Freedom House: 'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey secures ‘not free’ position on press freedoms.

Freedom House: 'Advanced Islamist Democracy' Turkey secures ‘not free’ position on press freedoms. (Bugun).

Global human rights watchdog Freedom House has released its latest report on press freedoms, and Turkey’s Press Freedom score deteriorated an additional three points in the past year to 65 as Ankara moves more and more aggressively to stifle dissent through laws and intimidation.

Global human rights watchdog Freedom House has released its latest report on press freedoms, and Turkey’s Press Freedom score deteriorated an additional three points in the past year to 65 as Ankara moves more and more aggressively to stifle dissent through laws and intimidation. 

Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO that monitors and advocates for democracy, political freedom and human rights, has released its ‘Freedom of the Press 2015’ report detailing global shifts in press freedoms over 2014, and it shows a marked deterioration in Turkey’s overall score.

On a scale from 0 (free) to 100 (not free), Turkey’s score has increased in the past year from 62 to 65 “as the government moved more aggressively to close the space for dissent through new legal measures and intimidation."

The report notes that while there is somewhat more media diversity in Turkey than before, “Political leaders have steadily tamed once-independent outlets, using various forms of pressure against private owners and creating media sectors that are firmly tilted in the ruling Justice and Development Party’s [AK Party] favor.”

The report details the many methods Ankara has used to suppress press coverage, from new laws, to economic incentives for cronyism, and even open threats.

Turkish authorities “aggressively” utilize the Turkish criminal code, laws against defamation and counter-terrorism to cow the media, says Freedom House. Read the full story here.