Pro-Government Newspaper in Turkey Fires Ombudsman Over Op-Ed in the New York Times

Accused Turkish media owners of curtailing press freedom

Turkey drew renewed international criticism Friday over its stance on media freedom after a prominent journalist who had criticized the government was fired this week.

The pro-government Sabah newspaper dismissed Yavuz Baydar from his position as ombudsman — or arbiter between the paper and its readers — on Tuesday after he wrote an opinion piece published in The New York Times that accused Turkish media owners of a "shameful" role in curtailing press freedom.