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Journalism Is Not a Crime

August 3, 2016

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By now you have likely heard about the Turkish government’s attacks on freedom of the press and human rights following the attempted coup on July 15. As of today, 61 journalists have been detained and 131 media organizations—including 3 news agencies, 16 television channels, 23 radio stations, 45 daily newspapers, 15 magazines, and 29 publishing houses—have been forcibly shuttered. Fear of arrest has silenced the voice of the Turkish people.

In the wake of this attack on free speech and access to crucial information, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has initiated a solidarity campaign with Turkish journalists to stand up to Turkey’s free press violations.

If you are interested in supporting your fellow writers imperiled in this struggle, you can help by:

  • Sending a letter to the Turkish ambassador in the U.S. (sample letters enclosed)
  • Signing and sharing the Amnesty International petition “Rights hard-won cannot be taken away,”calling on President Erdogan to uphold human rights in Turkey
  • Sending a contribution to the IFJ Safety Fund in order to support individual requests from Turkey (Bank account BE64 2100 7857 0052; Swift Code GEBABEBB; communication “Solidarity Turkey”)
  • Sharing the visual “Did you know? Journalism is not a crime” #JournalismIsNotACrime on social media/your website

The Authors Guild supports freedom of speech as a fundamental part of our mission. We hope that you will join us in supporting the principles that these journalists are suffering for. For updates, follow IFJ on Twitter.