Türkiye: İnsan hakları  örgütleri, darbeye katılmakla suçlanan gazetecilerin davasını takip edecek

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]19 Haziran’da aralarında gazetecilerin de olduğu 17 sanığın yargılandığı davanın ilk duruşması görülecek. Sanıklar arasında önde gelen yazar ve siyasi yorumculardan Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan ve Nazlı Ilıcak da var. Dava, geçen yıl gerçekleşen başarısız darbe girişimine katılmış olmakla suçlanan gazetecilerin yargılandığı davalardan ilki ve mahkemelerin Olağanüstü Hal ortamında ifade özgürlüğü ve adil yargılanma hakkı ile ilgili sayısız davaya nasıl yaklaşacaklarına ışık tutabilir.

Sanıklarla ve Türkiye’deki basın özgürlüğüyle dayanışmayı göstermek için, ARTICLE 19, Uluslararası Af Örgütü, Index on Censorship, Norveç PEN ve Uluslararası PEN temsilcileri duruşmaya gözlemci olarak katılıyor olacak. İngiltere ve Galler Barosu İnsan Hakları Komitesi ve Uluslararası Kıdemli Avukatlar Projesi de duruşmaya gözlemci gönderecekler.

Sanıklara yönelik suçlamalar, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ve Türk hükümetinin “suçtan zarar görenler” olarak nitelendirildiği 247 sayfalık iddianamede yer alıyor. Sanıklar Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan ve Nazlı Ilıcak “Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisini ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs”, “Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümetini ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs”, “Anayasal düzeni ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüs” ve “Silahlı bir terör örgütüne üye olmamakla birlikte örgüt adına suç işlemek” suçlamalarıyla yargılanıyor. Geri kalan sanıklar ayrıca, Türk hükümetinin darbe girişimini düzenlediğini iddia ettiği Gülen hareketine atıfla “terör örgütü üyeliği” ile suçlanıyor.

Davalıların çoğunluğu ya ülke dışında sürgünde ya da neredeyse 10 aydır tutuklu olarak yargılanıyor.  Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi 14 Haziran’da, Altanlar ve Nazlı Ilıcak’ın da aralarında bulunduğu tutuklu yedi gazetecinin haklarının uzun süreli tutuklulukları nedeniyle ihlal edilip edilmediğini belirlemek amacıyla bir dizi sorunun yanıtını talep eden bir dilekçeyi Türkiye yetkililerine iletti.

Bu davanın siyasi amaçlı olduğuna inanıyoruz ve yetkilileri, uluslararası yasalar altında açık bir şekilde suç teşkil eden fiillerin kanıtını sunmadıkları takdirde tüm suçlamaları düşürmeye ve tutuklu sanıkları derhal ve koşulsuz olarak serbest bırakmaya çağırıyoruz.

ARTICLE 19, savunma avukatlarının talebi üzerine Altan kardeşlere yönelik suçlamaları inceleyen bir uzman görüşü hazırladı ve bunu da duruşmada mahkemeye sunacak. Görüş, Altanlara atfedilen suçlamaların, ifade özgürlüğü hakkının yasal olmayan bir şekilde kısıtlanması anlamına geldiğini savunuyor.

Türkiye’de ifade özgürlüğü hakkında daha ayrıntılı bilgi için, lütfen Mayıs 2017’de BM İnsan Hakları Konseyi’ne sunulan ortak bildiriye bakınız.

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Turkey: Rights groups to monitor criminal trial against journalists accused of participating in coup

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Journalist Ahmet Altan is charged with inserting subliminal messages in support of the failed 15 July coup in Turkey.

Journalist Ahmet Altan is charged with inserting subliminal messages in support of the failed 15 July coup in Turkey.

On 19 June, the first hearing will take place in a trial concerning 17 defendants, including a number of journalists. Among the defendants are prominent novelists and political commentators, Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak. The case is the first trial of journalists accused of taking part in last year’s failed coup

The case is the first trial of journalists accused of taking part in last year’s failed coup attempt and may shed light on how the courts will approach numerous cases concerning the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial under the state of emergency.

Representatives of Article 19, Amnesty International, Index on Censorship, Norwegian PEN and PEN International will be attending the hearing in order to demonstrate solidarity with the defendants, and with media freedom more broadly in Turkey. The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the International Senior Lawyers Project are also sending observers to the hearing.

The charges against the accused are detailed in a 247-page long indictment which identifies President Erdogan and the Turkish government as the victims. Defendants Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak are charged with “attempting to overthrow the Turkish Grand National Assembly”, “attempting to overthrow the Government of Turkey”, “attempting to abolish the Constitutional order” and “Committing crimes on behalf of an armed terrorist organisation without being a member”. The remaining defendants are additionally charged with “membership of a terrorist organisation”, in reference to the Gülen movement who the Turkish government accuses of having orchestrated the coup attempt.

The majority of those on trial are either currently in exile or have been held in pre-trial detention for almost 10 months.  On 14 June, the European Court of Human Rights wrote to the Turkish government requesting its response to a number of questions to determine whether the human rights of seven detained journalists, including the Altans and Nazlı Ilıcak, have been violated due to the long pre-trial detention.

We believe the trial to be politically motivated and call on the authorities to drop all charges against the accused unless they can provide concrete evidence of commission of internationally recognisable criminal offences and to immediately and unconditionally release those held in pre-trial detention.

Article 19 has prepared an expert opinion examining the charges against the Altan brothers, at the request of their defence lawyers, which will be submitted to the court on Monday morning. The opinion argues that the charges levelled against the Altans amount to unlawful restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. 

For more detailed information regarding the context for free expression in Turkey, please see a joint statement submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in May 2017.

For further information please contact:

Sarah Clarke, International Policy and Advocacy Manager, PEN International, sarah.clarke@pen-international.org
Georgia Nash,Programme Officer – Middle East & North Africa / Europe & Central Asia, ARTICLE 19, [email protected]
Melody Patry, Head of Advocacy, Index on Censorship, [email protected]

For more information about the trial, please contact Tobias Garnett: +90 (0) 541 827 0000

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1497944733154-20b659a7-0b15-10″ taxonomies=”7355″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Mapping Media Freedom: Journalists detained at Russian protests

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Protesters in St. Petersburg demonstrated against corruption in Russia (Photo: Andrey Kalikh)

Protesters in St. Petersburg demonstrated against corruption in Russia (Photo: Andrey Kalikh)

Over the last seven days protests, lawsuits, and self-proclaimed governments have stopped journalists from doing their jobs in countries covered by Index on Censorship’s project Mapping Media Freedom.

Project Manager Hannah Machlin explains why incidents in Russia and Albania are particularly alarming.

“It’s appalling that around 1500 individuals were arrested — including journalists — at the anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Monday,” Machlin said.

Despite showing their press credentials, five journalists were detained including Index’s Mapping Media Freedom correspondent, Andrey Kalikh.

Machlin said, “Our previous reports and our monitoring of wave of anti-corruption rallies indicate that the trend of arresting journalists for doing their job will not abate.”

Machlin said the situation in Albania is also worrying because “a judge, who is in a position of influence, is now attempting to silence journalists who were investigating criminal investigations into him and his family.” She explained, “investigative reporters are consistently targeted when uncovering corruption of state officials and we must call on government institutions to allow journalists to freely report.”

Russia: Five journalists detained including one Mapping Media Freedom correspondent  

12 June, 2017 – An anti-corruption rallies proved to be a dangerous place for journalists on 12 June. The rallies were called by opposition figure Alexei Nalvalny in a long-term attempt to overthrow Vladimir Putin.

At a rally in Moscow, reporter Ignacio Ortega for a Spanish news agency, EFE, in Moscow was arrested while reporting on the event. After identifying himself with his press card at the station, he was released.

Photographer David Frenkel, contributor to Kommersant and Mediazona, and Ksenia Morozova, a journalist for Sobaka.ru a local website, were both detained despite showing their press cards while covering the anti-corruption rally in St. Petersburg. Frenkel was soon released but Morozova was held overnight before a trial for “public order disturbance.”

Reporter Andrey Poznaykov of Echo of Moscow radio station went to a café for a break where he was detained by policemen even after showing his press card. In his blog, he said he was detained for covering the anti-corruption rally in Moscow. Poznaykov was released shortly after being taken to a police van.

Mapping Media Freedom correspondent, Andrey Kaikh, was detained at an anti-corruption rally in St. Petersburg. From a police bus he wrote he was amongst 40 others at a peaceful demonstration. So far, about 300 protesters have been detained in St. Petersburg. Kaikh was fined 150 Euros and released him at the end of the day on 13 June.

Albania: Four journalists and two media outlets sued by judge for reporting

9 June, 2017 – A court of appeals judge in Tirana sued four journalists and two media outlets for their coverage of his criminal investigations and his family’s declared assets. Judge Gjin Gjoni says the reporting causing reputational damage and pain.

The charges were filed against Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) along with their journalist Besar Likmeta and Aleksandra Bogdani and Shqiptarja newspaper, along with their journalists Adriatic Doci and Elton Qyno.

The judge and his wife are asking for 7 million Lek (54, 000 EUR) in compensation from Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN in Tirana and two of their journalists; They are asking for 4 million Lek (30,000 EUR) from Shqiptarja newspaper and two from their journalists.

BIRN Albania, Adriatik Doci and the Union of Albanian Journalists have all spoken out about the lawsuit.

Ukraine: Journalist disappears in self-proclaimed DPR territory

2 June, 2017 – Ukrainian blogger and writer Stanyslav Aseev disappeared in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. Aseev was reportedly detained by militants of the self-proclaimed DPR.

Aseev uses the alias Stanislav Vasin and contributes to a number of news outlets including Radio Liberty Donbas Realities project, Ukrayinska Pravda, Ukrainian week, Dzerkalo Tyzhnya. He also runs a prominent blog via Facebook.

Radio Liberty Donbass realities project editor-in-chief Tetyana Jakubowicz said their contact with Aseev had been lost on 2 June. That day Aseev’s latest report from territories held by separatists for Radio Liberty.

The journalist’s mother said his flat was broken into and noticed several of his belongings were missing including his laptop.

Fiona Frazer, the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said that the mission was searching for Aseev, Radio Liberty reported.

“We are trying to understand exactly what was happening to him. We are still trying to gain access there to understand where he is “, Frazer said. She added that, as in other cases, “when militants detain people, responsibility for this is placed on those who control the territory”.

France: Labour minister files complaint over Libération article

9 June, 2017 – New French labour minister Muriel Pénicaud filed a complaint against an unknown person for theft, breach of professional confidentiality and possession of confidential information following the publication of an article in the Libération newspaper about the government’s labour reform projects, Libération reported.

“They were mad with anger,” a source at the Labour Ministry told Libération, about the reaction to the story. “They reacted with such violence that they terrorised all of the affected department.”

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Mapping Media Freedom


Click on the bubbles to view reports or double-click to zoom in on specific regions. The full site can be accessed at https://mappingmediafreedom.org/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Contents: 100 years on

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Contributors include Nina Khrushcheva, David Aaronovitch, BG Muhn, Andrei Arkhangelsky, Rafael Marques de Morais and Bernard Gwertzman”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

The Summer 2017 issue of Index on Censorship magazine looks at how the consequences of the 1917 Russian Revolution still affect freedoms today, in Russia and around the world. Andrei Arkhangelsky argues that the Soviet impulse to censor never left Russia, and Nina Khrushcheva, a great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, reflects on the Soviet echoes in Trump’s use of the phrase “enemies of the people”.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”91220″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]

Hamid Ismailov, a writer who fled Uzbekistan in 1992, also reflects on how the superficial removal of the symbols of Soviet rule did little to change the mentality of the country or its government.

BG Muhn explores the legacy of socialist realism art in North Korea, arguably the only remaining totalitarian communist country, where painters work in government-run studios to produce artwork inspired by Soviet ideals and Korean pride. Also examining propaganda in art, David Aaronovitch looks back at the famous Soviet films he grew up watching, and asks whether their distortion of true events is any more sinister than that of Hollywood.

Jan Fox also interviews Luis Lago Diaz, a Cuban filmmaker, showing the global reach of Soviet influence, and Rafael Marques de Morais dissects the Stalin-inspired cult of personality surrounding the president of Angola.

Meanwhile, with eyes on history, Kaya Genç examines the complex relationship between Russia and Turkey, Bernard Gwertzman reflects on his time as the New York Times’ Moscow correspondent during the 1960s, and Duncan Tucker investigates how Leon Trotsky’s journey from founding Soviet leader to dissident non-person saw him become a champion of free speech during his exile in Mexico.

Outside of the special report, Laura Silvia Battaglia interviews a Yemeni journalist about his ordeal reporting on his country’s war, which has included being kidnapped, tortured and shot, and Eliza Vitri Handayani explains how a small rural community in Indonesia has found innovative ways of standing up to big industry, including encasing their feet in cement.

Plus Jemimah Steinfeld asks the author Margaret Atwood about current threats to free speech, the South African cartoonist Zapiro discusses the time President Jacob Zuma sued him and in the culture section award-winning writer Jonathan Tel presents a surreal, original short story about China’s ban on time-travelling television.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”SPECIAL REPORT: 100 years on” css=”.vc_custom_1497355747157{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]

What difference Russia’s revolution makes to our freedom today

Colouring inside the red lines, by BG Muhn: North Korea expert debunks myths and expectations about the country’s art

Mexico’s unlikely visitor, by Duncan Tucker: Leon Trotsky might have arrived in Mexico with blood on his hands, but he quickly became a free speech fighter

The revolution will be dramatised, by David Aaronovitch: Filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein manipulated the past in his work, but was it for dramatic or propaganda purposes?

A spectre that still haunts Russia, by Andrey Arkhangelsky: The Soviet fear of alternative voices persists in Russia

Lenin’s long literary shadow, by Hamid Ismailov: Uzbekistan’s ruler still expects writers to conform

Land of milk and honey, by Lahav Harkov: Israel’s kibbutz movement walks a fine line between being harmonious and restrictive

Friends reunited, by Kaya Genç: For most of the 20th century, Turkey and Russia were hostile neighbours. Now as both clamp down on free speech, they’re finding common ground

The enemies of those people, by Nina Khrushcheva: Nikita Khrushchev’s great-grandchild considers life in Trump’s USA compared to her Soviet upbringing

Airbrushing history, by Jeffery Wasserstrom & Yidi Wu: With China’s Communist Party still in power, the way 1917 is remembered must follow the party line. One man learnt the hard way

Being the big man, by Rafael Marques de Morais: Angola’s long-ruling president has constructed an image of himself straight out of Stalin’s playbook

The big chill, by Bernard Gwertzman: Staged press conferences and tapped phones were two obstacles to reporting from Moscow during the Cold War for The New York Times’ correspondent

There’s nothing new about fake news, by Andrei Aliaksandrau: It might be a new term, but the mechanisms of fake news have been in place in Belarus for decades

Help! I’m a Taiwanese communist, by Michael Gold: Taiwan went through a mass killing of its communists. Today the country is opening up about this dark past and communists face a freer environment

Shot in Havana, by Jan Fox: The state still controls Cuba’s film industry, but a Cuban producer is hopeful about changes ahead

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”IN FOCUS” css=”.vc_custom_1481731813613{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]

Provoking the president, by Raymond Joseph: South African cartoonist Zapiro talks censorship and drawing in an exclusive interview

Yemen: “Nobody is listening to us”, by Laura Silvia Battaglia: A Yemeni journalist discusses the time he was abducted for 15 days and other dangers for reporters

Novel lines, by Jemimah Steinfeld: An interview with Margaret Atwood on current threats to free speech and why scientists need defending

No country for free speech? by Daniel Leisegang: An old libel law and a new one aimed at social media are two threats to free expression in Germany

Read all about it, by Julia Farrington: Somaliland’s hugely successful festival is marking 10 years of extending access to books

See no evil: A Chechen journalist on the current climate of fear and intimidation that is stopping real news getting out

No laughing matter, by Silvia Nortes: Making jokes about Franco and ETA is off the table in Spain if you want to avoid trouble with the law

Cementing dissatisfaction, by Eliza Vitri Handayani: Indonesians experimenting with creative forms of protest are grabbing attention and sparking new movements

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”CULTURE” css=”.vc_custom_1481731777861{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]

Frenemies, by Kaya Genç: A mysterious man arrives at the White House. What does he want? A short story written exclusively for Index

Stitched in time, by Jonathan Tel: The award-winning writer on why the Chinese government controls historical narratives and an original story based on their ban of time travel shows

A tale of two Peters, by Alexei Tolstoy: First-time English translation of a story about Peter the Great by Russia’s Comrade Count, Alexei Tolstoy

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”COLUMNS” css=”.vc_custom_1481732124093{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]

Global view, by Jodie Ginsberg: Freedoms are being curtailed across the globe in the name of “national security”

Index around the world, by
 Kieran Etoria-King: A reporter from the Maldives explains why the Index 2017 awards were a much-needed boost

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”END NOTE” css=”.vc_custom_1481880278935{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]

What the Romans really did for us, by Jemimah Steinfeld: When it comes to propaganda, Roman emperor Augustus was ahead of his time

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”SUBSCRIBE” css=”.vc_custom_1481736449684{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;border-bottom-color: #455560 !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;}”][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship magazine was started in 1972 and remains the only global magazine dedicated to free expression. Past contributors include Samuel Beckett, Gabriel García Marquéz, Nadine Gordimer, Arthur Miller, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, and many more.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”76572″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]In print or online. Order a print edition here or take out a digital subscription via Exact Editions.

Copies are also available at the BFI, the Serpentine Gallery, MagCulture, (London), News from Nowhere (Liverpool), Home (Manchester) and on Amazon. Each magazine sale helps Index on Censorship continue its fight for free expression worldwide.

SUBSCRIBE NOW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

SUPPORT INDEX'S WORK