Dozens of Turkish journalists have been denied accreditation for a NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara in July, media outlets and journalist associations said on June 25, with NATO saying it relied on Turkey for guidance about journalists.

Turkey will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the alliance’s partners in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7 and 8.

Turkish independent media outlets, including Cumhuriyet, Sozcu, Anka, T24 and Medyascope, said on June 24 and 25 that NATO had denied their reporters’ accreditation applications for the NATO summit.

Ersin Celik, a journalist working for the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper, also said in a post on his Instagram account on June 25 that NATO had denied his accreditation request.

“The denial of accreditation applications from a large number of media outlets is worrying in terms of press freedom,” the Turkish Journalists Association said in a statement.

“With this decision, NATO has also violated the principles of ‘democracy, individual freedom and the rule of law’ emphasised in its founding treaty,” it added.

NATO Spokesperson Allison Hart said that NATO relied on the host nation to provide assessments on journalists from their country to ensure access to the meeting site.

“We are in contact with the Turkish authorities on accreditation for the NATO Summit in Ankara. It is very important for NATO that media can attend major events in person,” she said in a post on social media platform X.

Turkey’s Communications Directorate was not immediately available for comment. REUTERS

Dozens of Turkish journalists denied accreditation for NATO summit in Ankara, media says