CHP Eskişehir MP Utku Çakırözer announced the Press Freedom Report for August. According to the report, Evrensel newspaper’s Izmir office was attacked with an armed attack, TELE 1 was blacked out for 5 days, and the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) suspended the advertisement rights of 8 newspapers in Mersin indefinitely.
The report also included beatings, investigations and lawsuits against journalists. Journalist Fatih Altaylı was arrested on charges of “threatening the President” and a new investigation was opened against him. Lawsuits were also launched against T24 reporter Can Öztürk, Mezopotamya Agency reporter Dilgeş Ruvanas and journalist İsmail Arı.
Access bans were imposed on many news and social media accounts. Fatih Altaylı’s YouTube channel was blocked, while websites such as Yeni Demokrasi, Devrimci Demokrasi, Avrupa Demokrat were also blocked. The social media accounts of many organizations including Yeni Yaşam and Kaos GL were closed.
Stating that freedom of the press is under severe attack, Çakırözer said, “Reporting news should be decriminalized and imprisoned journalists should be released immediately.”
September 4, 2025
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