Turkey's freedom of expression and press freedom has been making headlines in Germany for years. The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has ranked Turkey 159 out of 180 countries in its global press freedom index 2025.

At the moment, officially "only" four people are in prison for their journalistic activities. While this marks a significant drop from a few years ago, the government is constantly finding new ways to suppress independent journalism. For example, passports of media professionals released from prison have been withheld so they are not able to leave the country. Foreign journalists are also unable to work freely in Turkey, as the arrest of Swedish journalist Kaj Joakim Medin shows.

According to estimates by Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute (IPI), more than 95% of Turkish media are considered to be close to the government. This means that they are either directly or indirectly run by businesspeople loyal to the government.

Observers report systematic interference in journalistic work. "The situation of media freedom in Turkey has been tense for 20 years," states Berk Esen, a political scientist at Sabanci University in Istanbul. The government's interventions have gradually

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