Turkey
Turkey currently has the most jailed journalistsPosted Apr 6 2011
Turkey is now the nation with the highest number of journalists behind bars. According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, at least 57 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey. This is more than any other country at the moment. Last December, Iran and China had the highest amount of journalists jailed at 34 each, but within the last five months, Turkey has more than doubled the amount of journalists it has imprisoned.
In addition to the 57 journalists currently serving time, there are also 10 journalists currently awaiting trial. If convicted, Turkish journalists often face long sentences. Vedit Kursun and Emine Demir of the Azadiya Welat were each sentenced to more than 138 years in prison. The report also noted that defense lawyers are often unable to get full access to the details behind cases, meaning that they will not be able to serve their journalist clients to their full ability.
The director of the International Press Institute, Alison Bethel, said: “Turkey, at the crossroads between east and west, is a major regional power with an ancient cultural heritage. The country is also often held up as an example of a healthy Muslim democracy…for Turkey to step away from this history and to jail more journalists than any other country in the world is damaging. We call on the Turkish government to respect the right of freedom of the press and to release all journalists detained because of their work.”