IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee that determines the nominees and prize winners stated that this prize was given to two people for the first time of its 11-year history. It was also emphasized that this was IPA’s reaction to Turkish government’s crackdowns on media, academy and cultural life.
Yayınlama Özgürlüğü Komitesi Başkanı Kristenn Einarsson ortak ödüle dair “Türkiye’de bugün yayınlama özgürlüğünün koşulları son derece zor ve biz Türkiyeli yayıncıların dev risklere karşı çalışmaya devam etme cesaretlerini takdir etmek istiyoruz” dedi.