CPJ joins call for Turkey to ensure safety of threatened journalist Murat Ağırel

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 press freedom and freedom of expression groups on Wednesday in a joint statement calling on the authorities in Turkey to ensure that journalist Murat Ağırel, who has been receiving death threats because of his reporting, remains safe.

The statement listed a number of incidents in which Ağırel, a columnist for the pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, has been threatened or harassed since late 2023 over his reporting on allegations of drug trafficking, money laundering, sports betting fraud, and the highly publicized murder trial of Sinan Ateş, the former chair of the far right group the Gray Wolves, which is the youth branch of the government-allied Nationalist Movement Party.

“We are profoundly alarmed by the relentless death threats and the escalating harassment aimed not only at Murat Ağırel, but also at his family. These brazen acts of intimidation are a stark reminder of the perilous environment in which independent journalists in Turkey must operate,” the statement said.

Read the joint statement here.