A third of all imprisoned journalists are in Turkey

A third of all imprisoned journalists are in Turkey according to human rights organisation Amnesty International, which has called on the Turkish government to stop its crackdown on the media and begin their release.

Citing the Committee to Protect Journalists, it said:

Globally, one third of all imprisoned journalists, media workers and executives are in Turkey’s prisons, with the vast majority among them waiting to be brought to trial.

The Turkish government responded to last year’s failed coup attempt by crackdown on individuals and entities it believes are part of the Gulen movement, which it says is behind the plot to overthrow the government. Tens of thousands of teachers and civil servants were fired, besides many military officers, journalists and activists that were imprisoned.

Amnesty reported that more than 160 media outlets have also been shut down and called on Turkey to “respect and ensure freedom of expression, fair trail guarantees, judicial independence and other essential freedoms. [We] also firmly believe in freedom of expression and that any freedom of expression, including for speech and the media – and that includes also speech that some may find controversial or uncomfortable – only strengthens a democracy and it needs to be protected.”