Press Freedom Monitors Say Attempts to Silence Journalists Are Increasingly Brazen in Turkey

January 20, 2026 – Turkey – 

Press freedom advocates in Turkey report a significant escalation in efforts to restrict independent journalism and expression, with the BİA Media Monitoring Report 2025 documenting a marked rise in legal harassment, criminalisation, and intimidation of media professionals and critics. The annual report, published by the independent media organisation BİA Media Monitoring, concludes that actors aiming to silence journalists have become more brazen in using state mechanisms and legal tools to target reporting and dissent.

According to the 2025 monitoring data, journalists faced a normalization of punitive measures, including arrests, prolonged detentions, criminal charges (such as “threat” and “espionage”), travel bans, and heavy fines related to their reporting or online commentary. These actions are seen as part of a broader pattern of judicial and administrative pressure that marginalises critical voices and constrains media freedoms in practice. The report highlights that the use of such measures has increased even as broader civil and political rights remain under strain in Turkey.

Rights groups note that this trend is consistent with the country’s long-standing and intensifying crackdowns on media freedom. Over recent years, authorities have routinely pursued journalists on terrorism-related and state security charges for covering contentious topics, particularly those involving Kurdish communities or government criticism; foreign press watchdogs have publicly criticised such prosecutions as abusive and suppressive.

Observers also point to a climate of increasing self-censorship, driven by threats of legal action, police harassment, and online intimidation campaigns. Journalists and civil society actors warn that these pressures not only endanger individual reporters but also erode independent reporting and public debate more broadly, diminishing the diversity of voices and scrutiny in Turkish media.

The BİA report and related analyses underscore that what were once sporadic legal confrontations have evolved into systematic interference with journalistic activity, reinforcing concerns among domestic and international observers about the shrinking space for free expression and independent media in Turkey. The findings are likely to fuel renewed calls from press freedom organisations for legal reforms, judicial independence, and stronger protections for journalists.

Reference – 

https://bianet.org/haber/those-who-want-to-silence-journalists-are-now-more-brazen-315807