Journalist & broadcaster based in Istanbul. News & documentaries. Often @channel4news @BBC ex-@Reuters
İstanbul, Türkiye
Joined January 2010
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Emily Wither retweeted
Azerbaijan ban on headscarves in schools opens rift with ally Turkey thenationalnews.com/news/men…
Emily Wither retweeted
Access to more than 1,000 social media accounts was ordered blocked in Turkey last month. FMA joins call for Turkey and social media platforms to stop censoring journalists and rights defenders online by blocking their accounts, and respect the right to free expression.
🇹🇷 Turkey: Authorities and courts ordered at least 1,270 X accounts blocked in September alone, with a combined following of 35 million. X complied with at least 90% of the orders. IPI has joined ARTICLE 19 and partners in protest. buff.ly/tEJr2I9
Emily Wither retweeted
Horrible flooding and storms all around Istanbul, stranding cars, cutting out power, filling buses and mosques, keeping planes from landing, and worst of all, fatally electrocuting a 14-year-old who was walking through pooled water.
Emily Wither retweeted
Turkey’s most-watched news television station abruptly switched to folk dancing and rerunning old movies after police launched a dawn raid on Halk TV & a state-appointed trustee took control of the pro-opposition broadcaster
as.ft.com/r/f3c095bd-9461-45…
Emily Wither retweeted
Next month, Türkiye will host #COP31, the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Ahead of the conference, authorities in Türkiye are arbitrarily arresting and prosecuting activists and others involved in environmental protests.
New from HRW: bit.ly/4ykcSnN
Comedians in Turkey tell jokes, often at enormous risk. A crackdown that began on political rivals has spread to include anyone daring to poke fun at the state. Our piece for
@Channel4News
youtube.com/watch?v=j3RtcCnr…
Emily Wither retweeted
Inside Erdogan’s crackdown on comedy in Turkey
channel4.com/news/inside-erd…
Emily Wither retweeted
EXCLUSIVE: Turkey is preparing to deploy troops, air defence systems, pilots, and aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
· Turkish forces would defend infrastructure, Riyadh, and the holy cities while avoiding direct intervention in Yemen.
With @ragipsoylu middleeasteye.net/news/turke…
Emily Wither retweeted
A Turkish comedian was sentenced to more than 19 months imprisonment for insulting the President and religious values.
Deniz Göktaş has been released pending appeal, but still spent 88 days in jail after clips of his show, including a reference to President Erdogan as a “dictator”, went viral.
The comedian told a courtroom last week that he stood by his joke describing Erdogan as having evolved from a “shy dictator” to one “confident in his identity".
“International observers called the last elections in Turkey free but not fair. And with Erdoğan’s rivals in prison, some are asking whether the next national vote will be free at all.” My dispatch for BBC Radio’s From Our Own Correspondent.
Emily Wither retweeted
Deputy chair of Turkey's AK Party resigns after trading allegation amid funds crisis reut.rs/4d1XJjm reut.rs/4d1XJjm
Amid a sweeping crackdown in Turkey against LGBTQ+ I met one group who decided to put on a free concert in a show of solidarity. The band thought about cancelling but decided not to, 'because this is what they want us to do.' For @TheWorld theworld.org/segments/2026/0…
Emily Wither retweeted
"Turkey on trial: Can courts control a nation?" by @ewither. [2/5]
bbc.com/audio/play/p0p9568k
Emily Wither retweeted
"Is Turkey's clothing industry unravelling at the seams?" by @ewither. [3/5]
bbc.com/audio/play/p0p6v81j
Emily Wither retweeted
In Turkey, opposition mayors, journalists, students and even comedians are increasingly finding themselves in court. My new doc investigates the crackdown, looks at how Turkey’s justice system evolved under Erdogan, & asks what's left of free speech: bbc.com/audio/play/p0p9568k
Emily Wither retweeted
Turkey on trial: Can courts control a nation?
🎧 A window into our world, through in-depth storytelling bbc.in/4gS0rKz
Emily Wither retweeted
There are mounting calls and condemnation of the crackdown on LGBTI groups and activists in Turkey with @CommissionerHR calling for the release of those detained. Turkish authorities maintain the actions are to combat ‘obscenity’ and ‘preserve family values’. But ‘references to "family values" or “protection of children” cannot justify restricting #HumanRights’, the Commissioner insists
Concerned by reports of a series of arrests, raids and blocking of websites and social media accounts targeting LGBTI civil society in #Türkiye.
Advocacy for equality and non-discrimination is protected under the #ECHR. References to "family values" or “protection of children” cannot justify restricting #HumanRights.
I call on the Turkish authorities to release anyone detained for engaging in human rights or civil society work. They should guarantee protection of due process and fully respect the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and the presumption of innocence.
Read my full statement ⬇️
coe.int/en/web/commissioner/…
In Turkey, opposition mayors, journalists, students and even comedians are increasingly finding themselves in court. My new doc investigates the crackdown, looks at how Turkey’s justice system evolved under Erdogan, & asks what's left of free speech: bbc.com/audio/play/p0p9568k
Emily Wither retweeted
Arrests of lgbt rights defenders (Justice Minister reports 162 people under investigation), raids on 9 associations & businesses for “obscenity”, organized crime etc shows Turkish govt’s determination to criminalize lgbt people without bringing in new laws
'Ailem Güvende' adı altında 15 ilde LGBTİ derneklerini ve hak savunucularını hedef alan operasyonlar düzenlendi.
Operasyonların 162 kişi, 9 dernek ve 13 işletmeyi kapsadığı bildirildi
evrensel.net/haber/6000338/a…
Could the 'Made in Turkey' label be vanishing from our wardrobes? I made a business show on why it might - soaring inflation, half a million jobs gone, thousands of factories shut, and production shifting to cheaper countries like Egypt. bbc.com/audio/play/p0p6v81j @bbcworldservice