Erdogan’s regime expands crackdown on freedom of speech

ANKARA, (ST)- The Turkish regime is pressing ahead with its crackdown on freedom of speech. It has launched a wide-scale arrest campaign and adopted arbitrary measures against Turkish journalists and media outlets that publish any reports on the regime’s military losses in Syria and Libya.

According to Turkish media, the authorities of Erdogan’s regime investigated at least 25 journalists during the past week, blocked access to several news websites, put restrictions on social media and issued arrest warrants against several journalists on the backdrop of covering the news about the Turkish aggression on Idleb and about its intervention in Libya.

 A number of journalists have been arrested after publishing news about dozens of Turkish soldiers who were killed during the Syrian Arab Army’s operation against terrorist organizations in Idleb. The Turkish soldiers were providing assistance to the terrorists.

The Turkish media also said that Erdogan’s regime arrested several Turkish journalists for revealing information about a Turkish intelligence officer killed while supporting terrorist organizations in Libya, including Murat Agirel  from the pro-Turkish daily Yenicag, editor-in-chief of the critical news website OdaTV Baris Pehlivan, news director Baris Terkoglu and reporter Hulya Kilinc among others.

Deputy head of the People’s Republican Party (CHP) Faek Oztrak stressed that preventing news reporting and blocking media work is a strong indication about suppressing the freedom of journalism, stressing that it is not acceptable for a country that claims to be democratic to carry out oppressive policies.

Hamda Mustafa