Union to take legal action over think tank report

ISTANBUL — A Turkish journalists' union said on Sunday it would take legal action against a pro-government think tank it alleges has "blacklisted" journalists working with the foreign news media.

The Journalists Union of Turkey said on Twitter that it would file a complaint against the Foundation for Political Economic and Social Research (SETA) at Istanbul's main court on Monday.

The union is taking action with some of the journalists allegedly blacklisted in a 202-page report published by the Foundation.

“We are filing a complaint against SETA. Together with our blacklisted colleagues,” it Tweeted. “We will see you in court... #journalismisnotacrime.”

The report, released on Friday, looked at how international news media such as the BBC and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle covered Turkey in their Turkish language services — including coverage of major events such as the 2016 failed coup.

The report, “Turkey extensions of international media organisations”, carried detailed information on individual journalists' past employment and their social media postings.

Paris-based media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (rWB) condemned the report.

It “brings the harassment of foreign media correspondents to a new level”, RWB wrote on Twitter.

“We firmly condemn this new intimidation attempt and we stand with our targeted colleagues!” it added.

In a statement, SETA dismissed the criticism. Its report was based on open sources and “does not contain any information except for their journalistic activities”, it said.