IPS Communication Foundation – Bianet

A lawsuit was filed against researcher Bülent Şık, after he, in articles for “bianet” and “Cumhuriyet”, wrote about research results that were kept secret by the Health Ministry. These results revealed “health-threatening” levels of pesticides and other chemicals in some food and water.

Seven journalists who were taken into custody in March have been accused by the prosecutor of “participating” in the mass protests rather than reporting on them.

The indictment filed by the Prosecutor’s Office claims that security forces used “proportional force” against the protesters, who allegedly resisted law enforcement, obstructed officers, and committed the offense of “insulting the president”.

In their crackdown on mass protests against the arrest of İstanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the authorities have detained over 1,000 people, including several journalists. Police have also attacked reporters covering the protests.

Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on corruption and terrorism-related charges while he was preparing to be declared the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

New legislation provides prison sentences for falsely claiming a cybersecurity-related data leak has occurred. It also allows authorities to access private information without sufficient safeguards.

The lawyers face up to 12 years in prison following their statement condemning the drone-killing of Kurdish journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin in northern Syria.

Journalists Elif Akgül, Yıldız Tar and Nurcan Kaya were among the 52 people arrested in mid-February as part of an ongoing investigation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.