The Unraveling of Turkey’s Democracy

There is little else more injurious to any democracy than closing down news outlets and choking off freedom of speech.

A supporter of the Bugun Newspaper and Kanalturk holds a placard during a rally outside its headquarters covered with the Turkish national flag during a protest in Istanbul on Oct. 27, 2015, against the Turkish government's crackdown on media outlets. Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

Only a few months after Turkey’s President Erdogan raided the offices of the Koza Ipek Media Group, the Turkish police assaulted early this month the offices of Feza Publications, which owns two newspapers (including Zaman) and two TV stations, without any warning. There is little else more injurious to any democracy than closing down news outlets and choking off freedom of speech.

There is little else more injurious to any democracy than closing down news outlets and choking off freedom of speech.