Opposition deputy: "Journalists faced court 350 times in Turkey in the first half of 2022"

According to a report released by a deputy for the main opposition, journalists faced court 350 times in the first half of 2022 in Turkey. 56 journalists were detained and 23 taken into custody in the same period of time.

Utku Cakirozer, deputy for the Republican People's Party (CHP), said that journalists have been indicted and jailed over their news reports, opinion pieces, and social media posts. He also noted that a new bill was being prepared to further indict potentially millions of citizens over their social media posts.

Dozens of online news outlets and hundreds of news reports have been blocked to access in the first six months of the year, according to the report.

Judicial harassment targeting particularly Kurdish press

The Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) recently put the figure of jailed journalists at 38, and published a list of journalists who are currently incarcerated.

It has been particularly Kurdish journalists who were subjected to judicial harassment in 2022's first half.

A police operation targeting journalists, news agencies and production companies was launched on 8 June with dawn raids on houses and offices in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir.

22 people including 20 journalists were arrested. 16 journalists were remanded in custody and sent to prison by a court order to await trial on 16 June.