Reporters Without Borders

Bulgaria is ranked lower in the World Press Freedom Index 2017 than any other European Union member, Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report on the index, quoted by BGNES.

The 2017 World Press Freedom Index prepared annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Turkey decline by four points compared to last year due to an "unprecedented purge" under the state of emergency declared after the July 2016 coup attempt. 

Reporters Without Borders has condemns the prison sentence of 2 years and 3 months handed down by a Serbian court on the freelance journalist Stefan Cvetkovic.

Cvetkovic was found guilty on charges of defamation and unauthorized publication of documents.

International press organizations have called for the release of jailed journalists in Turkey in a meeting they held at the Turkish Journalists' Association's (TGC) headquarters in Istanbul's Çağlayan district. 

RSF and CPJ urged UN Secretary General António Guterres to take steps to address the urgent issue of safety of journalists.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has nominated prominent Turkish journalist Kadri Gürsel, who has been in jail for 116 days, for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

His wife, Nazire Kalkan Gürsel, announced the nomination via her official Twitter account.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that here are no journalists currently under custody in Turkey just for doing their jobs and writing stories. 

The minister's comments appeared in four Spanish dailies Saturday following a one-day official visit to Madrid on Friday, during which he gave an interview to El Pais, El Mundo, ABC and La Razon. 

Every Monday is a new source of sorrow for me. My pieces are printed on daily Hürriyet's ombudsman's column section, but daily Cumhuriyet ombudsman Güray Öz's column has been empty for weeks. Öz has been in prison for the past 92 days along with the other writers and administrators of Cumhuriyet. 

At least 74 journalists have been killed around the world in 2016 while doing their job, Reporters Without Borders said on Dec. 19.

The press freedom group said that this figure had declined from 101 from 2015, but "this significant fall is due in part to the fact that more and more journalists are fleeing countries that have become too dangerous."

The number of journalists detained worldwide rose in 2016, an increase closely related to developments in Turkey, where more than 100 journalists and media contributors are in jail, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated on Dec. 13.