The number of journalists receive penal prosecution in Turkey and the details over the accusations they confronted astonished the Romenian colleagues. In the gatering for Turkish and Romenian journalists in Bucharest, the idea of taking the unity to the international platforms has been agreed.

The presentation prepared by Sweden-based human rights association Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) put a firm stamp on. Journalists Levent Kenez and Abdullah Bozkurt came together with their Romenian colleagues in the panel named “Current Worth of the Press Freedom”. In the panel, the director of the SCF Levent Kenez has told the bust from the police to the Meydan Journal where he was working as the editorial director. He expressed how he has taken into custody and what he has been through. Kenez shared data about investigated or arrested journalists because of the media institutions which were shut down and accusations which were aimed at them. The story of governments taking over the media presented, via visuals, affected the Romenian journalists deeply.

NO FREE PRESS NO FREE JUDGEMENT

Abdullah Bozkurt took the floor in the panel and compared the weighty situation journalists came across to the 1980 post-coup period. Bozkurt reminded that the number of arrested journalists in 1980 post-coup period was way much lower than the numbers today and stressed “When the freedom of press removed, other freedoms disappear as well. For instance free judgement dies out. Freedom of press is crucial.”   He drew attention the the fact that Erdoğan is struggling to form a new Turkey and he qualified Turkey as “A very different county than the Turkey that we know so far which aiming to be a part of the EU”. Bozkurt implied about the course of events: “New Turkey follows a policy which aims to undermine its traditional allies. Drifting apart from the basic value and pathing the way through dictatorship.”