Source: ReclaimTheNet.org
The free press finds itself under escalating attack in Turkey, where government authorities have, in a disturbing development, detained three journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urgently implored the government to reverse this intimidating course of action, to no avail thus far.
Independent columnists, Tolga Şardan of T24 and Cengiz Erdinç of Kısa Dalga, have been taken into police custody – a move widely condemned by press freedom and human rights groups. Additionally, Dinçer Gökçe, a news editor with pro-opposition Halk TV, is now subjected to oddly paternalistic court orders to read and summarize books about his profession.
This clampdown on free press was enacted under a 2022 legal mandate which curtails the dissemination of information deemed harmful to national security, public order, or even the country’s general health – in essence, anything that may engender worry or fear among the public….