Opposition journalists speak at U.N. panel on Turkey’s human rights record


Date posted: March 9, 2019

Two exiled Turkish journalists spoke on a United Nations human rights panel on Turkey’s human rights violations and jailed journalists despite attempts by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cancel the session, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.

Abdullah Bozkurt, former Ankara chief for the now-defunct, Gülen-linked newspaper Today’s Zaman, and also defunct Meydan editor-in-chief Levent Kenez, participated in the panel at the U.N. Office in Geneva during the 40th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The Turkish government accuses the two of membership in the Gülen movement, a religious group led by Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based cleric Ankara accuses of leading a terrorist organisation that orchestrated the July 2016 coup attempt to topple the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The government has implemented crackdown on media, among other sectors, following the failed putsch with Turkey becoming a leading country of jailed journalists.

Pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah reported on Kenez and Bozkurt’s participation in the panel, referring to the two as “terrorists.”

Kenez took to Twitter to say that Turkey’s foreign ministry had unsuccessfully tried to cancel the panel.

Bozkurt also posted on the panel on Twitter, saying, “As a panelist, I joined a discussion about #Turkey at the United Nations’s Geneva office during UN Human Rights Council #HRC40 . Told about rights violations, and how @RT_Erdogan has jailed journalist to cover its tracks with armed jihadists thugs in #Syria .”

Kenez and Bozkurt have both fled Turkey following Ankara’s crackdown on the Gülen movement.

Following the failed coup attempt, about 200 media outlets in Turkey were shut down under the state of emergency decree that lasted until July 2018.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) placed Turkey 157th out of 180 countries on its World Press Freedom Index in 2018, down two from the previous year, and called Turkey the “world’s biggest jailer of journalists” in its 2018 report.

Source: AhvalNews , March 6, 2019

Tags: | | |


Related News

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Assault on Press Freedom in Turkey Senate Floor

Mr. President, I have spoken many times on the Senate floor in defense of press freedom because it is a fundamental cornerstone of a democratic society. Today I want to briefly draw the Senate’s attention to the situation in Turkey, one of the many countries in the world where this basic right is under threat by officials in the government who seek to silence their critics.

Gov’t pressure to shut down Turkish schools sparks outcry

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by the teachings of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, have sparked an outcry among opposition figures and diplomats, who criticize the government for “abusing education because of personal hostility.”

AK Party provincial board member resigns after insults

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) İzmir provincial board member Emine Yenen has resigned from the party after being subjected to insults and discriminatory treatment by party members.

US professor urges Washington not to extradite Gülen to Turkey

An American professor from Columbia University has urged Washington not to extradite Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to Turkey, noting that attacks on Gülen are part of a pattern to silence dissent.

Erdogan’s religious counsel issues fatwa for civil war, ordinary crimes

Prof. Hayrettin Karaman, Erdogan’s close friend and religious counsel, and AKP’s main Islamist theologian, has issued a fatwa that legitimizes certain crimes during a civil war. He said, “soldiers who commit ordinary crimes during a wartime shall not be punished.”

Wife dies of heart attack on way to prison to visit husband in jail

A 29 year-old woman died of heart attack on Monday while on her way to visit her husband who has been imprisoned over links to Turkey’s Gülen movement. Since the coup attempt on July 15, Turkey has turned into a hub of people victimized by the purge carried out by the Turkish government.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Turkish School Officially Opens in Rwanda

US Congressman: No Credibility In Charges By Turkey Against Gülen

Kimse Yok Mu continues to help needy despite gov’t restrictions

Man dies of heart attack while on way to help Turkish refugees in Greece

Erdogan regime keeps defamation of the Gülen mov’t, calls it crusader organization

Fresh political raids targets leading Turkish NGO Kimse Yok Mu

Eid-al Adha Holiday Tradition Benefits Local Soup Kitchen

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News