"Following the abortive July coup in Turkey, the government has accelerated and intensified a crackdown on independent media which had already been underway for more than a year. Under the state of emergency declared in the aftermath of the coup attempt, the government has closed down independent media organizations and arrested scores of journalists, effectively decimating the free and independent media community, an essential pillar of any functioning democracy. Silencing Turkey’s Media documents five important components of this crackdown on independent domestic media in Turkey: 1) the use of the criminal justice system to prosecute and jail journalists for terrorism, insulting public officials, or crimes against the state; 2) threats and physical attacks on journalists and media organizations; 3) governmental interference with editorial independence and pressure on media organizations to fire critical journalists; 4) the government’s takeover or closure of private media companies; and 5) restrictions on distribution, fines and closure of critical television stations. The report shows how the media crackdown has not only targeted media and journalists associated with the Gülen movement, which the government alleges was behind the July coup attempt, but also pro-Kurdish media and independent voices critical of the government such as the newspaper Cumhuriyet and its journalists." (Back cover)