Expression Interrupted

Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

Murat Çelikkan's defense in court: “Propaganda can only be bad journalism”

  Journalist and human rights defender Murat Çelikkan was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "terrorism propaganda" at a court hearing on May 16, 2017. We present a translation

Former DİHA reporter to appear before court on June 14

Nedim Türfent, a correspondent of the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) that was closed down with an emergency decree, will appear before a criminal court in the southeastern province of

EPSU’s Goudriaan to Altans: It’s time for you to be free

Jan Willem Goudriaan, the general secretary of the European Federation of Public Service Unions, has called for freedom for Ahmet and Mehmet Altan ahead of the first hearing in their trial o

French journalist detained in Turkey goes on hunger strike

  Mathias Depardon, an Istanbul-based French photojournalist who was arrested on May 8 when filming in the southeastern province of Batman, has gone on hunger strike, his lawyer said

Journalists, MP stand trial in Syria arms report case

An Istanbul court adjourned on Thursday trial of former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet daily, Can Dündar, the newspaper’s Ankara representative Erdem Gül and the main opposition Repu

Muiznieks concerned about sentencing of Çelikkan

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks published on Thursday a statement expressing concern about conviction of Turkish human rights defender and journalist Murat

“Politics without criticism is tyranny”

Renowned novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan appeared on Tuesday before an Istanbul court to present his defense in an “insult” case. Altan, who is charged with “insulting the president”

Turkey marks Press Freedom Day against bleak backdrop

May 3 was International World Press Freedom day, which was marked in a particularly poignant atmosphere this year in Turkey, where 163 journalists are

Journalists appear before court in terrorism case

The second hearing of a trial in which 29 people, mostly journalists, face up to 15 years in jail on charges of “terrorist group membership” was held on April 27, Thursday at İstanbul’s Çağl

Swedish intellectuals appeal for Alpay’s release

A group of Swedish academics and journalists have signed a letter addressing Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ to call for the release of columnist Şahin Alpay, one of the more than 140

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