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Freedom House report: Turkey among ‘Not Free’ countries in Press Freedom –

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Citing a “significant decline” in press freedom in Turkey, US-based watchdog Freedom House downgraded Turkey from “Partly Free” to “Not Free” in its “Freedom of the Press 2014” report.

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2. 5. 2014 – Turkey has fallen into the “not free” category of countries ranked by Freedom House’s annual “Freedom of the Press” survey, with the NGO watchdog citing a steady decline in how Ankara treats journalists – the “largest numerical change” in the region – while noting that “Turkey remained the world’s leading jailer of journalists in 2013, with 40 behind bars as of December 1.”

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The country has maintained its status as the world’s top jailer of journalists for several years, and journalists who are not behind bars have been expelled from the country for criticizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development (AKP) party. A wave of expulsions last February took place amid a broader crackdown on free speech, triggering fears that a systematic sweep was underway. Multiple Turkish outlets covered the news revolving around Freedom House’s ranking. Hurriyet Daily News wrote up its story under the headline “Turkey no longer even ‘partly free,’ according to press freedom report,” and specifically cited portions of the NGO’s report that discussed how “journalists were harassed while covering the Gezi Park protests and dozens were fired or forced to resign due to their coverage of sensitive issues.” Zaman covered the same passages, and also described “several high-profile dismissals” of critics at top papers. Israel, meanwhile, was ranked by Freedom House as “free,” marking the Jewish state as the only Mideast country with no significant media restrictions.

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Read The entire report here

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http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2014/turkey-0#.U2PIgIFdXSl

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