Turkey - Where terrorists allegedly get police escorts and journalists are expelled.

Turkey - Where terrorists allegedly get police escorts and journalists are expelled.(TZ).

The deportation of Today's Zaman journalist Mahir Zeynalov for Twitter messages that were critical of the government is a setback for press freedom, say international press organizations, criticizing the Turkish government's attitude toward the media.

“The Turkish authorities' reported decision to deport a foreign journalist and bar him from re-entering Turkey -- over tweeting -- is a shocking development, incompatible with the country's international commitments on freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” said Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in remarks to Today's Zaman.

Ognianova also conveyed the CPJ's call on Turkey to reverse this decision that has brought censorship in Turkey to a new level. “Mahir Zeynalov should be allowed to remain in the country and to continue to use social networks or any other platform for information-sharing without fear of reprisal,” she added.

On Monday, Freedom House also released a report titled “Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media and Power in Turkey,” roundly criticizing the Turkish government's attitude toward the media.

The report concluded that the Turkish government has failed to resist the temptation of authoritarianism embedded in the state and has applied strong-arm tactics to suppress the media via intimidation, mass firings, buying off or forcing out media moguls, wiretapping and imprisonment, “which are not acceptable in a democracy.”

The report emphasized that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan frequently attacks journalists by name if they write critical commentaries and that journalists have lost their jobs after these public attacks. It also said that at least 59 journalists were fired or forced out in retaliation for their coverage of last summer's Gezi Park protests in İstanbul.

Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Sabine Freizer Güneş also said in a Twitter post that she is shocked by Zeynalov's deportation to Azerbaijan, where the media is not free.

Steven Ellis, a senior press freedom adviser for the International Press Institute (IPI), expressed concern over the deportation on Friday as well, saying, “Claims that the government now seeks to deny Mr. Zeynalov the ability to even stay in Turkey because of those posts represents, if true, a disproportionate and troubling escalation -- one that seems calculated to send a message that journalists should think twice before sharing unwelcome information.”

Concerned Russian and Azerbaijani journalists also expressed their apprehension in remarks to Today's Zaman on Friday. Rafael Hüseyinov, secretary-general of the Russian Union of Journalists, said that in a case similar to Zeynalov's, a foreign journalist wouldn't be deported from Azerbaijan.“It is the duty of a journalist to criticize in general, including the government of a country. Otherwise it will be pro-government journalism,” Hüseyinov added.

Zeynalov is already the target of a criminal complaint filed by Erdoğan for tweets he posted on Dec. 25, 2013, about a graft scandal that erupted last year and continues to shake the government. Erdoğan said the tweets included “heavy insults and swear words in a bid to provoke the nation to hatred and animosity.”

Zeynalov, in formal testimony given about the accusations last week, denied the charges of attempting to “incite hatred and animosity,” noting that he had only tweeted links to two news reports that included no opinion or criticism.

The first tweet contained a link to a news report about the second wave of a massive graft operation and the police's obstruction of a raid involving more than 40 suspects, including Saudi businessman Yasin al-Qadi -- who is on the US list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Turkish media close to the government immediately launched a smear campaign, accusing Zeynalov of “trying to portray Erdoğan as protecting al-Qaeda members” to the world."

Turkish prosecutors order police to arrest al-Qaeda affiliates, Erdoğan's appointed police chiefs refuse to comply,” read the first tweet.

In the second tweet, Zeynalov shared a news report detailing al-Qadi's escape from the country after police chiefs blocked the raid on Dec. 25, 2013.Zeynalov's case underlines the hardships faced by foreign journalists based in Turkey.Read the full story here.