English PEN to British PM: raise our concerns with Erdoğan

Cartoon by Sondron

English PEN and PEN International issued her an open letter earlier this week stating:

“The [Turkish] government is now abusing the state of emergency to restrict the right to freedom of expression and media freedom severely, and to stifle criticism and limit the diversity of views, perspectives and opinions available in the public sphere within Turkey. Restrictions on the media are not a new phenomenon in Turkey, but the breadth and scope of the crackdown on media freedom has intensified dramatically in response to the failed coup, with measures of an unprecedented scale now being justified on the grounds of ensuring stability.”

These sentiments were echoed in the joint statement issued by CRNI, Cartooning for Peace and Cartoon Movement follow the arrest of multiple members of staff from Cumhuriyet newspaper, including past Courage in Editorial Cartooning award-winner Musa Kart.

We note that a “delegation from PEN International is currently visiting Turkey on a mission to assess the current situation and raise our concerns about the ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression” and CRNI wish them every success in their mission.

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