Media also face arbitrary detentions and police raids.

 

Media freedom in Turkey remains the worst of the countries monitored by the MFRR, with continued and systematic repression of independent journalism. Over 170 media outlets have been forcibly closed since 2016 and at the time of publishing, 38 journalists remain behind bars. MapMF recorded 92 alerts in Turkey in the year 2021, involving 153 attacked persons or entities related to media. In addition to physical violence, police pressure and crippling fines by regulators, civil lawsuits, and criminal sanctions in the courts create an extremely hostile climate for watchdog journalism. Violations monitored during the year represent the tip of the iceberg of the ongoing and widespread attack on media critical of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP. Legal persecution remains the most per‐ vasive threat and made up nearly half of the recorded attacks (49%. Criminal charges related to the alleged dissemination of propaganda and terrorism-related crimes are common sanctions used for imprisoning journalists. Nearly a quarter of MapMF alerts during 2021, 24% involved court cases. In April, for example, journalists Müyesser Yıldız and İsmail Dükel were sentenced to prison over their critical reporting on the military operations of Turkish armed forces in Syria. In June, managing editor of the Bursa Muhalif online news site, Ozan Ka‐ planoğlu, was also sentenced to one year and ten months in prison for report‐ ing on statements against Turkish military operations in Syria in 2018. Other journalists, such as dokuz8NEWS' chief editor Gökhan Biçici faced charges of “insulting” President Erdoğan through their journalism. Persecution is not limited to Turkey’s borders. In early November 2021, four journalists working for the Greek newspaper Dimokratia were prosecuted by Turkey’s General Prosecutor for the crime of “insulting” Erdogan in a front-page article. Delays to trials caused by the pandemic also saw 83% of journalists’ trials in 2021 adjourned to a later date. 

Media also face arbitrary detentions and police raids. In total, police and law enforcement were responsible for over a third (34% of MapMF alerts. In January, police stormed the offices of the Etkin News Agency and detained journalist Pınar Gayıp, who was already facing a criminal trial. In September, police detained A3 Haber editor-in-chief Süleyman Gençel at his home in Izmir. Possession of articles written by banned media outlets has even been used to imprison journalists. In March, İsmail Çoban, a journalist with a now-closed pro-Kurdish newspaper who has been imprisoned since 2018, was sentenced to an additional two years after articles of another banned newspaper were found in his cell. The articles were cited as criminal evidence and Çoban was sentenced for “bringing illegal /banned items into the prison facility”. In July, two journalists were detained in hos pital after being beaten by a mob following demonstrations on the racially motivated murder of a Kurdish family. 

Journalists also faced physical attacks and threats of violence from private individuals. The most extreme case occurred in March, when local radio host Hazım Özsu was shot dead in his Basra home by a man who later said that he disliked Özsu’s comments regarding religious values. In March, Levent Gültekin, a columnist and programme host at Turkey’s Halk TV, was assaulted by a mob of around 25 people outside the station, likely over his criticism of the far-right Nationalist Move‐ ment Party (MHP. In January, Orhan Uğuroğlu, a Turkish TV commentator and Ankara correspondent of the newspaper Yeniçağ, was attacked outside his home in Ankara when three men tried to run him over in their car. He escaped without seri‐ ous injuries. In September, journalist Idris Yayla, the owner of the Jiyan News newspaper, received explicit death threats over the phone the same night as shots were fired outside of his apartment in Bat‐ man. In December, an official of the farright Nationalist Movement Party (MHP physically attacked journalist ÖzcanSaraç on the street in Konya. Online harassment and intimidation, particularly of women journalists, remains common.

 Multiple other alerts were linked to coverage of protests and demonstrations, where journalists face constant threat of arrest. MapMF documented 11 serious violations at protests. In February, Sendika.org reporter Murat Bay was punched bya police officer while recording injuries to protesters. In July, journalists Büşra Taşkıran and Berna Kişin were physicallyassaulted by the police while covering demonstrations at Sincan Prison. In November, Artı TV's Bilal Meyveci was beaten and wounded due to excessive use of force by the police, despite repeated attempts at showing his press card. To compound problems further, in April the General Directorate of Security issued a directive banning all audio-visual recordings of Turkish police by citizens at protests, sparking concerns the rules would affect the ability of photojournalists to cover protests and expose police bru‐ tality. On multiple occasions, journalists have had their equipment damaged, confiscated, or had photos deleted by police, who act with near total impunity. 

Turkey’s government-controlled media regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK, continued to be used as a tool to sanction and fine media outlets in a discriminatory manner. In May, it issued a fine against Exxen TV for a broadcast featuring the country’s first openly trans model. In August it issued a written warning to Turkish TV stations over their coverage of wildfires. In September, access to the news website JinNews was blocked three times in a week by the regulator on the order of a Turkish court. In October, the regulator imposed a fine on broadcaster Halk TV on the grounds that it “insulted” a pro-government foundation. Government ministers continue to openly smear and accuse the media of publishing so-called “fake news” and spreading lies, fostering a climate of hostility towards critical media. In December, Mesopotamia News Agency's verified Facebook page which had over a hundred thousand followers was removed by Facebook, despite the news agency's repeated complaints against the platform.