For Spotlight, François Picard is pleased to welcome Barış Altıntaş, co-founder and co-director of the Media and Law Studies Association, providing pro-bono legal support to writers and journalists in Turkey. She warns of systemic democratic erosion across Turkey rooted in sustained institutional pressure. Rather than portraying recent arrests, prosecutions, and restrictions as exceptional responses to a particular political moment, the guest argues that they form part of a long-running and adaptable pattern in which different segments of society become targets according to changing political priorities.
While the NATO summit may have intensified scrutiny and accelerated crackdowns, it is presented as a catalyst rather than a cause. A central tension running throughout the discussion is the gap between democratic rhetoric and democratic practice.
