Journalists in Turkey were subjected to assaults and judicial harassment in October, while media outlets faced increasing pressure from government-appointed trustees, according to the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), a press freedom watchdog based in southeastern Turkey.
The DFG’s monthly report said one journalist was murdered, two were arrested and 47 faced ongoing trials in Turkey. In addition, five journalists were physically attacked and seven were detained, while 10 journalists received suspended sentences totaling 12 years, two months and 20 days, or fines totaling 78,722 Turkish lira (approximately $1,900).
DFG said 28 journalists remain in prison as of November 3. According to the report 156 journalists lost their jobs during the month.
DFG also noted that Turkey’s broadcasting regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), imposed fines on six TV stations. Authorities additionally blocked access to one news website, 18 news reports and 628 social media accounts or posts.
The report described the appointment of a trustee to the pro-opposition TELE1 TV station and the closure of its YouTube channel as “a black mark on Turkish democracy.” It also recalled that all journalists and media workers at the station resigned in protest over the takeover.
The watchdog further criticized the lack of an official statement regarding the death of independent journalist Hakan Tosun, who was attacked on October 10 while returning home in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district and died three days later in the hospital.
The report also denounced the blocking of 86 social media accounts that shared content about Rojin Kabaiş, a university student who died under suspicious circumstances, as well as access bans on 540 other online posts. It noted that two journalists from the pro-Kurdish JİNNEWS who reported on the allegations surrounding Kabaiş’s death are now under investigation.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, was ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
