Turkish Political Journalist to Speak at Mansfield February 19

How Turkey Has Become the Largest Jail for Journalists: A Personal Account by Sevgi Akarcesme

Mansfield, PA (02/12/2019) — Turkish political journalist Sevgi Akarcesme will be a guest speaker at Mansfield University on Tuesday, February 19th from 1 p.m to 2:15 p.m in room 317 Alumni Hall. The talk, "How Turkey Has Become the Largest Jail for Journalists: A Personal Account by Sevgi Akarcesme", is free and open to the public.

Sevgi Akarcesme is a Turkish political journalist and the dismissed editor-in-chief of Today's Zaman, the largest English daily in Turkey which was brutally taken over by the regime in March 2016. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Turkey's leading Bilkent University in 2001. She holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Istanbul Bilgi University and second master's degree in political science from Temple University. Following her graduate studies in Philadelphia, in 2005 she joined a major U.S. think-tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. After she returned to Turkey, she was employed at the Office of the President between 2008-11 primarily as a special assistant to the first lady. After working as an advisor at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she switched to media in 2012, worked as a prolific correspondent in Today's Zaman and wrote columns for both daily Zaman and Today's Zaman until the confiscation of the papers by the government. In exile, she managed TurkishMinute.com full time until May 2017 from Belgium. Currently, Akarcesme continues to report from the United States, including for TurkishMinute.com, and speaks at panels and relevant events as a media freedom advocate.

The talk is sponsored by the Mansfield University Political Science Program, with support form the Office of the Provost. For more information you may contact Dr. Jonathon Rothermel at jrotherm@mansfield.edu.

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Sevgi Akarcesme