International groups condemn physical attacks against journalists in Turkey

The International Press Institute (IPI) along with 20 other international press freedom and freedom of expression organizations today sent a joint letter to Turkish President Erdoğan, condemning the brutal attacks on two individual journalists in the last week. On May 10, journalist Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a regular contributor for the opposition newspaper Yeniçağ, was attacked outside his home in Ankara. This attack was followed on May 15 by another incident, in which investigative journalist İdris Özyol was attacked outside Yeni Yüzyıl newspaper’s building in Antalya, southwest Turkey.  The letter asked that Turkey’s administration publicly denounce these acts of violence and ensure journalist safety in the run-up to the mayoral elections set to be repeated on June 23, 2019.