IPI Mission Urges Turkey to Retract Repressive “Agents of Influence” Bill

November 20, 2024 – Turkey – 

In mid‑November 2024, a coalition of international media freedom organizations—including the International Press Institute (IPI), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)—carried out a press freedom mission to Ankara. During meetings with Turkish judicial officials, government representatives, independent journalists, and diplomats, the mission raised alarm over draft amendments to Turkey’s espionage laws.

Dubbed the “agents of influence” bill, the amendment would broaden espionage clauses to penalize individuals acting “in alignment with or under the direction of” foreign states or organizations. Unlike transparency-focused laws elsewhere, Turkey’s version would treat such individuals as spies under criminal law, allowing judges to automatically upgrade sentences by up to seven years if the alleged offense affects the “political interests of the state”.

Mission participants warned that far from curbing foreign meddling, the bill could suppress dissent, leading to arbitrary prosecutions of journalists, academics, and civil society members. They emphasized that the law’s vague wording would create “grave chilling effects,” hindering critical reporting and independent research.

Following international pressure, the Turkish government announced a pause in parliamentary proceedings on November 14, 2024, and extended an offer to engage with opposition parties in crafting a revised text. Despite this pause, IPI—and its partners—insist the government fully withdraw the bill, warning against cosmetic adjustments that fail to address its fundamental threats.

The mission’s findings are particularly stark within a broader context of press repression in Turkey. Over the past decade, the authorities have deployed anti-terror and defamation laws to prosecute journalists, shut down media outlets, and engage in digital censorship—from blocking websites to imposing draconian “disinformation” measures.

IPI and its allies assert that a free press is essential to democratic health. They urge Turkey not just to pause but to repeal the “agents of influence” amendments, to ensure alignment with international human rights norms, and to halt all legal and extralegal efforts to stigmatize critics as foreign operatives.

The mission’s appeal underscores that the proposed espionage amendments pose a serious danger to journalistic independence, arming authorities with a destructive legal tool to silence opposition under the guise of national security.

Reference – 

Turkey: Press freedom mission urges Turkey to immediately withdraw law labeling critics as spies