Turkish government jails another journalist

Turkish government has jailed another journalist on Saturday. Pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency reported on Saturday that a Turkish court jailed journalist Kemal Demir, a cameraman working for TV10, a banned Alevite TV channel in İstanbul.

Kemal Demir, who was detained on November 25, 2017 appeared in court along with Kemal Karagöz, a fellow journalist on Saturday. Demir was arrested for “supporting a terrorist organization” and sent to prison. The court has released Karagöz pending trial.

Turkish police raided several houses in Beyoglu, Sarıyer, Kağıthane, Esenyurt, Gaziosmanpaşa, Sultangazi, Sultanbeyli and Ümraniye neighbourhoods and Demir was detained along with nine others on November 25, 2017.

Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by the SCF has showed that 256 journalists and media workers are in jails as of November 21, 2017, most in pre-trial detention languishing in notorious Turkish prisons without even a conviction. Of those in Turkish prisons, 230 are arrested pending trial, only 26 journalists remain convicted and serving time in Turkish prisons. An outstanding detention warrants remain for 135 journalists who live in exile or remain at large in Turkey.

Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down more than 180 media outlets after the controversial coup attempt.

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