Ekrem Dumanl

Freedom of the press in Turkey has been confined to court corridors in 2016, said Sedat Ergin, the editor-in chief of daily Hürriyet, who appeared before an Istanbul court on March 25 on charges of "insulting" the president.

The Bak?rköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office opened the case after investigating a tweet posted on Hürriyet's Twitter account on Sept. 6, 2015.

A lawsuit has been opened against Hürriyet Editor-in-Chief Sedat Ergin with a demand that the journalist serve five years in prison for "insulting president" due to a report in the daily.

A Turkish court on Dec. 17 issued arrest warrants for the former editor and former owner of the Zaman newspaper.

The number of cases filed against journalists has increased with a criminal investigation launched against daily Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanl? and a legal case filed against daily Bugün columnist Yavuz Baydar for allegedly defaming President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, while a Dutch journalist was detained in the southeastern province of Diyarbak?r.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, along with 73 other United States senators, wrote a letter on March 18 to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to urge the State Department to immediately address issues "stemming from of the intimidation of journalists and censorship of the media" in Turkey.

A group of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputies, under the leadership of CHP deputy chairman Sezgin Tanr?kulu, has applied to the Justice Ministry to visit Hidayet Karaca, the CEO of the Samanyolu Media Group, on Feb. 9.