June 21, 2016

21/06/2016: TURKEY – SEEMO CALLS FOR RELEASE OF THREE GUEST EDITORS IN TURKEY

Vienna, 21/06/2016

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed concern over the detention of Erol Onderoglu, Reporters without Borders representative in Turkey, as well as human rights activist Sebnem Korur and journalist Ahmet Nesin yesterday in Istanbul.

The three are being charged for ‘terrorist propaganda’ after openly stating their solidarity in a campaign supporting the Kurdish daily Ozgur Gundem.

‘The arrest of and detention of Erol Onderoglu Sebnem Korur and Ahmet Nesin is appalling, and shows how hostile the environment in Turkey is to journalists,’ SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic, said ‘SEEMO calls for the immediate release of these individuals, as well as all other media workers currently in detention because of their journalistic work.’

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its 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.