Quick Facts
AriesBiography
Vedat Demir (born April 5, 1966) is a former General Secretary of the Turkish Press Council and a professor in the Department of Public Relations and Publicity at his alma mater, Istanbul University where he teaches Political Communication, Media Ethics, and the Media and Policy Making.
Early life and academic career
Prof. Vedat Demir was born on April 5, 1966 in Sinop, Turkey. Prof. Demir received his bachelor and masters degrees from Marmara University and his PhD from Istanbul University, and taught in that university’s Faculty of Communications. Between 2012-14, Professor Demir was visiting scholar of Communications at Ithaca College and Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York.
He served as General Secretary of the Turkish Press Council from 2000-2003. As the former General Secretary of the Turkish Press Council, Vedat Demir has defended freedom of the press in Turkey throughout his academic and journalistic career. His scholarship focuses on the role of media in democracy and shaping public opinion. He is the author of The Ethics of Media (2006), The Relationship Between Media and Politics in Turkey (2007), and Public Diplomacy and Soft Power (2012).
The 2016 Turkish purges
Demir has been an outspoken critic of the recent authoritarianism of the Turkish government, using his newspaper columns and television appearances to affirm democratic values, human rights, and rule of law. As a reaction to the government’s seizure of critical newspapers and television stations in Turkey, Demir raised his voice in defense of press freedom and started writing at Yarına Bakış. In his columns he has also been a fierce defender of academic freedom.
On July 20, 2016, Professor Demir along with 95 colleagues at Istanbul University, were suspended from their academic positions.
In retaliation for his expression of academic opinions and journalistic activities, on Sunday, July 24, at 3:30 a.m., the police took Demir into custody, searched both house and office, and detained him without stating charges. During this period he was denied contact with his lawyer and family members. On August 3, he was formally arrested and jailed on suspicions of being involved in the movement behind the coup d'état attempt in Turkey. Demir has denied involvement in the movement, and publicly denounced the July 15 coup attempt in his column. Professor Demir was also formally dismissed from his duties at Istanbul University on September 2, 2016. How long he will be held in prison and when a trial might take place remains unknown.