Conference: Turkey: The Biggest Prison for Journalists

California State University, Dominguez Hills, presents Turkey: The Biggest Prison for Journalists Conference Theme Turkey has become the biggest prison in the world for journalists under the Erdogan regime beating even authoritarian countries like China and Iran. Today, scores of journalists remain behind bars or face baseless prosecutions in retaliation just for doing their job. State authorities instrumentalize a justice system to silence any critical voice. By creating a massive mouthpiece media and shutting down over 200 critical media outlets, Erdogan currently controls 95% of conventional media. His government is also a champion of online censorship banning half-million websites and blocking social media accounts of all dissident journalists. With this tragic record, Turkey is ranked 154th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index. Similarly, it is rated among ‘Not Free’ countries for the fourth year in a row by Freedom House in its annual report of political rights and civil liberties worldwide. Unlike other oppressive governments, Turkey is the only such country with a seat both in NATO and Council of Europe. In the panel on “Turkey: The biggest prison for journalists,” speakers from diverse backgrounds will focus on the current situation regarding press freedom, the dire situation of jailed journalists, the role of the Erdogan government's massive media operations in transforming Turkey into an autocratic state and possible strategies to revive press freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Speakers: Bill Tammeus, Journalist, USA "When freedom is crushed, truth becomes a casualty." The award-winning journalist has covered religion for decades for The Kansas City Star, The Presbyterian Outlook, and The National Catholic Reporter, as well as in his daily "Faith Matters" blog. Bill Tammeus, journalist and author. His seventh book, just released, is Love, Loss, and Endurance: A 9/11 Story of Resilience and Hope in an Age of Anxiety (https://amzn.to/3ltRBn5 Abdullah Bozkurt, Director, Nordic Research and Monitoring Network, Sweden Freedom of the press in Turkey: Far Worse Than You Think Abdullah Bozkurt is a Swedish-based investigative journalist and analyst who runs the Nordic Research and Monitoring Network. He is a Middle East Forum writing fellow. He serves on the advisory board of The Investigative Journal and as chairman of the Stockholm Center for Freedom. Bozkurt is the author of the book Turkey Interrupted: Derailing Democracy (2015). He previously worked as a journalist in New York, Washington, Istanbul, and Ankara. Amina Frense, Journalist, Media Activist, South Africa Media censorship in Turkey. Amina Frense is an Editor, broadcast journalist, and freedom of expression advocate based in South Africa. She is a former Managing Editor of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Active in the South African National Editors Forum-SANEF, Deputy Chairperson of the SA Press Council,a complaints body for the public. .Amina also serves as a Board Director of the IAJ - the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, a tertiary journalism and communications training institute. The IAJ was founded in 1992, two years before our first democratic elections. Ergun Babahan, Ahvalnews Editor, Canada Historical roots of repression Studied law at Istanbul University and graduated in 1981. Practiced law as a lawyer for a year then chose journalism as a profession. Work in Yeni Asır, Söz, Hurriyet, Sabah, Akşam, Sabah, Star as reporter, editor, managing editor, editor and chief, columnist. He was the editor in chief then the second-biggest newspaper, Sabah, and took it out from bankruptcy. He was in Stanford University, John Knight Professional Journalism Program with a scholarship from German Marshall Fund and in Maryland University, A Seminar On American Foreign Policy Process with a scholarship Ford Foundation. Married with two kids and currently a political refugee in Canada. Currently works as editor and columnist for ahvalnews.com Thomas Sideris, Journalist, Director, Greece Erdoğan regime is killing the press freedom in Turkey Thomas Sideris is a journalistic investigator and director. He is working at Greek Broadcasting Corporation. His name was on the shortlist for 2 years in a row (2018 and 2019) for the PRIX EUROPA PRIZE, a special EU prize for the best journalist in Europe. He has won many international awards for his documentaries and is honored for his investigations. All of his films are about human rights, press, and speech freedom.. He studied Political Sciences and Public Administration at the Law School of the University of Athens and specialized in the mass media. He has a postgraduate diploma in Human and Social Geography on the subject "Human Geography, Space Development and Design" by the University of the Aegean.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRDhZ1EW_xk&ab_channel=ConferencesontheCurrentIssuesinTurkey