87 journalists in Turkey welcome 2023 in prison

A total of 87 journalists are welcoming the new year in prison in Turkey, Hakki Boltan from the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) said.

“Turkish authorities who do not want a ‘Free Press’ that reports on democracy and human rights, deepened the pressure on journalist within the last year,” Boltan said in a statement, Mezopotamya news agency reported on Friday.

“Journalists' homes were raided, they were arrested even though there was no evidence against them. With this method, it is aimed to intimidate the journalists who expose the crimes of the government," Boltan said, blaming Turkey’s mainstream media of “remaining persistently silent about the pressure and violence against Kurdish journalists.”

Since 2015, when the “peace process” with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has collapsed, Turkey under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intensified a crackdown on Kurdish groups, including the country’s second largest opposition HDP, Kurdish activists and journalists, who frequently find themselves under investigation related to terrorism charges.

“The biggest support we can give to imprisoned journalists is to reveal the truth,” Boltan said.

“A media working day and night to reveal the truth will be the biggest support to imprisoned journalists and a big response to the government,” he said.

Turkey has been listed among the "worst offenders" of press freedom in the world in 2022 in a report by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It has been ranked fourth in terms of the number of journalists in prison, following Iran, China and Myanmar, the report showed.