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Category: Politics

  • Turkey keeps Kurdish politician Demirtaş jailed for 10 years despite European court rulings

    Turkey keeps Kurdish politician Demirtaş jailed for 10 years despite European court rulings

    Former Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş marked 10 years in prison on Wednesday despite repeated European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings finding his detention unlawful and politically motivated and calling for his release, the Deutsche Welle (DW) news website reported.

    Demirtaş, a former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), has been imprisoned since November 4, 2016, and remains in custody pending an appeal against a 42-year prison sentence handed down in May 2024.

    On the anniversary lawyers representing Demirtaş and 12 other imprisoned Kurdish politicians, together with 15 regional bar associations, submitted a new application to an Ankara appeals court seeking their release. The application cited binding ECtHR judgments and a September decision by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers calling for the release of Demirtaş and former HDP co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ.

    The latest application followed earlier requests for release that remained undecided as of October 5, according to an official submission by the Turkish government to the Council of Europe. The government confirmed that the case was before the 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Appeals and described Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ as being detained pending appeal.

    In July 2025 the ECtHR found multiple violations of Demirtaş’s rights in connection with a detention warrant issued in September 2019, ruling that Turkish authorities had failed to establish reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing or provide sufficient justification for his prolonged imprisonment.

    The court also found a violation of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights, concluding that the detention had pursued the improper political purpose of suppressing political pluralism and restricting democratic debate. The judgment became final on November 3, 2025, after the court rejected Turkey’s request to refer the case to its Grand Chamber.

    The decision followed a December 2020 judgment by the court’s Grand Chamber, which found that Demirtaş’s earlier detention had violated his rights to liberty, freedom of expression and free elections. The court concluded that his imprisonment had sought to stifle political pluralism and limit democratic debate and ordered his immediate release.

    The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which supervises the implementation of ECtHR judgments, renewed its demand in September for the immediate release of Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ, urging Turkish authorities to use all available legal means to comply with the rulings.

    Under Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Turkey is legally obligated to implement final judgments of the ECtHR.

    Demirtaş was initially jailed on November 4, 2016, during a crackdown on HDP lawmakers following the removal of parliamentary immunity for dozens of legislators. He was accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization and inciting criminal activity, allegations linked in part to his political speeches.

    Although an Ankara court ordered his release in September 2019, he remained in prison under a separate conviction. Later that month he was put in pretrial detention again in connection with violent protests in October 2014 over an Islamic State assault on the predominantly Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani.

    In May 2024 an Ankara court sentenced Demirtaş to 42 years in prison on multiple charges, including aiding efforts to undermine the unity and territorial integrity of the Turkish state and disseminating terrorist propaganda. The conviction has not been finalized because his appeal remains pending.

    In its October submission to the Council of Europe, the Turkish government defended the proceedings, saying the trial court had examined allegations of fair-trial violations and concluded that Demirtaş’s rights had been respected.

    Mahsuni Karaman, one of Demirtaş’s lawyers, told DW that implementing the European court’s judgments was a legal obligation that should not depend on the government’s ongoing peace process with Kurdish militants or the introduction of new legislation.

    The Committee of Ministers has identified legislation adopted as part of a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a possible means of securing Demirtaş’s release. However, its application depends on conditions relating to the group’s laying down of arms and whether Demirtaş would benefit from the law.

    The committee is scheduled to review Turkey’s compliance with the judgments again in December.

    This article is republished from the Stockholm Center for Freedom.

  • Turkish justice minister says ‘crime network’ behind fund scandal

    Turkish justice minister says ‘crime network’ behind fund scandal

    Investigators probing a multibillion-dollar investment fund scandal have uncovered a “comprehensive criminal network” that infiltrated the highest levels of Turkey’s financial markets, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Tuesday.

    His remarks came days after a court ruled for the arrest of the former İstanbul stock exchange boss as part of a far-reaching probe that began in mid-September into allegations of widespread market manipulation affecting the savings of nearly half a million investors.

    The scandal has dominated the headlines for weeks, raising uncomfortable questions about who might have profited and putting pressure on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), with one of its top members resigning following allegations about her investment activities.

    “The structure is not limited to a simple stock market scam, there is a comprehensive criminal organization involved,” Gürlek told NTV.

    “Although the investigation initially began with market actors, it has now revealed a criminal organization that extends into the upper levels of the financial bureaucracy,” he said.

    “Those within the mechanism that controls the money rendered the oversight mechanisms ineffective by establishing a system of bribery.”

    By forming a “cartel,” they sought “to siphon off liquidity from the market by manipulating certain shares and to take control of the market,” Gürlek added.

    Investigators were looking into 433 suspects and probing “all links within the structure, which extends to the very foundations of the financial system and the upper echelons of the capital markets.”

    So far, 112 suspects have been jailed pending trial, while another 186 have been granted conditional release, and 38 others were still being sought, Gürlek said. Among them were “political figures linked to criminal organizations within our fund market,” he said, without giving further details.

    On Saturday Korkmaz Enes Ergun, head of the Borsa İstanbul stock exchange, was detained on suspicion of “membership in an organization established to commit crimes” and accepting bribes. He was arrested on Tuesday on bribery charges.

    Two weeks ago the head of Turkey’s SPK capital markets regulator was sacked by presidential decree just days after prosecutors began investigating his predecessor in connection with the affair.

    At the same time the deputy finance minister also resigned after his son-in-law was jailed pending trial in the fund scandal.

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Aliyev aides say summit absence was response to Erdoğan’s Baku no-show: journalist

    Aliyev aides say summit absence was response to Erdoğan’s Baku no-show: journalist

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s aides described his absence from Friday’s Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summit in Ankara as a response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to skip a meeting in Baku earlier this month, Turkish journalist Deniz Zeyrek reported on the T24 news website.

    Zeyrek said Aliyev’s aides pointed to Erdoğan’s absence from the October 15 summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a regional security forum, in Baku.

    Turkey sent Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan instead. Azerbaijan’s decision to send Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to Ankara for the Organization of Turkic States summit, a gathering promoting cooperation among Turkic-language-speaking countries, followed the same principle, the aides reportedly said.

    They also wanted Turkey to take action against seven Turkish citizens accused of targeting Azerbaijan and its leadership, according to Zeyrek’s account.

    The alleged demands follow a dispute over Azerbaijani school uniform regulations that have reportedly led to girls wearing Islamic headscarves being excluded from classes. Criticism from Turkish politicians and religious groups prompted accusations from Azerbaijan’s ruling party that they were interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

    They complained that only two of the seven Turkish citizens on a list submitted by Baku had been questioned and sought action against all seven, along with the closure of social media accounts accused of targeting Azerbaijan.

    That account differs from the publicly stated explanation for Aliyev’s absence. Azerbaijan’s Report Information Agency cited previously scheduled commitments, including a youth football tournament’s closing ceremony in Baku.

    Aliyev stayed away despite Erdoğan’s personal invitation during an October 21 telephone conversation.

    Friday’s OTS summit brought together Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which cooperate on political, economic and cultural issues. Bayramov represented Azerbaijan as Turkey assumed the organization’s rotating chairmanship.

    A Thursday analysis by APA, an Azerbaijani news agency close to Aliyev’s government, also defended his absence on grounds of diplomatic reciprocity. It accused Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and allied religious groups of fueling hostility toward Azerbaijan.

    The school dispute intensified after Erdoğan adviser Oktay Saral criticized the restrictions on October 12, saying girls wearing headscarves should not be prevented from attending classes.

    Middle East Eye reported that Baku had asked Ankara to remove Saral and act against Turkish commentators accused of insulting Aliyev.

    Saral announced his resignation on October 26 after saying Erdoğan had instructed him to leave. Asked whether his departure was connected to his remarks about Azerbaijan, he replied, “Yes, it seems so.”

    Azerbaijan has also barred 31 Turkish nationals, including journalists, political figures and religious commentators, from entering the country over statements related to the controversy.

    Reuters reported that the tensions also reflected disagreements over Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, its close relations with Israel and Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia.

    Despite the tensions, Turkey and Azerbaijan maintain close military, energy and transportation ties. Opening Friday’s summit, Erdoğan emphasized unity among Turkic states.

    “There is no room for separation, division or discord in the Turkic world’s family portrait. We are all one, we stand together and, God willing, we are brothers for all eternity,” he said.

    Erdoğan said the leaders’ group photographs symbolized their commitment to a shared future and that Turkey would seek concrete results from the organization’s work during its rotating chairmanship.

  • Aliyev to skip Ankara summit despite Erdoğan’s invitation amid Turkey-Azerbaijan tensions

    Aliyev to skip Ankara summit despite Erdoğan’s invitation amid Turkey-Azerbaijan tensions

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not attend Friday’s Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summit in Ankara, Azerbaijani media reported Thursday, amid tensions between the two close allies over Turkey’s criticism of restrictions on headscarves in Azerbaijani schools.

    Aliyev will be represented by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at the October 30 summit, according to the Azerbaijani Report Information Agency, which attributed his absence to previously scheduled engagements and a busy work schedule.

    The agency reported that Aliyev would attend the final and closing ceremony of the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku on Friday and present awards to the finalists. It said his participation in the ceremony had been arranged in advance.

    The announcement comes despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s personal invitation to Aliyev during an October 21 telephone conversation and the departure of Erdoğan’s chief presidential adviser, Oktay Saral, following a dispute over Azerbaijan’s restrictions on headscarves in schools.

    Saral criticized the restrictions in an October 12 post on X, saying it was unacceptable to prevent students wearing headscarves from exercising their right to education.

    Azerbaijan amended its school uniform regulations in September to prohibit clothing considered inconsistent with prescribed uniforms or secular education. Although the regulations do not explicitly mention headscarves, some students wearing them have reportedly been turned away from classes.

    Saral’s remarks prompted a sharp response from Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party, which accused Turkish political figures of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs.

    In an October 25 interview with journalist Talat Atilla, Saral said he was leaving his position on Erdoğan’s instructions. Asked whether his departure was connected to his criticism of Azerbaijan, he replied, “Yes, it seems so.”

    Saral announced his resignation the following day.

    Middle East Eye had reported that Azerbaijan demanded Saral’s dismissal and legal action against Turkish commentators accused of insulting Aliyev.

    The dispute has also resulted in measures against Turkish citizens. Azerbaijan has barred 31 Turkish nationals, including journalists, political figures and religious commentators, from entering the country and issued arrest warrants for seven others over statements related to the controversy.

    Tensions between Ankara and Baku predate the headscarf controversy, Azerbaijani political analyst Arastun Orujlu told Meydan TV, an independent Azerbaijani news outlet operating in exile.

    He identified Azerbaijan’s increasingly close ties with Israel as a major source of friction, pointing to broader competition between Turkey and Israel for influence in the South Caucasus.

    Despite the tensions, Aliyev sent Erdoğan a message Thursday congratulating Turkey on the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the republic.

    He described Azerbaijan and Turkey as bound by genuine ties of friendship and brotherhood and said the 2021 Shusha Declaration had elevated their relationship to the level of an alliance.

    The announcement of his absence from the summit came later that day.

    Bayramov, who will represent Azerbaijan at the summit, attended Thursday’s meeting of the OTS Council of Foreign Ministers in Ankara and met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

    The ministers discussed bilateral relations and regional and international developments, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

    Friday’s summit, hosted by Erdoğan, will mark Turkey’s taking over the organization’s rotating chairmanship from Azerbaijan.

    The OTS, which brings together Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, promotes political, economic and cultural cooperation among Turkic-speaking countries.

    According to the organization’s official announcement, the leaders are expected to discuss trade, transportation, energy and institutional cooperation, appoint a new secretary-general and adopt the Ankara Declaration.

    Turkey and Azerbaijan maintain close military, energy and transportation ties and frequently describe their relationship as “one nation, two states.”

  • Turkey accused of blocking Kurdish visitors from returning home to Germany

    Turkey accused of blocking Kurdish visitors from returning home to Germany

    Turkey is preventing Kurdish visitors from returning to their homes in Germany through bans on leaving the country, a Kurdish community organization said Wednesday, calling for German diplomatic intervention, Deutsche Welle reported.

    The Kurdish Community in Germany (KGD) said reports had increased in recent weeks of people unable to return after vacations or family visits to Turkey, including some of its members. Those affected also included Kurdish residents of other European countries.

    In an October 28 statement the organization said numerous people faced exit bans and investigations into alleged terrorist propaganda. It did not provide a total number of cases.

    The group also cited reports that some people had been asked to pay up to 10,000 euros to have the bans lifted. It called for an urgent, independent investigation into those allegations but did not identify who allegedly demanded the money.

    The KGD urged the German government to summon Turkey’s ambassador for an explanation and provide diplomatic assistance to those affected, particularly German citizens and permanent residents, within the scope of available consular support.

    The organization said the cases reflected a longstanding pattern of questioning, detention, criminal investigations and travel restrictions targeting people visiting Turkey from Germany, particularly Kurds.

    Such proceedings frequently involve accusations of insulting the president, spreading terrorist propaganda or having links to banned organizations, the group said. It said the accusations often concern criticism of the Turkish government, social media posts or participation in political events in Germany.

    KGD Deputy Chairman Mehmet Tanrıverdi said people should not face prosecution during visits to Turkey for exercising freedom of expression and assembly in Germany.

    The group said the pressure created a climate of intimidation beyond Turkey’s borders and called on Berlin to make protecting those affected a priority in relations with Ankara.

    Germany’s Foreign Office warns in its travel advice for Turkey that German citizens can face arbitrary detention and exit bans. It says participation in demonstrations in Germany, signing petitions supporting Kurdish independence or membership in legally registered associations advocating for Kurdish rights can lead to prosecution or travel restrictions in Turkey, even years later.This article is republished from the  https://stockholmcf.org/

     

     

     

  • Turkish court bars jailed preacher Alparslan Kuytul’s weekend family visits

    Turkish court bars jailed preacher Alparslan Kuytul’s weekend family visits

    A Turkish court upheld a prison administration’s refusal to allow the children of jailed Islamic preacher and government critic Alparslan Kuytul to visit him in prison on weekends, six days after overturning the same refusal, his lawyer said.

    Kuytul asked to move his prison visiting day from Thursday to the weekend so his children would not miss school, as prison rules permit weekend visits despite the usual weekday schedule. The Erzurum 1st High Criminal Court overturned the prison administration’s refusal on October 15, finding that Thursday visits interfered with the children’s education. Although the court declared its decision final, it upheld the prison administration’s refusal on October 21, following an objection by prosecutors, citing security and staffing concerns.

    Kuytul, the founder of the Furkan movement, is being held pending trial in Erzurum province, about 845 kilometers from Adana, where four of his five children attend school.

    His lawyer, Ömer Hakseven, said the 15-hour journey to Erzurum for weekday visits requires the children to miss two days of school each time.

    Their mother, Semra Kuytul, is also jailed pending trial in Samsun province. The Furkan movement said visiting both parents once a month could cause the children to miss about 27 school days over the nine-month academic year.

    Kuytul and his wife were among 35 people jailed on August 23 in an investigation into alleged organized crime, money laundering, fraud and forgery. The Furkan movement denies the allegations and says the investigation is politically motivated.

    Kuytul submitted documents confirming his children’s school enrollment, but the prison’s Administration and Observation Board denied his request for weekend visits on September 29, citing security and staffing concerns.

    The Erzurum 1st Enforcement Judge upheld the decision on October 5, prompting Hakseven to appeal to the high criminal court.

    In its October 15 ruling, the court found that denying weekend visits violated the right to respect for family life and that prison officials had failed to substantiate their staffing concerns or explain how weekend visits would threaten security or disrupt prison operations. Hakseven said the enforcement judge issued a certificate confirming the decision was final on October 16.

    In reversing its decision following the prosecutors’ October 19 objection, the court cited prison security, additional staffing requirements and concerns that similar requests from other prisoners could disrupt prison operations.

    Hakseven questioned how the court could reverse a ruling that had already been declared final and accused authorities of interfering in the judicial process.

    Under Article 271 of Turkey’s Code of Criminal Procedure, court decisions on objections are final, except for those ordering pretrial detention for the first time.

    Kuytul, an Islamic scholar, founded the Furkan Education and Service Foundation in 1994. The group has frequently criticized the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and has faced repeated police interventions, administrative penalties and criminal investigations.

    He was jailed in 2018 after criticizing Turkey’s military offensive in Afrin, northern Syria. He was acquitted of terrorism-related charges in 2020.

    Kuytul was also arrested in 2022 in connection with the abduction of a businessman in Adana, facing charges of instigating unlawful deprivation of liberty, extortion, bodily harm and torture. He denied the charges and was released pending trial in June 2023. Stockholmcf.org

  • Turkey’s main opposition plans European court challenge to chairman’s ouster from CHP leadership

    Turkey’s main opposition plans European court challenge to chairman’s ouster from CHP leadership

    Turkey’s main opposition New Party is preparing an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) challenging a ruling that removed its leader, Özgür Özel, from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leadership, the ANKA news agency reported Tuesday.

    The petition is still being drafted. The party plans to apply without waiting for Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals to rule on its appeal, arguing that the courts are being used to reshape the country’s main opposition, party officials told ANKA.

    The 36th Civil Chamber of the Ankara Regional Court of Justice annulled the CHP’s November 2023 congress on May 21 and ordered Özel and his leadership team removed as an interim measure, reinstating his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

    The ruling applied the legal concept of “absolute nullity,” meaning the congress at which Özel was elected was treated as legally invalid from the outset.

    The case concerned allegations of vote buying and manipulation at the congress, where Özel defeated Kılıçdaroğlu. Özel and his allies have denied wrongdoing and described the proceedings as political interference.

    The domestic appeal reached the Supreme Court of Appeals on July 17, and its Third Civil Chamber began a preliminary examination on July 26, according to ANKA.

    The European Convention on Human Rights generally requires applicants to exhaust domestic legal remedies before the ECtHR can examine a complaint. ANKA did not explain the legal basis for seeking review before the domestic appeal concludes.

    Özel and 90 other lawmakers left the CHP to establish the New Party on July 24 after efforts to regain control of the CHP failed. The new party began with 91 seats in Turkey’s 600-member parliament, becoming its largest opposition group, while the CHP’s representation fell to 44.

    Before his removal, Özel had led the CHP to first place nationwide in the March 2024 local elections, defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The party retained İstanbul and Ankara and won municipalities in provinces previously dominated by the AKP.

    Özel and his allies accuse Erdoğan’s government of using the judiciary to weaken the opposition.

  • Thousands protest media crackdown in Turkey

    Thousands protest media crackdown in Turkey

    Thousands rallied in İstanbul and Ankara on Saturday against what they described as growing pressure on journalists in Turkey, including arrests, media shutdowns and the appointment of government administrators to run news outlets.

    Press freedom has been increasingly constrained in Turkey since a failed coup attempt in 2016, with sweeping prosecutions, digital censorship and government accusations that journalists are spreading fake news.

    “Enough!” shouted marchers, mainly journalists, rights activists and opposition party representatives. “We can no longer breathe!”

    On İstanbul’s Asian side, protesters held up photos of jailed journalists, chanting: “We will not be silenced. Enough is enough!” and “We will not bow to pressure”.

    At least 3,000 people attended each protest, according to police counts.

    Recent weeks have seen what rights advocates describe as mounting pressure on independent journalism.

    Eleven journalists have been jailed in the past two months and several media outlets shut down, according to the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS).

    Earlier this month, police raided Turkey’s most-watched news channel, Halk TV, halting broadcasts and installing a government-appointed administrator.

    The takeover was the latest move against media outlets seen as critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government.

    It followed the blocking of leading digital news outlet T24’s website and social media accounts over what Turkish officials described as “LGBT propaganda”.

    ‘Intimidation’

    “This gathering is not simply about standing up for journalists,” veteran journalist Zafer Arapkirli told Agence France-Presse after the İstanbul protest.

    “It is also about defending respect for society’s right to access information and news through journalists and independent media,” said the columnist for the BirGün daily.

    Arapkirli, who himself faces lawsuits, said the response and determination to resist must grow as the pressure intensifies.

    “What the regime wants is to intimidate, silence and frighten society through such pressure — by arresting individual journalists, seizing media outlets, banning news coverage and blocking access to social media,” he said.

    “We must show that we will not allow this to happen.

    “We have done so up to now. I believe we are now moving towards demonstrating this determination on a much larger scale”.

    TGS President Gökhan Durmuş said the nature of “the government’s attacks” on the media had changed.

    “If we look at the recent restrictions, access bans and trustee appointments, they have targeted some of the most widely followed and watched broadcasters, news channels and media platforms,” he told AFP.

    “We are seeing a system emerge in which everything is uniform: one voice, one source of news, one centralised operation,” he said.

    ‘Let us do our job’

    In Ankara, protesters chanted against censorship and called for the release of jailed journalists.

    “Today’s protest was important both because it brought journalists together to make their voices heard and because it defended citizens’ right to access information,” T24 journalist Gökçer Tahincioğlu told AFP in Ankara.

    “Journalists are determined to get one message across: we want to practise journalism, and we want to be able to do so freely,” he said.

    The government has repeatedly denied that journalists are arrested or imprisoned for doing their jobs.

    At the Ankara protest, a letter from jailed BirGün journalist İsmail Arı was read to the crowd.

    “I am being held in prison for no reason other than doing my job as a journalist. Days are being stolen from my life,” Arı wrote from Sincan prison on the outskirts of Ankara.

    “We will defend journalism to the very end. Take your hands off us, comply with the constitution and let us do our job.”

    Arı was jailed pending trial on October 21 for the second time in seven months, accused of publicly disseminating misleading information following a complaint by former broadcasting watchdog chief Ebubekir Şahin. He was also investigated on suspicion of insulting a public official.

    © Agence France-Presse

  • Helen Haines’ condition improves following alleged attack, but remains serious

    Helen Haines’ condition improves following alleged attack, but remains serious

    Independent MP Helen Haines is in serious but stable condition after days hospitalised in a critical condition and the amputation of both her legs.

    Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital provided the update on Saturday morning, on the fifth day since Haines was struck by a vehicle outside her electorate office in regional Victoria on Monday afternoon. She had been in a critical condition since the incident.

    Police allege the incident in Wangaratta was a deliberate attack by 43-year-old Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent, who has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. He allegedly made a sharp U-turn before striking Haines in a Toyota LandCruiser.

    Nugent faced Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

    The MP’s husband Phil Haines said on Wednesday Haines’ right leg had also been amputated despite the best efforts of doctors.

    “The good news in all this is that she’s alive. That is the most important thing for our family,” he said at the time.

    The incident has triggered an outpouring of shock and grief across the political spectrum and the country.

    A number of federal politicians have spoken out about the rising temperature in politics and the uptick in threats they have faced.

    The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

  • Victorian Opposition pledges advertising support for independent multicultural media

    Victorian Opposition pledges advertising support for independent multicultural media

    Victoria’s Liberal and Nationals Opposition has pledged to direct a greater share of government advertising expenditure to independent multicultural media outlets if elected in November. Independent Multicultural Media Australia (IMMA) has welcomed the commitment and called on all political parties to adopt the same policy.

    Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and Shadow Minister for Multicultural and Multifaith Affairs Evan Mulholland announced the commitment on Monday, 19 October 2026.

    Under the proposal, a Wilson-led government would review Victoria’s existing commitment to allocate 15 per cent of government advertising expenditure to multicultural media and require at least half of the digital spending within that allocation to go directly to eligible independent multicultural media outlets.

    The policy would cover advertising on publishers’ websites, applications, newsletters, streaming services and publisher-owned social media channels.

    The commitment adopts Recommendation 25(a) of Victoria’s Multicultural Review.

    Advertising expenditure flowing to global platforms

    In a media statement issued on 21 October, IMMA said much of the advertising expenditure intended for multicultural communities had been directed to global platforms such as Meta and Google rather than independent multicultural media outlets.

    IMMA said it had raised this issue over several years and noted that Victoria’s Multicultural Review had reached the same conclusion.

    The Opposition’s announcement followed a meeting between Wilson, Mulholland, IMMA Chair Christopher Gogos and Deputy Chair Julius Larobina.

    Christopher Gogos welcomes the commitment

    IMMA Chair Christopher Gogos described the commitment as a significant step for the sector.

    “For years, money set aside to reach multicultural communities has gone to global platforms instead of the local outlets doing the work — in language or within the community, on the ground, every day. This commitment recognises that gap and does something practical to address it.”

    IMMA calls on all political parties to match the commitment

    Gogos also called on all political parties to make the same commitment ahead of Victoria’s November election.

    “We thank Jess Wilson and Evan Mulholland for engaging with this issue and with the findings of the Review. As a non-partisan organisation we encourage all parties to match this commitment, so that whoever forms government after November, Victoria’s multicultural media has a fair share of the advertising spend meant for the communities it serves.”

    About IMMA

    Independent Multicultural Media Australia (IMMA) is the national peak body for independent multicultural media, representing around 60 member organisations publishing more than 137 titles in over 30 languages across print, digital, radio and broadcast.