The Turkish presidency’s Directorate of Communications has revoked the press card of journalist İsmail Arı, citing a criminal record that official documents show does not exist, the Birgün daily reported.
According to Arı, officials from the directorate informed him verbally that his press card had been revoked on March 21, coinciding with the day he was detained. The officials also told him that he could get his card back if he obtained a document showing he had been cleared in the ongoing case against him.
Arı was detained on March 21 and arrested the following day on accusations of spreading disinformation and violating confidentiality through his online commentary and social media posts involving family members of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well as alleged irregularities in state bodies and the judiciary. Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of more than eight years.
He was released pending trial at the first hearing of his trial on June 5 after spending 75 days in pretrial detention at Ankara’s Sincan Prison.
Announcing the revocation on social media, Arı said his press card had been cancelled while he was jailed because of his journalistic work.
He also shared a copy of his criminal record certificate, which showed no convictions, adding the comment “Spotless.”
The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey’s Press Workers Union (DİSK Basın-İş) criticized the decision, saying it opposed attempts to hinder Arı’s journalism through administrative measures. “A press card is not a privilege that governments can use to exert pressure on journalists; it is a professional tool,” the union said.
Veteran Turkish journalist Yavuz Baydar, who lives in exile, also criticized the move, saying press cards should neither be granted nor revoked through government approval.
“Such a system exists in totalitarian regimes,” Baydar said, adding that in democratic countries press credentials are issued by journalists’ unions, professional organizations and media outlets rather than governments.
Press cards are widely regarded as essential professional credentials in Turkey, as they facilitate access to official events, court hearings and the Turkish Parliament.
Turkey’s Press Cards Commission was subordinated to the presidency following the country’s transition to an executive presidential system in 2018. An amended regulation introduced in 2021 was challenged by the journalists’ organizations, citing concerns over the broad administrative discretion of the Directorate of Communications in the issuance and revocation of press cards as well as reduced representation of professional journalism bodies on the Press Cards Commission.
In 2021 the Council of State suspended parts of the regulation, but following an appeal by the Directorate of Communications, the Council of State’s Administrative Litigation Chambers lifted the suspension in 2022. Amid ongoing objections and criticism, a revised regulation entered into force in April 2023.
Since the transfer of authority to the presidency, numerous journalists critical of President Erdoğan and his government have reported having their press cards revoked or their renewal applications rejected. Press freedom groups and journalists’ organizations have long criticized the system, arguing that it enables the government to exert control over journalists through accreditation procedures.
