Lifting censorship on the press on the 24th of July, 1908, was celebrated as “Press Freedom Day” until the 12 March 1971 coup d’état, after which it is celebrated as ‘Day of Struggle for Freedom of the Press’. In the 116 years that have passed since then, neither the press has been free from oppression nor censorship has been lifted in this country. Especially in the 1990s, it was attempted to intimidate Kurdish press organisations and press workers through bombings and murders by unknown assailants. Dissident press organisations and journalists are still facing pressure and censorship. According to the 2023 press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders, Turkey ranks 165th out of 180 countries in the ‘grave’ category.
With the occasion of the Day of Struggle for Freedom of Press, we call for the immediate release of imprisoned journalists, the disclosure of the perpetrators of murdered journalists, and an end to the pressures putting on media organisations through Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), Disinformation Law etc.
Human Rights Association