ZCZC
BCN-15
TURKEY-MEDIA-ECONOMY-CURRENCY
Turkey prosecutors seek jail terms for two Bloomberg reporters
ISTANBUL, June 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Turkish prosecutors are seeking a jail
term of up to five years for two Bloomberg reporters who had written about
how authorities responded to last summer’s currency collapse, the US-based
news agency reported.
The charges come after Turkey’s banking regulator agency, BDDK, complained
about an August 2018 Bloomberg story on the currency crisis amid tensions
with the United States.
Prosecutors accuse the two reporters, Kerim Karakaya and Fercan
Yalinkilic, of trying to undermine Turkey’s economic stability, Bloomberg
said late Thursday.
The news agency’s editor-in-chief John Micklethwait said: “We condemn the
indictment issued against our reporters, who have reported fairly and
accurately on newsworthy events. We fully stand by them and will support them
throughout this ordeal.”
An Istanbul court accepted the indictment and the first hearing is set for
September 20.
Turkish media reported 50 others, including journalists and columnists,
were also indicted for commenting on the currency crisis on their social
media accounts.
In April, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Western media coverage
of the country’s economy after a Financial Times report questioned the
central bank’s management of foreign currency reserves.
Turkey’s economy has slipped into its first recession in a decade after a
currency crisis last year battered the lira, leaving foreign investors
jittery over the government’s policies to manage growth.
BSS/AFP/HR/1400