As we mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Turkey remains the worst jailer of journalists in the world.
The crackdown on press freedom in Turkey is far worse than you think.
Most journalists lost their freedom on trumped-up charges leveled by the authorities, while the rest, fearing imprisonment, have been forced to live in exile under often difficult and very challenging circumstances.
The unprecedented crackdown by the government has targeted critical, independent and opposition media across the country, shuttering media outlets and forcing thousands into unemployment.
The most recent figures documented by the Stockholm Center For Freedom show that 191 journalists and media workers were in jail as of May 3, 2019. Of those in prison, 95 are under arrest pending trial and 96 have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 167 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
The Erdoğan government imprisons MORE journalists than the rest of the world’s governments combined.
On Thursday the Stockholm Center for Freedom ran an advertisement in The New York Times US edition to mark World Press Freedom Day, listing all the journalists jailed in Turkey. We believe these numbers are not only statistics; every number represents a journalist who is a husband, wife, brother, sister, father or mother.
We call for the international community to take action for the jailed journalists in Turkey.
It is time to stop Erdoğan!