- Journalism organizations issued a joint statement criticizing a court order blocking access to T24, saying the decision violated press freedom and freedom of expression. The groups also drew attention to measures targeting journalists and news websites as part of the “Ailem Güvende” (“My Family Is Safe”) investigation and called for the access block to be lifted.
The statement said:
“At a difficult time when our democracy, the principles of the rule of law and press freedom are being steadily eroded, we regard the decision to block access to T24 — one of the country’s most widely read and longest-established news portals, employing dozens of media workers — on baseless grounds and in violation of the law and the Constitution as a serious attack on our profession. The ‘Ailem Güvende’ (‘My Family Is Safe’) investigation cited as the basis for the closure has targeted press freedom and freedom of expression from the outset. One of our colleagues has been arrested, while access has been blocked to news websites, our colleagues’ social media accounts and several other websites. The decision to shut down the T24 news portal not only constitutes a grave violation of press freedom and freedom of expression by the government, but also directly obstructs the public’s right to access information. We believe this decision must be reversed immediately. We declare that we will continue to defend our profession and our colleagues against these attacks.”
13 journalism organizations sign statement
The statement was signed by the Turkey branch of the Association of European Journalists, the Press Council, DİSK Basın-İş, the Contemporary Journalists Association, the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association, the Diplomacy Reporters Association, the Economy Reporters Association, the Journalists Association, the İzmir Journalists Association, KESK Haber-Sen, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the Journalists’ Union of Turkey and the International Press Institute.
