Turkey's press freedom report released: Journalism is on trial

A comprehensive report has shed light on the fact that pressures on press freedom in Turkey continued throughout 2025. The 2025 Press Freedom Report, shared with the public by CHP Eskişehir MP and journalist Utku Çakırözer, revealed that journalists faced judicial processes, detentions, arrests, the appointment of trustees, and publication bans throughout the year.

According to the data in the report, journalists appeared before judges a total of 610 times during 2025. In the same period, 95 journalists were detained, and 39 were arrested.

The report prepared by Çakırözer emphasized that the pressure on the press was not limited to investigations and lawsuits; it has transformed into a permanent and widespread structure through RTÜK penalties, the appointment of trustees, access bans, and judicial control decisions.

ARRESTS AND DAYS SPENT IN PRISON

Between January and December 2025, journalists were heavily prosecuted on the grounds of their news reports, columns, and social media posts. 39 journalists, including Fatih Altaylı, Furkan Karabay, Ercüment Akdeniz, Elif Akgül, and Yıldız Tar, were sent to prison. Merdan Yanardağ and Enver Aysever entered the new year as detainees.

The report also drew attention to the fact that questions regarding the death of journalist and activist Hakan Tosun, who lost his life after an attack in Istanbul, remain unanswered.

The time spent in prison by detained journalists was also detailed in the report. Accordingly, Furkan Karabay remained in detention for 201 days, Ercüment Akdeniz for 247 days, Elif Akgül for 101 days, and Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar for 102 days. The 34-day imprisonment of Halk TV Editor-in-Chief Suat Toktaş was also cited as an example in the report.

JUDICIAL CONTROLS AND DIGITAL RESTRICTIONS

It was stated that in addition to arrests, judicial control measures such as house arrest, travel bans, and reporting requirements became widespread in 2025. İsmail Saymaz and Eren Öner were among the journalists placed under house arrest. Judicial control measures were applied to many other journalists without an arrest warrant.

The report noted that throughout the year, access bans were imposed on hundreds of news reports as well as the social media accounts of journalists, artists, and politicians. It was stated that these practices severely restricted the public's access to information.

The report included that many individuals, including journalists Murat Ağırel, Alican Uludağ, İsmail Arı, Osman Çaklı, Zeynep Durgut, Şule Aydın, Rabia Önver, and Şehriban Aslan, were threatened due to their news reports and social media posts.

It was reported that investigations and lawsuits were opened against Şirin Payzın, Yılmaz Özdil, İsmail Arı, Mustafa Bildircin, Fırat Fıstık, Sarya Toprak, Sedef Kabaş, Gülistan Dursun, Kayhan Ayhan, Öznur Değer, Can Uğur, Selçuk Özbek, Gökay Başcan, Candan Yıldız, and Metin Yoksu due to their news, posts, and comments.

RTÜK PENALTIES AND SCREEN BLACKOUTS

According to the report, a total of 53 separate sanctions were imposed by RTÜK on four television channels in 2025 on the grounds of critical broadcasting. The total monetary value of these penalties was calculated at 92.7 million TL.

SZC TV was given a 10-day screen blackout penalty, and Tele1 was given a 5-day penalty. The report pointed out that RTÜK sanctions intensified particularly following broadcasts regarding protests and judicial processes.

THE ERA OF TRUSTEES AND TMSF IN MEDIA

One of the prominent topics in the report was the appointment of trustees. It was stated that with the appointment of trustees to media organizations such as TELE1, Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT as part of Istanbul-based investigations, the TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund) has become Turkey's largest media owner.

Çakırözer emphasized that this process both weakens editorial independence and eliminates job security for journalists.

DECLINE IN PRESS FREEDOM RANKING

According to the assessments in the report, Turkey has fallen to 159th place among 180 countries in the field of press freedom. In the conclusion of the report, Çakırözer pointed out that press freedom is one of the fundamental elements of democratic societies and called for an end to the pressure on journalists.

News Source: 12punto