76 JOURNALISTS IMPRISONED IN TURKEY

Turkey’s press freedom situation has reached a crisis point, with the country assuming the world’s top spot for the number of journalists imprisoned in its jails, a new reportfrom the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has shown. “The Turkish government is engaging in a broad offensive to silence critical journalists through imprisonment, legal prosecution and official intimidation,” the report said. CPJ has identified 76 journalists imprisoned in Turkey as of Aug. 1, 2012. Following a case-by-case review, the CPJ concluded that at least 61 journalists were being held in direct relation to their work or newsgathering activities, the highest global figure in the last decade. The CPJ’s 53-page report featured letters sent from imprisoned journalists and government responses to CPJ inquiries. About 70 percent of those jailed were Kurdish journalists charged with aiding terrorism by covering the views and activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK). Over three-quarters of the imprisoned journalists have not been convicted of a crime, but are being held as they await resolution of their cases, the report said. According to the report, up to 5,000 criminal cases were pending against journalists at the end of 2011.