The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has partnered with the London-based International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR) to commemorate World Press Freedom Day at an event to be held in Stockholm on May 3, 2018.
The event will focus on Turkey, which leads the world in the highest number of journalists in jail. According to SCF data, 253 journalists and media workers were in jail as of today, with 62 of them already convicted on dubious charges of terrorism, defamation and coup plotting. In addition, 142 Turkish journalists who were forced to go into exile or still remain at large in Turkey are wanted for arrest by authorities.
SCF and IOHR are holding a panel discussion featuring journalists and human rights defenders to discuss the plight of journalists in Turkey, which is far worse than many think. The event will be held at Café Panorama, Kulturhuset, on May 3 between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The organizers will also launch a social media campaign with the hashtag #FreeTurkeyMedia to raise awareness of the press freedom woes in Turkey.
The speakers include Martin Schibbye, a Swedish journalist who was imprisoned in Ethiopia for 438 days; Abdullah Bozkurt, a Turkish journalist and president of SCF; Levent Kenez, a Turkish journalist and SCF coordinator for freedom of expression and freedom of the press; and Berivan Öngörür, the international secretary of the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO).
Entry is free and tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-right-to-press-freedom-25-years-of-wpfd-tickets-45522357597 For more information Mr. Jordan Bate, IOHR senior researcher, can be reached at +44 (0) 7717 884610 by phone or at jordan@observatoryihr.orgor info@observatoryihr.org via email.
