Tag Archives: freedom of expression

English Pen: Turkey: end human rights violations against writers and journalists

Restrictions on freedom of expression during and following the Gezi Park protests The Turkish authorities severely restricted the right to freedom of expression of journalists and writers during and after the Gezi Park protests in 2013, English PEN and PEN International said in a new joint report published today. Journalists, protesters and social media users are still facing prosecution in [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: Hundreds of Academics Declare their Support to METU

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Hundreds of academic across the world have shown their solidarity with Middle East Technical University (METU) in its fight against the unlawful and destructive highway construction project passing through the campus forest. There are 857 signatories from 278 academic institutions and twenty-six different countries. The statement emphasizes that METU resistance has turned into a fight for environmental rights, freedom of speech, and higher [...] → Read the full article…

Vocativ: A Turkish Press Gag – How Erdogan is Suffocating the Journalists

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On an early morning in October 2011, I received a text from a columnist of a Turkish daily telling me to not give up. I was traveling in Amsterdam, still jet-lagged from the day before, and I didn’t know what he meant. Then I noticed my Twitter feed was overflowing with similar messages. It was my seventh year as a columnist [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: Why do Facebook and Twitter Shut Down Accounts In Turkey?

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Recently, several Facebook and Twitter account have either been shut down or suspended. bianet asked the reason of this recent phenomenon to Erkan Saka, lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University. By Elif AKGÜL – İstanbul – BIA News Desk elif@bianet.org Recently, Facebook has reportedly shut down the pages of two alternative news websites (Yüksekova Haber and Ötekilerin Postası), while Twitter suspended several [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: Ekşisözlük Writers Charged With Blasphemy, Face Prison Sentence

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Prosecutors charged Sedat Kapanoğlu and 40 account holders with the “blasphemy on the religious values of a society fraction” due to their entries on Ekşisözlük, a popular social media website in Turkey. Site owner Kapanoğlu and other users are facing prison sentences from 6 up to 12 months. Elif AKGÜL – İstanbul – BIA News Desk elif@bianet.org Prosecutors submitted an [...] → Read the full article…

Amnesty International: Susan Sarandon offers her support to Amnesty’s campaign on Turkey

Our thanks goes out to Susan Sarandon, who has offered her generous support to Amnesty’s on-going campaign to protect freedom of expression and assembly and end police violence in Turkey. She has helped support our petition drive through twitter and now has written an open letter calling on others to lend their support as well. In her letter, she writes: [...] → Read the full article…