Vienna, 23/07/2015
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is deeply troubled by the dismissal of IPI Turkish National Committee President Kadri Gürsel from his position as a columnist at Milliyet newspaper, after Gürsel authored a critical tweet about President Recep Erdoğan.
Gürsel was informed of the unilateral termination of his contract with Milliyet by the paper’s human resources department on 22 July.
SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic expressed shock over the incident.
“Kadri is one of the most highly-respected columnists and media professionals in Turkey, and is well-known for his critical views. Turkey needs journalists like Kadri. He was fired for criticising President Erdoğan on Twitter, which amounts to a clear attack on freedom of expression”.
SEEMO’s press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.