TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA KOORDİNATÖRÜ ERTUĞRUL DEMİRÖZCAN

FREEDON HAUSE TURKEY NEWS Turkey Population: 86 million Internet penetration: 87% Nic Newman June 17, 2025 Following the arrest of President Erdoğan's main political rival in March 2025, Turkey witnessed its largest anti-government protests in a decade. While it remains unclear whether Erdoğan will seek a third term, freedom of expression and the press in Türkiye continue to face serious threats as the government intensifies its efforts to silence critical voices and restrict independent journalism. In late March 2025, the arrest of opposition Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and approximately 100 people associated with him triggered widespread protests across the country. Just before his arrest on corruption charges, İmamoğlu's bachelor's degree was controversially revoked by Istanbul University, barring him from running for president. In response, the Republican People's Party (CHP) called on its 1.7 million members to show solidarity with İmamoğlu, which helped secure an estimated 15 million votes for İmamoğlu's presidential candidacy in the upcoming primaries. Following his arrest, hundreds of thousands took to the streets, accusing the judiciary of political bias, condemning the arbitrary arrests and mistreatment of peaceful protesters, including students, and the growing authoritarianism in Türkiye. This crackdown came alongside intense pressure on mainstream and independent media outlets, journalists, public figures, artists, and ordinary citizens. Immediately following İmamoğlu's arrest, the Istanbul Governor imposed a four-day protest ban, restricted access to popular social media platforms, and shut down major metro lines. Türkiye's media regulator, the Broadcasting Supreme Board (RTÜK), imposed fines and broadcast bans on opposition media outlets, including Halk TV and Tele 1, and imposed a ten-day broadcast ban on Sözcü TV, which was broadcasting live from the protests. In April, eight Turkish journalists were put on trial, and legal action was taken against two foreign reporters. BBC reporter Mark Lowen was deported for "posing a threat to public order," while Swedish reporter Joakim Medin was arrested on charges of "insulting the president" and "membership in an armed terrorist organization." Turkish authorities claimed Medin's arrest was unrelated to his journalistic activities.2 Social media played a significant role in amplifying both the protests and the opposition's call for a boycott of pro-government media outlets and companies, as well as a one-day shopping boycott. Türkiye's state broadcaster, TRT, fired several actors who used social media to support the shopping boycott and removed the entire series from its streaming platform after the show's scriptwriter expressed solidarity with the actors. Furthermore, Meta was fined heavily by the Turkish government for failing to comply with content restrictions, and X's Global Government Affairs team appealed court orders blocking more than 700 accounts belonging to news organizations, journalists, political figures, and students. Turkish media faced significant legal and government pressure in 2024; At least 10 journalists were arrested and 57 detained. More than 30 journalists were convicted on charges including "insulting public officials," "inciting violence against law enforcement officers," "spreading misleading information," and "supporting terrorist organizations." Three journalists faced charges of insulting the president, and approximately 17 others faced prison sentences of up to five years for similar offenses. As of the end of 2024, Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates insulting the president, had been used in the prosecution of more than 250 journalists during Erdoğan's presidency, and 77 journalists received prison sentences or fines. One of the most prominent examples of legal pressures on independent media came in May 2024, when the regulatory body RTÜK imposed a broadcast ban and fine on Açık Radyo, an independent radio station based in Istanbul, for "inciting public hatred and hostility" after a guest mentioned the "Armenian genocide." When RTÜK revoked its terrestrial broadcasting license in July 2024, Açık Radyo moved its operations online under the name "Apaçık Radyo." However, the closure of the independent news site Gazete Duvar demonstrated that legal pressures were not the only challenge. The owner of the site, which launched amid political unrest following the 2016 coup attempt, stated that the closure was largely due to financial difficulties stemming from changes to the Google algorithm, not political ones. In July 2024, 19 international human rights and press freedom organizations called on the EU to protect freedom of expression and the rights of journalists in Türkiye, which has become the country with the highest number of cases (approximately 21,600) before the European Court of Human Rights.