On March 13, more than 50 people attended the CIMA discussion on press freedom in Turkey, which NED's Middle East and North Africa program co-organized. Turkey’s formidable economy and political will to expand its regional influence have led to a more assertive posture while several of its neighbors are locked in painful struggles for democracy. Yet Turkey may not be the model it seems, particularly for freedom of expression. Arrests of journalists, vague laws on criminal defamation and insult, Internet censorship, and concentration of ownership have had a chilling effect on press freedom in Turkey, which is one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists. Panelists examined whether attempts to curb press freedom have dimmed Turkey’s democratic glow and how they have had an impact on the balance between state security and human rights.

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