Clampdown on foreign journalists in Turkey_updated list

Turkey, the most notorious country in the world in terms of jailing journalists, has also come after foreign reporters in an ever-escalating crackdown on freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Dozens of foreign reporters have faced administrative and legal action including false imprisonment by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which is bent on silencing all critical voices in Turkey including local, regional, national and even foreign ones.

A report by the Stockholm Center for Freedom titled “The Clampdown on Foreign Journalists in Turkey” explains in detail how reporters from other countries face serious obstacles in Turkey that at times suggest a deliberate, systematic and calibrated policy by the government is, in fact, being implemented.

Among the most common rights violations experienced by foreign journalists are detention and jailing, denial of residence permit extensions, cancelation of accreditation, deportation, a prohibition on entering Turkey, discrediting and finger-pointing.

Although convictions are rare, there are a few examples that are enough to send a chilling message. Around half a dozen foreign journalists have also died under suspicious circumstances in the last five years, although the masterminds behind these killings were never identified.

Due to increased obstacles to freedom of expression, a climate of fear and xenophobic attitudes that has often been fueled by the narrative of senior officials, foreign journalists in Turkey are having a difficult time doing their jobs. They are hard-pressed to communicate with news sources, with experts, academics and other sources who avoid talking to foreign reporters for fear of being labeled as traitors or collaborators. Please click on the report’s PDF

Clampdown on foreign journalists in Turkey_Updated list

(As of March 14, 2019)

PHOTO NAMENATIONALITYMEDIA COMPANYCASEDATE
dd/mm/yyy
NOTE
Natalia SanchaSpanishEl PaisDenied entry to Turkey 31/10/2015
Jake HanrahanBritishVice NewsArrested31/08/2015Released on 07/09/2015
Muhammed İsmail Resul IraqiInterpreter for Vice NewsArrested31/08/2015Released on parole on 05/01/2016
Philip PandleburyBritishVice NewsArrested31/08/2015Released on 07/09/2015
Yasmine RyanNew ZealanderTRT WorldSuspicious Death30/11/2017Believed to be a suicide
Firas HammadiSyrian Ayn-al Watan Suspicious Death30/10/2015ISIL claimed
Ibrahim AbdulkadirSyrian Ayn-al Watan Suspicious Death30/10/2015Blamed on ISIL
Naji El JerfSyrian HentahKilled27/12/2015A gunman convicted
Raphael GeigerGerman SternPress credentials not renewed27/04/2017
Deniz YücelTurkish-GermanDie WeltArrested27/02/2017Released on 16/02/2018
Dion NissenbaumAmericanThe Wall Street JournalDetained26/12/2016Released three days later. Left Turkey
David LepeskaAmericanFreelanceDenied entry to Turkey 25/04/2016
Halla BarakatSyrian-AmericanFreelanceKilled22/09/2017A relative was convicted
Giorgos MoutafisGreekBildDenied entry to Turkey 22/04/2016
Tural KerimovRussianSputnik TürkiyeDenied entry to Turkey 20/04/2016
Serena ShimLebanese-AmericanPress TvSuspicious Death19/10/2014
Volker SchwenckGerman
ARDDenied entry to Turkey 19/04/2016
Jacky SuttonUnited Kingdom Institute for War and Peace ReportingSuspicious Death17/10 2016
Hasnain KazimGerman-PakistanianSpiegelPress credentials not renewed17/03/2016
Ans BoersmaNetherlands Het Financieele DagbladDeported17/01/2019
Rod NordlandAmericanThe New York TimesDenied entry to Turkey 17/01/2017
Ceren Kumova TurkishAgence France-PressePrevented from reporting16/06/2013
Ceylan YeğinsuTurkish-BritishThe New York TimesPrevented from reporting 16/06/2013
Thomas SeibertGermanyTagesspiegelPress credentials not renewed01/02/2019
Jörg BraseGermanyZDFPress credentials not renewed01/02/2019
Max ZirngastAustrianRe:volt magazineReleased pending trial

Acquitted
11/09/2018Detained on September 11, 2018. Arrested on September 21, 2018 over their alleged membership into a terrorist organization.

Released on December 24, 2018

Acquitted in September 2019
Arash Shoja SharghIranianGilane NoExtradited04/09/2018
Jamal Khashoggi Saudi Arabia Washington PostMurdered02/10/2018Jamal Khashoggi was killed on October 2, 2018 during his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Ayla AlbayrakTurkishWall Street Journal Convicted11/10/2017Sentenced in absentia to two years in prison over 'terrorist propaganda'
Gabriele Del GrandeItalianFreelanceDetained 09/04/2017Released and deported on 24/04/2017
Mathias DepardonFrenchNational GeographicDetained08/05/2017Released 3 days later and sent to Immigration Authority Deportation Center in Gaziantep. Deported on 17/06/2017
Loup BureauFrenchFreelanceArrested02/08/2017Released on 15/09/2017
Olivier BertrandFrenchLes JoursDetained12/11/2016Released on 14/11/2016 and deported
Claus Blok ThomsenDanishPolitikenDenied entry to Turkey 09/07/2016
Silje Rønning KampesæterNorwegianAftenpostenPress credentials not renewed08/02/2016
Lindsey SnellAmericanFreelanceArrested07/08/2016Released on 13/10/2016
Beatriz YuberoSpanishLa Razón BezDetained 06/08/2016Released the following day and deported
Frederike GeerdinkDutchFreelanceDetained06/01/2015Released on the same day. Detained again on 06/09/2015, after three days in custody, deported on 09/09/2015