Naif Bezwan cannot pinpoint a certain moment in his life in which he decided to pursue academia. For Bezwan, rather, it has been a gradual process of situating his personal narrative within the context of his Kurdish community, within Turkey and within the world.
Sahika Erkonan never thought signing a petition meant signing away her life, her family or her country. Marooned in London, she faces an uncertain future
Mezopotamya Agency reporter Seda Taskın is standing trial in a case that has been marred by serious flaws, including ill-treatment
All that is solid in the Turkish media melted into air over the past year, and much of the entertainment content have migrated from traditional platforms to streaming services like YouTube and Netflix.
In the wake of the 15 July 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has become a “de facto permanent” emergency regime. The state of emergency, which has been extended six times, has become a convenient pretext for the government to crack down on freedom of expression.
In 2016 hundreds of academics were dismissed from their positions without notice, including sociologist Sharo Ibrahim Garip, who taught at Yuzuncu Yil University
For Turkish academics, signing a dissenting petition can mean expulsion from their job, the country or even jail time. In Noémi Lévy-Aksu’s case, signing the Academics for Peace petition, “We will not be a party to this crime!” meant losing her teaching position at Boğaziçi University.
Since Turkey launched a military operation in Afrin, northern Syria, in January, state repression against critical voices has escalated.
Kurdish women at Turkey’s only feminist news website, Jin News, and elsewhere are taking a new approach to journalism. This being Turkey, they haven’t escaped pressure: Many have been detained, put on trial or threatened.
According to the Turkish interior ministry, as of 27 February, 845 people had been detained by police for criticising the Afrin operation
Turkey Uncensored is an Index on Censorship project to publish articles from censored Turkish writers, artists and translators.
On 15 July shots heard inside the General Staff headquarters in Ankara signalled the beginning of the assault against Turkey’s democratic institutions. Tanks and fighter jets opened fire on and around parliament and other buildings, resulting in the death of more than 240 people.
This was the catalyst to an unparalleled level of attacks on media freedom in the country. By 30 September, 98 journalists were arrested and charged, 133 media professionals were detained, 133 media outlets were shut down and approximately 2,500 journalists lost their jobs. Learn more.