Democracy at Risk: IPI Special Report on Turkey, 2015

International Press Institute (IPI) March 2015

Steven M. Ellis *

Turkish authorities’ failure to safeguard – and, in some cases, their active steps to undermine – the right to share and receive information has led to serious deficiencies in the country’s democracy, placing its future at serious risk, a special report released today by the International Press Institute (IPI) concludes.

The report, “Democracy at Risk”, draws on information collected during numerous IPI visits to the country over the last four years, including meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other top leaders last fall during a press freedom mission conducted jointly with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The report highlights and contextualises major press freedom developments in Turkey since 2003, when Erdogan, heading the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), took power as prime minister.

* IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications

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