'According to Freedom House, the north of Cyprus is the most free, at 76 percent.'

The international organization Freedom House, based in Washington DC, has published the global freedom scores of countries for 2023. According to the data, northern Cyprus has worsened its score by 1 point compared to 2022, which is 76% "freedom". According to the same report, which rates the percentage of countries with less than 70 points as "partly free," the Republic of Cyprus received 92% "freedom," while Turkey was characterized as "not free" with a degree of freedom of 32%.

The

report

underlining the fact that northern Cyprus is referred to as "TSC" and recognized only by Turkey, special attention is paid to Ankara's increasing military intervention in the region, which led to a lower score. The section on 'important developments in 2022' in northern Cyprus lists three''points. One is the recall of Fayiz Sujuoglu, a UPP MP, from the post of prime minister and UPP chairman following political interference from Ankara, and the appointment of Unal Üstel as prime minister and UPP chairman by Ankara.

Another item is the arrest of Cypriot Romanian peace activist Andreas Sutzis in northern Cyprus, his prosecution in a military court in September and the imposition of a one-month prison sentence for illegally photographing military territories.

The same paragraph notes the ban on Soutzis' entry into northern Cyprus.

Freedom House

, an international human rights organization, found that freedom in northern Cyprus has declined, pointing to interference in Fayyiz' policies'Sujuoğlu, the arrest of peace activist Andreas Sutzis and the pressure of Tatar on freedom of speech. The last item consists of President Ersin Tatar's pressure on the free speech rights of social media users and pressure on journalists. The report states that "journalists and internet users have faced increased pressure on free speech throughout the year. At least two people were arrested on charges of insulting the president on social media, and numerous journalists faced criminal charges or other forms of harassment because of their activities. "

The report also notes that various restrictions on entry to Turkey have been undertaken to put pressure on journalists. Following the''by the above developments, it is noted that the assessment of freedom in northern Cyprus is downgraded.