NYT thanks Turkey for securing journalists' release in Libya, crştşcşzes press freedom record

The New York Times on Monday thanked the Turkish government for intervening to help secure the release of four of its journalists detained in Libya but also criticized Turkey's record of press freedom. "Turkey, which helped our journalists so effectively, has a bad record when it comes to reporters at home," said the Times in an editorial. Citing a Committee to Protect Journalists report saying that 852 journalists have been killed worldwide over the last 20 years, the paper added, "That, in a tragic way, has always been the risk of covering war. But journalists also are increasingly targets of repressive governments in Russia, Mexico, and the Philippines and now in the Middle East."