Turkey: freedom of expression deeply in danger

On October 31^st 2016, the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet has been targeted by the government again, after the arrest of its editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and 15 journalists, including the cartoonist Musa Kart. These detentions reveal how the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keen to continue the purge of its opponents and independent media. The regime accused them of terrorism and complicity with Fethullah Gülen and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).

Musa Kart has been honored for his commitment to freedom of expression with the 2005 Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning. In 2014, he had to endure a trial, lead by Erdogan after the publication of a cartoon denouncing a money laundering affair. He has been acquitted afterwards.

All the members of Cartooning for Peace are again strongly mobilized to affirm their support to Musa Kart and the journalists who are still in jail.

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