Turkey Plans New Foreign Agent Law in Crackdown on Criticism
- Erdogan’s government seen cracking down on freedom of speech
- Civil society, media groups condemn vague wording of law
A Turkish national flag, and a portrait of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish republic, in the Sisli district of Istanbul.
Photographer: Nicole Tung/Bloomberg
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Turkey is set to introduce a new law against foreign influence over issues that could harm the national interest, raising concern among civil society and media groups that it’ll be used to crush dissent.
The legislation, due to be discussed in the NATO-member’s parliament in coming days, seeks to curb those working against “the state’s security or its domestic or external political interests” under the influence or orders of a foreign country or organization. The punishment could be as many as seven years in prison, according to a draft bill seen by Bloomberg.