World Spotlight: Jailed journalists a sign of declining press freedom in Turkey
Last month, tens of thousands of people took to the street to remember ethnic Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, who was gunned down five years ago by an ultranationalist teenager. The number of people who turned out underscored the level of discontent about how the media are treated in Turkey.
“Without belittling the achievements of the government, the roof has fallen in on freedom of expression,” said Hurriyet columnist David Judson.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders recently published its annual press freedom index, which dropped Turkey 10 places to 148th in the world, just behind countries such as Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
-- J. Michael Kennedy, Los Angeles Times
Photo: Demonstrators in Istanbul hold placards last month while marking the fifth anniversary of the assassination of ethnic Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed by an ultranationalist. Credit: Mustafa Ozer, AFP/Getty Images / Feb. 18, 2012