Turkey releases two Vice News journalists, must free third

NEWS

The release of Vice News journalists Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury, who are British, is welcome news. However, Mohammed Ismael Rasool, an Iraqi colleague who had been acting as a translator and fixer, remains in detention.

By Index on Censorship

03 Sep 15

#FreeViceNewsStaff

• Turkey releases two Vice News journalists, must free third
• Free expression groups welcome release of Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury
• Journalism is not a crime – Turkey must release charged Vice journalists
• Freedom of expression charities urge UK Foreign Secretary to speak out on Turkey’s arrest of journalists
• Jodie Ginsberg: Terrorist slippery slope
• 5 countries using anti-terror legislation to muzzle journalists

Index on Censorship joins Vice News in demanding that Turkey release Rasool. Index calls on Turkish authorities to drop all charges against the journalists.

The three were charged with “aiding a terrorist organisation” on Monday 31 August after being detained on Thursday 26 August while filming a clash between the youth arm of the PKK and Turkish security forces.

According to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth office the two journalists have been transferred to a deportation centre in Adana.

Turkey has one of the world’s worse records on media freedom. Index on Censorship’s project, Mapping Media Freedom, has recorded 147 verified reports since May 2014.

Mapping Media Freedom

Click on the bubbles to view reports or double-click to zoom in on specific regions. The full site can be accessed at https://mappingmediafreedom.org/