Pro-government journalism has always been the world’s safest profession.
Anti-government journalism has always been the world’s most dangerous profession.
Now there is news that a court in Turkey has sentenced 24 journalists who asked too many questions to prison. Their alleged crime? Supporting ‘terrorism.’
According to the New York Times,
Most of the journalists worked for news organizations that are considered friendly to Fetullah Gulen, a cleric living in seclusion in a small town in Pennsylvania. The Turkish government claims that Mr. Gulen leads a shadowy, violent movement aiming to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Twenty-two of the journalists were sentenced to 6¼ to 7½ years in prison. The other two were given time served.
Recently the Turkish government has also purged tens of thousands of people suspected of disloyalty from the government and the military, and thousands more have been arrested and charged with supporting terrorism.
