Human Rights Watch accused Turkey of suppressing free media in a bid to stem scrutiny of its widespread crackdown following the failed July coup. In a report, the US-based rights watchdog said Turkey’s “assault” on critical journalism had accelerated since the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — but said it began several years earlier and had steadily “sharpened” since 2014.The Turkish government insists it does not attack the press or journalists, often saying there is no problem with press freedom. The Turkish authorities had no immediate reaction to the report.
HRW said journalists it spoke to described “the stifling atmosphere in which they work and about the rapidly shrinking space for reporting on issues the government does not want covered.” Since mid-July, 140 media outlets and 29 publishing houses had been shut down under regulations imposed under a post-coup state of emergency, leaving over 2,500 journalists and media workers unemployed, HRW said.

source: AFP