MAY 2026 REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST JOURNALISTS
Human rights violations against journalists and media organizations continued in May. Journalists faced multifaceted pressures, including detention, arrest, investigations, lawsuits, threats, and obstruction of news coverage. In addition to interventions targeting press and freedom of expression, access restrictions on online platforms persisted.
In May, numerous journalists were directly targeted due to their reporting. Among those targeted was Sarya Toprak, a reporter for BirGün Newspaper, who was singled out by AKİT Newspaper for her report on Uğurcan Açıkgöz, a suspect detained in connection with the Gülistan Doku case. The arrest of Yeliz Ayaz, the publisher of Aydınpost, over a news story published in Aydın, once again demonstrated that the disinformation law has been turned into a tool of pressure against journalists.
In May, 1 journalist and 1 media outlet were attacked. At least 2 journalists were targeted. 5 journalists were detained, while 1 journalist was arrested. 3 journalists were threatened. The work of at least 6 journalists covering news was obstructed. Three of these obstructions occurred during on-site events.
In the Hakan Tosun case, which is among the high-profile cases, the exclusion of journalists from the courtroom during the trial of Ayhan Şengüler—a director of the Kuran’a Hizmet Foundation facing charges of sexual assault against Hifa İkra Şengüler—and the obstruction of journalists covering the police raid on the CHP headquarters, resulting in their exposure to verbal harassment, were recorded as interventions against the public’s right to information. Investigations were launched against five journalists for their journalistic activities. While a new case was filed against one journalist, as of May, the trials of 28 journalists continued across 18 separate cases. Journalist Reyhan Hacıoğlu was sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison, while two other journalists were fined. Meanwhile, as of May 3, 2026, the number of journalists detained in Turkish prisons stood at 27.
As precarious working conditions in the media sector persisted, at least 4 journalists were laid off in May. The resignations of journalists at Halk TV in response to working conditions and management practices became one of the month’s notable labor and press freedom issues. The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued sanctions against 8 separate broadcasts in May. The sanctions imposed by RTÜK once again highlighted the ongoing administrative pressure on broadcasters.
Censorship practices in the digital media sector continued in May as well. At least one website was blocked. Access to nine news articles was restricted. Additionally, decisions were made to block access to or remove 193 social media posts. The fact that the X accounts of the Mezopotamya Agency and JinNews—both in Turkish and Kurdish—were shut down once again demonstrated that the government’s interventions against the free press have taken on a systematic nature.
