World Press Freedom Index announced: Turkey rises 7 spots!

Reporters Without Borders has released its latest index, according to which Turkey ranks 158th out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom. With the latest data, Turkey has risen 7 spots in press freedom compared to last year.

NORWAY TOPS PRESS FREEDOM

According to the latest World Press Freedom Index report, Norway ranks first in press freedom, followed by Denmark and Sweden.

The bottom of the index includes North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea.

16 JOURNALISTS IN PRISON

The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) has examined case files and announced that 16 journalists are currently in prison for various reasons.

TGC MESSAGE: “SET JOURNALISTS AND NEWS FREE”

Issuing a statement for May 3 World Press Freedom Day, the Board of Directors of the Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC) called for: “To be able to speak of freedom of the press and expression, release the journalists imprisoned in jails and do not hinder the free circulation of news.” The statement included the following views: Journalists are once again marking World Press Freedom Day in 2024 under the pressure of unemployment, censorship, self-censorship, threats, physical attacks, lawsuits, unfair detentions, and imprisonment.

Although it is a crime for a journalist to be threatened or physically attacked due to the news they write, and for the attackers to go unpunished, this is rewarded with impunity. We see that the investigative files and high-quality news produced by journalists are sacrificed by many employers for the sake of profit and political advantage. Journalists define this period as ‘a period where our actual work, or the work we did but were not allowed to publish, becomes the news itself’.

The employment of journalists without insurance, with low wages, without union representation, and without editorial independence, along with unfair publication bans and access blocking decisions, prevents news from reaching citizens freely. The Press Advertising Agency’s (BİK) decisions to unfairly cut advertisements and cancel advertising rights, as well as the high fines and broadcast suspension orders issued by RTÜK, threaten independent journalism.

The press cards of journalists who report on the government's activities that are not in the public interest are either not issued or are canceled by the Directorate of Communications. Meanwhile, governorates make it mandatory for journalists to hold a press card to monitor events in the field, as was the case on May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day. They prevent journalists from performing their duties with identification cards issued by their workplaces or the professional media organizations they belong to.

While the government argues that press freedom exists, a police officer on May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day can order teams to ‘sweep’ journalists who are in the field to report. Journalists are sprayed with tear gas almost everywhere in the country so that they ‘do not report’. Journalists, who are not even provided with gas masks by their employers, work with dedication despite all these difficulties in the field to keep the public's news channels open. In our country, where nearly a thousand journalists have been arrested in the last 15 years, 16 journalists are still held in prisons due to the news they have reported.

Journalists are witnesses to their times; they take notes for history. For this reason, we insistently say that ‘journalism is not a crime’. Journalism is a respectable and honorable profession that serves the public's right to receive news and be informed. We remind everyone once again on World Press Freedom Day. Even if journalists pay a price, they will not refrain from enlightening the public. To be able to speak of freedom of the press and expression, we must become a society where news can circulate freely and our colleagues in prison are released. We celebrate May 3 World Press Freedom Day for all journalists who perform their profession with care and dedication. We hope that in the future, we will proudly celebrate May 3 World Press Freedom Day in a bright and peaceful country where democracy flourishes and no journalists are in prison,” the statement concluded.