Deportation of journalist from Ukraine to Turkey reason for concern, OSCE media freedom representative says

VIENNA, 19 July 2018  - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed his great concern in a letter to Ukrainian authorities following the recent detention and extradition of a journalist to Turkey.

Reportedly on 12 July, Yusuf Inan, Editor-in-chief of online news outlet News2023.com and former Editor-in-chief of the Yerel Gündem newspaper and its website, was detained by Ukrainian authorities in Mykolayiv and extradited to Turkey.

“Journalists should not be prosecuted for expressing their opinions and it is of concern that a critical journalist was extradited to Turkey. I ask the Ukrainian authorities to clarify whether his freedom of expression and right to appeal were taken into consideration,” Désir said, noting that Inan has been accused in Turkey of being a member of the Gülen movement.

In the letter, the Representative recalled previous cases in which authorities decided not to deport journalists, such as the cases of Fikret Huseynli and of Zhanar Akhmetova, whose appeal is ongoing.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter:@OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom