Islam Times - Turkey engaged in biggest press freedom crackdown: Media watchdog

Islam Times - A media watchdog has accused Turkey of carrying out the “world’s biggest crackdown” on press freedom in recent years.

In a report released on Monday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) accused the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of using pressure tactics to encourage self-censorship among journalists.

The CPJ said that journalists have been imprisoned on a “mass scale” on charges of plotting against the Turkish government.

According to the group, nearly 80 journalists had been imprisoned in Turkey most of whom are being held for “their published work or newsgathering activities”.

Meanwhile, about 70 percent of those imprisoned are reportedly Kurdish journalists.

However, Turkey has rejected the accusations, saying that the detained journalists are being held for activity unrelated to their field of expertise.