“Empire of fear”
Media and press freedom in Turkey
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Freedom of the press has never been guaranteed in Turkey. Restrictive laws have set strict boundaries. In addition, the army has repeatedly restricted the work of journalists and the media. Since the summer of 2016, the situation has worsened further. The government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the attempted coup as an excuse to attack the media. Nearly 200 television stations, news agencies and newspapers were closed, while thousands of journalists were fired, accused of supporting a terror organisation or of “terror propaganda”, and prohibited from working in their profession. Hundreds of them were arrested, convicted of crimes or driven into exile. Critical, independent media have been eliminated. Today, the government directly or indirectly controls 90 percent of the media via the AKP. The conditions under which the press is currently operating in Turkey must be classified as being “not free”.
(Osteuropa 10-12/2018, pp. 231–242)