Elif Akkuş, a veteran journalist at Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT, was dismissed for a third time on Wednesday despite court rulings ordering her reinstatement, the T24 news website reported.
Her first dismissal was overturned by the İstanbul 7th Administrative Court in June, and her second by the İstanbul 8th Administrative Court on November 27.
In its latest decision, TRT cited Akkuş’s alleged 168-day unexplained absence from work in 2022 –– an accusation that had already been rejected in previous court cases based on witness testimony.
During her time as a correspondent Akkuş faced multiple disciplinary investigations and was ultimately removed from the civil service. She was also detained and arrested on several occasions on different allegations.
In May 2024 Akkuş was arrested on complaints by TRT, accused of embezzlement, absenteeism and abuse of office. She was released in February 2025 and acquitted by the Ankara 34th High Criminal Court on October 3.
In October 2023, while challenging a suspension issued in April 2023 without explanation, Akkuş was arrested following a TRT complaint that accused her of misusing an anonymous X account as a news source. She was released in June 2024.
According to Expression Interrupted, a press freedom monitoring group, 29 journalists are currently behind bars in Turkey. The country’s deteriorating media landscape was further pointed out in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where it was ranked 159th out of 180 nations.
