Committee to Protect Journalists: Turkey peace talks positive; press freedom...
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is known for his intolerance to criticism. (Reuters/Peter Dejong/Pool) By Özgür Öğret/CPJ Istanbul Correspondent Today, hope for peace between the...
View ArticleThe Tale of Uncle Tsarnaev, CIA Chief Graham Fuller and a Turkish Islamist...
What could be the connection between the Boston Marathon bombing suspects’ uncle Ruslan, an ex-CIA Fuller and a Turkish Imam named Fethullah Gulen? Turkish preacher named Fethullah Gülen has been...
View ArticleOpen Democracy: Media freedom in Turkey: just how bad is it?
Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country, and ranks low on indices of press freedom. Just how bad is the situation, and how can it be ameliorated? Colleagues, friends and...
View ArticlePM Erdoğan hits a nerve over country’s “national drink”
Photo: REUTERS/Murad Sezer By Jonathon Burch ANKARA (Reuters) – If you are looking for one sure way to split public opinion in Turkey, just bring up the word alcohol. That is what Turkey’s often...
View ArticleDouble Blow Against Freedom Of Speech For Twitter Users In Turkey
Techdirt has written a few times about Turkey’s difficult relationship with new technology. Unfortunately, it looks like that now includes Twitter, as two troubling decisions against users have been...
View ArticleTurkey Convicts World-Renowned Pianist for ‘Defaming’ Islam
By Andrew Harrod, In Daily Mailer,FrontPage A Turkish court on April 15, 2013, convicted world-renowned pianist Fazil Say under Article 216(3) of the Turkish Penal Code. This article punishes...
View ArticleAmnesty International: Turkey: Legal reforms fall short on freedom of expression
The conviction this month of Fazıl Say, a Turkish pianist for “insulting religious values” is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how the Turkish authorities could implement a new reform...
View ArticleThe Battle of Taksim: Turkish Police Won, Democracy Lost
By Emre Kızılkaya As I tweeted earlier in the day, Ottomans had around 60.000 soldiers in the Battle of Vienna. Today 40.000 Turkish policemen besieged Taksim to stop laborers organize a mass...
View ArticleWhither Turkey’s fourth estate?
Once again, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan managed to single-handedly dictate Turkey’s agenda, this time with comments made last weekend suggesting that ayran, rather than the alcoholic rakı,...
View ArticleTurkish police fire tear gas in clashes with Labor Day protesters
By Gul Tuysuz and Ivan Watson, CNN Istanbul – Riot police fired tear gas and water cannons Wednesday at hundreds of protesters trying to hold May Day demonstrations in Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square...
View ArticleTurkey cancels Eurovision Song Contest over lesbian kiss
Gay activists are claiming Turkey’s official television channel will not show the annual competition over Finland’s entry standing up for marriage equality 16 MAY 2013 | BY JOE MORGAN, DAN LITTAUER...
View ArticleThe EU’s Misguided Decision To Lift Syrian Oil Embargo
A man walks at a makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village in Raqqa’s countryside, May 5, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Hamid Khatib) The EU’s Misguided Decision To Lift Syrian Oil Embargo...
View ArticleUPI: Turkey’s late-night alcohol ban sends mixed signals
ANKARA, Turkey, May 24 (UPI) — As widely expected, Turkey’s ban on late-night alcohol sales sent mixed signals about its perceived link to the politics of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan....
View ArticleAP: Turkey debates alcohol sales and ad restrictions
By SUZAN FRASER | Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish lawmakers on Thursday began debating a bill that bans all alcohol advertising and tightens restrictions on sales of such beverages — a...
View ArticleSomething Tremendulous is Happening in Turkey
by jpmassar May 31 / Jun 1 , 2013 There are 40,000 people crossing from Asia to Europe on a bridge across the Bosphorus. According to tweets they are joining protesters in Istanbul. These protesters...
View ArticleThe Guardian: Istanbul park protests sow the seeds of a Turkish spring
Demonstrators help one another as Turkish riot police use tear gas to disperse a protest in Taksim Gezi park. Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images A protest in a small Istanbul park has become a...
View ArticleThe Atlantic: “In Turkey: Days of Anti-Government Protests and Harsh Crackdowns”
A protest in Istanbul, Turkey, that began as a relatively small event earlier in the week, erupted into massive anti-government demonstrations across the country following a harsh crackdown by riot...
View ArticleAmnesty International: Turkey: Disgraceful use of excessive police force in...
Turkey: Disgraceful use of excessive police force in Istanbul Urgent steps must be taken by the Turkish authorities to prevent further deaths and injuries and allow protesters access to their...
View ArticleForeign Policy: Why Turks are fighting to take back Istanbul
Posted By David Kenner Sunday, June 2, 2013 When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech in Washington two weeks ago, he didn’t dwell on the crisis in Syria or the Middle East peace...
View ArticleTurkey’s Velvet Revolution
A man is hit by a jet of water as riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party...
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