Nineteen press freedom organizations have called for Turkey to release five journalists jailed in recent weeks on charges of “membership in an illegal organization,” condemning their arrests as politically motivated attempts to suppress independent journalism, the Bianet news website reported.
Four of the journalists — Dicle Baştürk, Yavuz Akengin, Eylem Emel Yılmaz and Ozan Cırık — were initially detained in coordinated police raids in İstanbul on June 13. A Turkish court ordered their arrest three days later on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.” Journalist Metin Yoksu was arrested separately in Batman province on June 26 after voluntarily appearing at a prosecutor’s office in connection with the same investigation.
Prosecutors have alleged that technical support provided to news websites, freelance payments received for journalistic work and routine professional communication amounted to involvement with banned organizations. Press freedom groups, however, say these accusations criminalize legitimate journalism.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the 19 journalism and human rights organizations sharply rejected those accusations, calling them a misuse of vague counterterrorism laws to silence the press.
“It is unacceptable to present journalistic activities as elements of a crime. Reporting news, sharing news and receiving royalties for this cannot be considered a crime. Journalism is not a crime,” the statement read.
The organizations described the journalists’ detentions as “the latest example of how vague charges are increasingly being exploited to silence the press,” warning that the arrests threaten the public’s right to access independent news.
They also raised concerns about prison conditions, noting that Yılmaz has been forced to sleep on the floor due to overcrowding. The statement said such treatment could seriously damage her physical and psychological health and violates international human rights agreements.
“These journalists are being punished solely for engaging in their profession,” the groups wrote, urging Turkish authorities to end efforts to intimidate reporters through arbitrary arrests and to drop the charges against those detained.
Turkish authorities frequently use broad counterterrorism laws and insult charges to prosecute members of the press.
Turkey, which is one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
