Turkey press freedom protests draw thousands

Thousands of people rallied in Istanbul and Ankara on Saturday against what they described as growing pressure on journalists in Turkey, including arrests, media shutdowns and the appointment of state administrators.

Police put the turnout at at least 3,000 people in Istanbul and at least 3,000 in Ankara. Protesters included journalists, rights activists and opposition party representatives.

On the Asian side of Istanbul, demonstrators held photos of jailed journalists and chanted against pressure on the media. In Ankara, protesters shouted slogans against censorship and called for freedom for jailed journalists.

The Turkish Journalists' Union said authorities had jailed 11 journalists in the past two months and shut down several media outlets. Earlier this month, police raided Halk TV, halted broadcasts and installed a government-appointed administrator. Authorities also closed the website and social media accounts of digital news outlet T24 over what they described as “LGBT propaganda”.

Veteran journalist Zafer Arapkirli told AFP after the Istanbul protest that the gathering was about defending society's right to access information through journalists and independent media.

Gokhan Durmus, president of the Turkish Journalists' Union, said recent restrictions, access bans and trustee appointments had targeted widely followed broadcasters, news channels and media platforms.

The Turkish government has repeatedly said it does not arrest and imprison journalists for doing their job.

At the Ankara protest, a letter from jailed BirGun journalist Ismail Ari was read to the crowd. Ari was arrested this month on charges of insulting a public official and publicly disseminating misleading information, after a complaint by Turkey's broadcasting watchdog chief, Ebubekir Sahin.