The Executive Committee of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), meeting on 2 December 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey, expresses its deep concern at the ongoing deterioration of press freedom in Turkey and calls on the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to desist in its efforts to criminalise the profession of journalism.

The Executive Committee of WAN-IFRA is deeply disturbed by recent court decisions that have seen news coverage and commentary conflated with terrorism. Heavy jail sentences meted out to journalists appear designed to discourage investigative reporting and are promoting a culture of self-censorship.

The Executive Committee of WAN-IFRA notes that the jailing of journalists has seriously undermined Turkey’s international commitments to freedom of expression, as outlined in Article 10 of the European Human Rights Convention, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Turkey imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world.

The Executive Committee of WAN-IFRA calls for the immediate release of all journalists held in Turkish jails and who are imprisoned in connection to their work. The Executive Committee also calls on Prime Minister Erdoğan to guarantee the freedom of the press in Turkey and to ensure the necessary conditions for journalists to be able to carry out their work without hindrance, intimidation, or interference from the state.

Link to press release: http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/95304/