Thursday, December 25, 2014

Turkey - Thousands pose with ‘Free Media Cannot Be Silenced’ banners on social media

Thousands of people, including academics and activists, took pictures of themselves with banners that read “Free Media Cannot Be Silenced,” a social media campaign started by the Free Media Platform in response to the detention of Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and the arrest of Samanyolu TV General Manager Hidayet Karaca on charges of forming a terrorist organization, and posted the photographs on social media.
Holding up placards and sharing them on their Twitter accounts, supporters of the campaign condemned a government-led operation on several members of the press. They highlighted the importance of preserving freedom of the press and denounced the operation as an assault on free media.
Not only Turks but prominent figures from overseas also supported the campaign via similar tweets, such as member of the European Parliament Greens Group Eva Joly, President of the Greens in the European Parliament Rebecca Harms, European Parliament Vice President Gianni Pittella and many others.
In his tweet Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson wrote, "If you don't have a free media to express different views, then you lack one of the most important elements of democracy."
The campaign can be joined at www.ozgurmedyaplatformu.com

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