Journalists Doğa Baskan and Yıldız Tar have been jailed pending trial, while Turkey’s media watchdog imposed broadcasting penalties on Halk TV and Koza TV. Ahead of the NATO summit, numerous opposition media outlets were also denied accreditation.
Recent investigations in Turkey have resulted in the detention and imprisonment of several journalists. Doğa Baskan, a reporter for Evrensel newspaper, was detained over a news article that was removed from the evrensel.net website shortly after publication. After appearing before prosecutors with her lawyers on June 25 to give a statement, Baskan was arrested on charges of “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code and sent to prison.
İlke Işık, the newspaper’s lawyer, argued that the article had been published inadvertently and removed shortly afterward, adding that the legal elements of the alleged offense had not been met. Işık described the detention order as “a severe measure.” Baskan, a university student, has worked as a reporter for Evrensel for the past year.
Journalist Yıldız Tar, who was among those detained as part of an investigation launched ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, was also remanded in custody. A criminal judgeship of peace ordered the arrest of 103 people, including Tar, while eight others were placed under house arrest in the same investigation.
The investigation had led to the detention of numerous journalists, academics and civil society representatives, some of whom were referred to court on accusations of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
The latest developments, which saw two journalists jailed in separate investigations, have once again fueled concerns over press freedom in Turkey.
The Journalists’ Union of Turkey’s 2025-2026 Press Freedom Report found that journalism in Turkey continues to be carried out under the pressure of imprisonment, criminal investigations, censorship and economic hardship. According to the report, 14 journalists were in prison as of April 1, 2026, while more than 300 journalists stood trial in 224 separate criminal cases over the previous year.
RTÜK fines Halk TV and Koza TV
Pressure and censorship targeting opposition media have also continued. Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog, RTÜK, imposed administrative fines of 1 percent on Halk TV and Koza TV for reporting on allegations of abuse at a private care facility in the southeastern province of Batman.
Media accreditation ban imposed at the request of the AKP government
In addition, Cumhuriyet, Halk TV, Sözcü TV, T24, ANKA, Medyascope, BirGün, Evrensel, Nefes, İlke TV, Yetkin Report and Now TV were denied accreditation to cover the NATO summit in Ankara.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that media accreditation for the summit was based on the host country’s assessment. The decision indicated that the exclusion of numerous opposition and independent media organizations was made at the request of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
