released after being detained for a few days, and Samanyolu Media Group head Hidayet Karaca, who is still under arrest.

“This report is a picture of what has been experienced in Turkey,” she added. “Censorship, self-censorship, [problems when getting] accreditations [for the prime minister], injuries, use of tear gas, batons, hundreds of unemployed journalists, those who are being tried under or without arrest and bans of media publications. When you put all these together, it is a really serious picture for the rule of law and democracy,” she said.

She stated that this has been a tough year for not only journalists, but also for those who believe in democracy, human rights and freedom, and “this is why we titled the report ‘Tough Year.’”