{
  "id": 135,
  "slug": "2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive",
  "title": "Turkiye: the presidency's press card system is found restrictive by the country's top administrative court",
  "occurred_on": "2021-04-01",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "TR",
  "country": "TR",
  "continent": "asia",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
  "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
  "issue_of_the_day": "The 2018 rules had let the presidency cancel press cards for vaguely worded reasons, including \"diminishing the dignity of the media profession,\" and had been used against journalists dismissed or reassigned after the 2016 coup attempt.",
  "outcome": "reversed",
  "outcome_on": "2021-04-01",
  "outcome_note": "Turkiye's Council of State suspended the challenged 2018 press card regulation, though the source reviewed reports hundreds of journalists still waiting for cards afterward.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "Turkiye's Council of State suspended 2018 rules under which the presidency's Communications Directorate could deny or cancel the yellow and turquoise press cards that let reporters work and enter official buildings, after finding the grounds for denial too broad.{c:502}{c:503}{c:566}",
  "what_happened": "Since 2018, Turkiye's presidency, through its Communications Directorate, has controlled the issuance and cancellation of the country's yellow and turquoise press cards, which let journalists enter official buildings and access official information. The rules allowed cancellation for broadly worded reasons, including \"diminishing the dignity of the media profession\" or acting against national security. On April 1, 2021, Turkiye's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, suspended the 2018 regulation, finding its grounds for denial and cancellation too broad. By the time of the ruling, staff at the newspaper Evrensel had waited more than two years for replacement cards, journalist Canan Coskun had lost eligibility after moving from print to a digital outlet, and no staff member at Mezopotamya News Agency held a card at all. A journalists' union chair said about 300 journalists were awaiting a decision on reapplications. The presidency said it would keep provisions aimed at journalists it accused of \"making propaganda\" for \"terrorism.\"{c:502}{c:503}{c:566}\n\nThe Council of State suspended the 2018 regulation in April 2021, but hundreds of journalists' reapplications remained pending.{c:502}{c:503}{c:566}",
  "stated_justification": "The presidency said of the underlying 2018 rules that \"the clauses that prevent those who make propaganda for terrorism and violence from hiding behind the press card were strengthened.\"{c:503}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "Journalists at outlets including Evrensel and Mezopotamya News Agency were left without valid press cards for years, restricting their access to official buildings and information even after the court's ruling.{c:502}",
  "unknowns": "The source reviewed does not report how many of the roughly 300 pending reapplications were ultimately approved.",
  "status": "reversed",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:15:19Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 9,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:15:13Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:20:28Z",
  "stage": "pressure",
  "ladder_note": "A national regulator controlled the credential every journalist needs to work and enter official buildings, denying or delaying cards for hundreds of reporters for years.",
  "country_name": "Türkiye",
  "tactics": [
    "credential_control"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
    "name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/recep-tayyip-erdogan"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:15:19Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "reversed",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The source reviewed does not report how many of the roughly 300 pending reapplications were ultimately approved."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan",
      "name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "ordered",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/recep-tayyip-erdogan"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "evrensel",
      "name": "Evrensel",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/evrensel"
    },
    {
      "slug": "mezopotamya-news-agency",
      "name": "Mezopotamya News Agency",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/mezopotamya-news-agency"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "canan-coskun",
      "name": "Canan Coskun",
      "outlet": null,
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/canan-coskun"
    },
    {
      "slug": "fatih-polat",
      "name": "Fatih Polat",
      "outlet": "evrensel",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/fatih-polat"
    },
    {
      "slug": "mehves-evin",
      "name": "Mehves Evin",
      "outlet": null,
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/mehves-evin"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 502,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 135,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "about 300 journalists waiting",
      "statement": "A journalists' union chair said about 300 journalists were awaiting a decision on their card reapplications.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 340,
      "evidence_quote": "Approximately 300 journalists await evaluation of reapplications, per union chair Gokhan Durmus.",
      "evidence_date": "2021-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:15:16Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 340,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "title": "Turkish presidency reintroduces press card controls that court found restrictive",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/502"
    },
    {
      "id": 503,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 135,
      "field": "stated_justification",
      "value": "presidency defends the rules",
      "statement": "The presidency said the rules were strengthened to stop people it accused of terrorism propaganda from holding a press card.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 340,
      "evidence_quote": "The clauses that prevent those who make propaganda for terrorism and violence from hiding behind the press card were strengthened.",
      "evidence_date": "2021-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:15:17Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 340,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "title": "Turkish presidency reintroduces press card controls that court found restrictive",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/503"
    },
    {
      "id": 566,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 135,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Council of State ruling, April 1, 2021",
      "statement": "Turkiye's Council of State suspended the 2018 press card regulations, finding their grounds for denial too broad.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 340,
      "evidence_quote": "On April 1, 2021, Turkey's Council of State suspended the 2018 press card regulations.",
      "evidence_date": "2021-06-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:30:41Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 340,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
        "title": "Turkish presidency reintroduces press card controls that court found restrictive",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-06-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/566"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 340,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/06/turkish-presidency-press-card-controls-court-found-restrictive/",
      "title": "Turkish presidency reintroduces press card controls that court found restrictive",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2021-06-09",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    },
    {
      "id": 415,
      "url": "https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/12/18/rt-orders-stay-on-changes-to-press-card-regulation-aiming-to-make-cancellation-easier/",
      "final_url": "https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/12/18/rt-orders-stay-on-changes-to-press-card-regulation-aiming-to-make-cancellation-easier/",
      "title": "Court orders stay on changes to press card regulation aiming to make cancellation easier",
      "publisher": "Turkish Minute",
      "published_on": "2021-12-18",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    }
  ],
  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Turkiye: the presidency's press card system is found restrictive by the country's top administrative court. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}