RSF - Reporters sans frontières

03/10/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Türkiye: RSF and seven press freedom and human rights organisations urge Turkish authorities to end the crackdown on media pluralism

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and seven other press freedom and human rights organisations, which took part in a joint international mission to Ankara, the Turkish capital at the end of 2025, are urging the Turkish authorities to end the crackdown on power-critical journalists and media outlets, which is jeopardising media pluralism in the country.

In a joint statement, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the International Press Institute (IPI), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), Amnesty International, and ARTICLE 19 Europe call on the Turkish authorities to put an end to the abusive legal persecution of journalists, digital censorship and economic repression at a time of financial crisis, which are aimed at silencing independent media outlets and journalists.

"The 2025 mission revealed that Türkiye continues to suffer from an unprecedented decline in press freedom. Political control over the judiciary and internet censorship are just some of the means used to weaken power-critical media outlets. This repression, which is intensifying to the point of becoming transnational, poses a serious threat to media pluralism. Türkiye must once and for all abandon this policy of criminalising the right to information in favour of positive initiatives and measures that promote editorial independence and economic viability.

Erol Onderoglu
RSF representative in Türkiye

Türkiye ranks 159 out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index. Since 2024, the country has fallen by one place due to a decline in its economic score - a direct consequence of the economic sanctions aimed at weakening critically-minded media outlets.

Published on10.03.2026
Updated on 10.03.2026
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