Media freedom in Turkey

A second attack on daily Hürriyet?s offices in Istanbul and Ankara on Sept. 8 has drawn reaction as national press bodies declared they stand by Hürriyet on press freedom. 

Turkish national press bodies and representatives of some Turkish dailies have paid a visit to the daily Hürriyet headquarters in Istanbul?s Ba?c?lar district, condemning the attacks. 

The U.S. State Department on Sept. 8 condemned attacks targeting Turkish daily Hürriyet's offices.

"I'm concerned by reports that the protest against Hürriyet Daily was encouraged by members of the Justice and Development Party. Elected officials must be careful not to appear to encourage violence against media outlets," told reporters.

Two British journalists working for VICE News, who were released from a prison in southern Turkey to which they were sent after being arrested on alleged terror charges in late August, have been deported, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Two Vice News journalists and their assistant who were arrested in Turkey on terror-related charges have been transferred to a prison more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) away from their lawyers and the courthouse where they face trial, a lawyer said Sept. 3.

Seven suspects, who were detained as part of the operation launched against Koza ?pek, a company linked to the Turkish government?s ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gülen, have been released on probation. 

An Ankara court on Sept. 2 decided to release on probation the seven suspects detained during the Koza ?pek raids.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) has called on the Turkish government to stop using anti-terror laws and financial agencies against journalists in the wake of police raids targeting a corporation and the arrests of two British journalists.

The United States and the European Union have both expressed their concern over the arrest of two British journalists in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r, in line with international rights organizations.

Turkish police have raided companies in Ankara belonging to Koza ?pek, a corporation linked to the government?s ally-turned-nemesis Fethullah Gülen, raising concerns about freedom of the press.

More than 100 websites have been denied access for purported links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since late July when conflict began once between the army and the PKK throughout the country, leading to numerous deaths on both sides.

Turkey's Press Council has said "journalists are not terrorists," sternly criticizing the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's allegations of "propagandizing on behalf of terrorist organizations" against 18 journalists from nine separate Turkish dailies.