21 Oct 2019 | Turkey, Turkey Incident Reports
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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.
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Evrensel Daily faces a fine of 200,000 Turkish lira
Evrensel Daily is being sued for 200,000 Turkish lira worth of compensation
27 September 2019 – Evrensel Daily has been sued for compensation by Serhat Albayrak, the head of one of Turkey’s largest media groups and the brother of Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law.
Serhat Albayrak is seeking 200,000 Turkish lira (nearly £27,000) in non-pecuniary damages over an article published in the newspaper on 7 April 2019. The article, “AKP’ye kim oy kaybettirdi?” (“Who is responsible for the slide in AKP’s vote?”), is alleged to have been written by Ceren Sözeri, a respected academic and media ethics lecturer.
The trial is due to begin on 4 March 2020 at the Istanbul Commercial Court of First Instance.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/387636/serhat-albayrak-evrensele-200-bin-tllik-tazminat-davasi-acti
http://bianet.org/english/media/213595-serhat-albayrak-sues-daily-evrensel-demands-200-thousand-liras-for-damages
https://t24.com.tr/haber/serhat-albayrak-tan-evrensel-gazetesine-200-bin-liralik-tazminat-davasi,841094
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Two former Samanyolu TV staff members arrested
17 September 2019 – Two former producers for the closed down TV station Samanyolu were arrested in Ankara, Anadolu Agency reported. An arrest warrant has been issued for a third former producer.
The warrants for their arrest were issued as part of an ongoing criminal investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against former employees of Samanyolu TV’s Ankara bureau on alleged links to “FETÖ/PDY” (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure).
Link(s):
https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/samanyolu-tvnin-eski-calisanlarina-feto-operasyonu/1586937
https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/samanyolu-tvnin-eski-calisanlarina-feto-operasyonu
https://www.medyaradar.com/samanyolu-tvnin-eski-calisanlarina-operasyon-haberi-2014162
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Local chair of Journalist Association in Rize attacked
17 September 2019 – Gençağa Karafazlı, the local chairperson of Turkey’s Contemporary Journalists Association’s (ÇGD) branch in the Black Sea city of Rize, Evrensel reported.
Karafazlı was in a café in Rize when he was shot in the leg. The assailant dropped his gun and fled the scene in a taxi. Karafazlı subsequently was hospitalized.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/387044/gazeteci-gencaga-karafazli-silahli-saldiriya-ugradi
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/09/rizede-gazeteci-gencaga-karafazliya-silahli-saldiri/
https://www.haberturk.com/rize-haberleri/71914813-rizede-gazeteciye-silahli-saldiri
Categories: Physical Assault / Injury
Source of violation: Unknown
Former Taraf reporter Hüseyin Özkaya sentenced to 7 years in prison
17 September 2019 – Hüseyin Özkaya, a former reporter for the closed-down newspaper Taraf, was convicted of “membership in a terrorist organization”, Anadolu Agency reported. Özkaya was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison by the 16th High Criminal Court of Ankara.
The indictment alleged that Özkaya used the encrypted messaging service ByLock, which Turkish authorities consider to be the primary communication tool between members of the Gülen movement. He was also accused of having deposited cash in Bank Asya, a bank considered to be run by the Gülen movement and where holding a deposit account has been widely used as evidence for the charge of membership in a terrorist organization.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/387019/taraf-gazetesi-muhabiri-huseyin-ozkayaya-7-5-yil-hapis-cezasi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Veteran journalist Uğur Dündar sentenced to “reading books”
12 September 2019 – Veteran journalist Uğur Dündar was convicted of “insulting a public official” by a court in Istanbul over an article he wrote in 2014, online news website Bianet reported.
Journalist Uğur Dündar sentenced to “reading books”
The 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Küçükçekmece found Dündar guilty of “insulting” former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and handed down the journalist a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days. The court did not defer the verdict. However, taking into account Dündar’s “age, personality, his social and financial status,” the court ruled to give an alternative sentence in the form of reading books and/or scholarly articles about “crimes against honor” at least two hours every week at university libraries for a period of five months and 25 days.
This was the retrial of a 2015 case, where the same court had sentenced Dündar to 11 months and 20 days on the “insult” charge. That ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which ordered a retrial.
Link(s):
http://m.bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/212926-mahkemeden-hakaret-karari-ugur-dundar-haftada-2-saat-kitap-okuyacak
https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2019/yazarlar/ugur-dundar/kitap-okuma-cezasi-5331190/
http://www.diken.com.tr/ugur-dundara-kitap-okuma-cezasi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Oktay Candemir faces investigation over social media post
12 September 2019 – The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor of Van has launched a criminal investigation against journalist Oktay Candemir on the allegation of “insulting the president,” Mezopotamya news agency reported. The accusations against Candemir are based on a social media post in which he shared photos of President Erdoğan and a comment.
Candemir recently gave his statement to a prosecutor in Van as part of the investigation.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi20.com/tum-haberler/content/view/68974
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/09/13/gazeteci-candemire-cumhurbaskanina-hakaret-davasi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Evrensel’s former managing editor fined
12 September 2019 – Cem Şimşek, the former responsible managing editor of Evrensel daily, was sentenced to 41,666 Turkish Lira (around $ 7,300) for “failure to properly publish a retraction” on an article about the Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Evrensel reported.
The 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Bakırköy in Istanbul acquitted Şimşek of the charge of “insulting a public official” stemming from the article published in the newspaper in July 2018. However, the court fined both Şimşek and the newspaper’s owner, Cemal Dursun, for using “retraction” as title instead of title of the retraction itself, which said “Our response to daily Evrensel’s unsubstantial article on Berat Albayrak.” Berat Albayrak is also the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/386645/evrensele-yayinladigi-tekzipten-41-bin-lira-para-cezasi
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/09/gazeteci-cem-simseke-hem-para-cezasi-hem-de-beraat/
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/09/12/albayrak-tekzibinin-tekziptir-basligiyla-yayinlanmasina-ceza-verildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Jin News reporter Melike Aydın given 15-month jail sentence
9 September 2019 – Jin News reporter Melike Aydın was sentenced to 15 months in prison on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization,” online news website Gazete Karınca reported.
Aydın was facing a trial over a social media post from 2006. The Bayraklı 20th High Criminal Court in Izmir, which oversaw the trial, deferred Aydın’s sentence.
Link(s):
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/09/gazeteci-melike-aydina-1-yil-3-ay-hapis-cezasi149717/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-melike-aydin-a-1-yil-3-ay-hapis-cezasi-verildi,838765
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/386415/jinnews-muhabiri-melike-aydina-1-yil-3-ay-hapis-cezasi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Turkey’s media watchdog fines broadcaster
5 September 2019 – The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has fined private broadcaster TV5 over an interview with Etyen Mahçupyan, a journalist and ex-advisor of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Susma platform reported. During the broadcast, Mahçupyan said an operation was carried out against Davutoğlu supporters within media through Serhat Albayrak, the owner of the biggest pro-government media group Turkuaz and brother of Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak. The latter is also the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The operation had resulted in Serhat Albayrak becoming the most influential media tycoon of the country, Mahçupyan had added.
The media watchdog argued that Mahçupyan’s claims constituted a “defamation, blacklisting and breach of privacy.” “RTÜK concluded that [Mahçupyan’s statements] went beyond the boundaries of criticism and contained words that are degrading, defamatory and accusatory,” RTÜK said.
TV5, which only broadcasts on the Internet and private digital platforms, said it would appeal the decision. After serving as a prime minister for more than a year between 2015 and 2016, Davutoğlu fell off with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). He was eventually expelled from the party on September 2019.
Link(s):
http://susma24.com/rtukten-tv5e-ceza/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/tv-5-e-pelikan-cezasi-2-defa-daha-pelikan-derse-yayin-lisansi-iptal-edilecek,838201
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/siyaset/1566615/TV5_te_Etyen_Mahcupyan_in__Pelikan__cikisina_RTUK_cezasi.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Government / State Agency / Public official(s) / Political party[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1571649978179-76d82e2e-9a49-3″ taxonomies=”35195″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
21 Oct 2019 | Awards, Campaigns -- Featured, Fellowship, Fellowship 2019, Statements
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Journalism award-winning journalist Mimi Mefo (Photo: Elina Kansikas for Index on Censorship)
Mimi Mefo, winner of this year’s Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award, is due to give a keynote speech at the Integrity 20 conference in Brisbane. The conference, hosted by Griffith University, is an internationally renowned event bringing together the world’s leading thinkers and activists to discuss global issues.
Mefo is due to speak on Friday October 25 on media freedom and the challenges she faces as a journalist in Cameroon.
Her visa was refused because authorities said they “were not satisfied that the applicant’s employment and financial situation provide an incentive to return.”
Mimi – who flew to London in July from Berlin to speak as the guest of the UK government at a major global conference on media freedom – is currently working as a freelance journalist in Germany.
“Australia prides itself on its democratic values, including freedom of expression,” said Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. “This means it needs to support and champion those being denied the right to speak in their own countries. Denying visas to journalists who have faced oppression and censorship in their own countries simply emboldens the oppressor.”
“It is frankly insulting and belittling to suggest Mimi Mefo would use the opportunity of this keynote to seek asylum in Australia.”
Mefo is due to fly from Australia straight to give the prestigious Carlos Cardoso memorial lecture at the 15th African Investigative Journalism Conference in South Africa on October 28, where Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz will give the keynote.
Contact: Joy Hyvarinen, head of advocacy, [email protected] + 44 (0)20 3848 9820[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1571649254262-2677266b-c9f9-2″ taxonomies=”8935″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
21 Oct 2019 | Belarus, Belarus Incident Reports
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Index on Censorship’s Monitoring and Advocating for Media Freedom project tracks press freedom violations in five countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Learn more.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”5 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Public official sues Telegram blogger
26 September 2019 – The head of the Slonim district government Henadz Khomich sued Stiapan Putsila (better known by his pseudonym Stsiapan Sviatlou), the blogger behind NEXTA, one
Blogger Stsiapan Sviatlou is being sued by the head of Slonim district government
of Belarus’ most popular Telegram channels.
Khomich’s is suing Putsila for 50,000 roubles (nearly £20,000) worth of compensation for what he says is “moral damage” for a post that Putsila published in August 2019. In the post, Putsila said that Khomich had been detained for drunk driving and suggested that corruption was involved. Similar lawsuits have been filed against news websites belaruspartisan.by, 21.by, and bobruisk.ru, which republished the message.
Link(s): https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=238079&lang=ru
https://nn.by/?c=ar&i=238083
Category: Subpoena/Court Order/Lawsuits
Source(s) of violation: Known private individual(s)
Blogger receives threats
24 September 2019 – Blogger Andrei Pavuk from the town of Aktsiabrski in the Homel region received threats from an unknown person via Viber.
The messages were received on the eve of the court hearing of his lawsuit against the police aimed at receiving compensation for an unlawful search and detention, which Pavuk believes was done to intimidate him and to exert psychological pressure on him.
In March 2019, police raided Pavuk’s apartment, seized his professional equipment, handcuffed him and brought to the local department of the Investigative Committee for interrogation. The blogger was told he was held on suspicion of knowingly submitting a false danger warning to the authorities under under Art. 340 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Investigators alleged that the Ministry of Emergency Situations received a warning message from his email.
Link(s):https://euroradio.fm/ru/blogeru-andreyu-pauku-ugrozhayut-s-filippin-podumay-padla
https://baj.by/be/content/skazhy-dzyakuy-shto-nichoga-tabe-ne-padkinuli-blogeru-andreyu-pavuku-daslali-pagrozy-i
Category: Online Defamation/Discredit/Harassment/Verbal Abuse
Source(s) of violation: Unknown
Police filed report against Belsat TV journalists
19 September 2019 – Darya Chultsova, a Mahiliou-based freelance journalist, was summoned to Bialynichy District Police Department for questioning. Because she is not associated with an accredited news outlet, a police report was filed against her for illegally producing and distributing media content under Article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
The police report stated that on 21 August 2019, Chultsova interviewed students’ parents at a high school. The next day, the interviews were allegedly shown on Belsat TV.
Link(s): https://baj.by/ru/content/posle-zatishya-vozobnovilos-presledovanie-zhurnalistov-za-sotrudnichestvo-s-belsatom
https://baj.by/be/content/sud-adpraviu-spravu-zhurnalistki-dari-chulcovay-na-dapracouku
Category: Arrest/Detention/Interrogation, Criminal Charges/Fines/Sentences, Subpoena/Court Order/Lawsuits
Source(s) of violation: Police/State security
Freelance journalist fined for working without accreditation
18 September 2019 – Freelance journalist Zmitser Mitskevich was fined by Pastavy District Court (Vitsebsk region) for contributing to Belsat TV. Because he is not associated with an accredited news outlet, he was charged with illegally producing and distributing media content under Art. 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences.
Link: https://baj.by/en/analytics/fines-journalists-violating-article-229-administrative-code-chart-updated
Category: Criminal Charge/Fines/Sentences
Source(s) of violation: Police/State security
Bloggers sued for covering environmental protests
17 September 2019 – Brest-based bloggers Siarhei Piatrukhin and Aliaksandr Kabanau learned that they are being sued for defamation by the lead-acid battery plant, I-Power, at the Brest Region Economic Court.
The lawsuit stems from the journalists’ interview with two environmental activists who claimed that contamination resulted from environmental violations committed by I-Power. The interview appeared on the YouTube channel Narodnyj Reportior.
It is not the first time that Kabanau and Piatrukhin have been sued by I-Power: in 2018, a judge ordered the bloggers to remove their YouTube video about the construction of I-Power’s battery plant and to publish an apology.
Link: https://baj.by/be/content/blogery-syargey-pyatruhin-i-alyaksandr-kabanau-raptouna-apynulisya-adkazchykami-u-sprave-ab
Category: Subpoena/Court Order/Lawsuits
Source(s) of violation: Known private individual(s)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1571647405268-b77e79c5-1924-10″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
18 Oct 2019 | Awards, Fellowship, Fellowship 2015, Fellowship 2016, News and features
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Documentary maker and journalist Safa Al Ahmad (Photo: Alex Brenner for Index on Censorship)
Index on Censorship will begin a set of college events across the USA on 21 October 2019 as part of its Free Speech Is For Me programme.
The tour will include discussions with special guests such as Safa Al-Ahmad, a Saudi Arabian journalist and filmmaker who has directed documentaries focusing on uprisings in Yemen and Saudi Arabia and a former winner of the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Journalism.
The first stop will be at Columbia University, New York, on 21 October where Al-Ahmad will discuss impunity and the silencing of dissent in Saudi Arabia with Agnès Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Zaina Erhaim (Sean Gallagher / Index on Censorship)
On 22 October Al-Ahmad will be in conversation with Zaina Erhaim, the Syrian journalist who returned to Syria after war broke out to help train female citizen journalists and a former winner of the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Journalism, about local journalists on the front lines of the wars in Syria and Yemen at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
And then on 23 October Al-Ahmad will be interviewed by University of Delaware professor emeritus Ralph Begleiter on what it’s like to travel through a war zone in Yemen, the challenges of being a female journalist in the Middle East and what impact the murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi has had on journalists in Saudi Arabia.
The campus tour will take place during Free Speech Week, a national event to promote free speech and freedom of the press in the USA. Rachael Jolley, editor-in-chief of Index on Censorship, said: “This campus tour is an important part of the work that Index is doing in the USA to talk with students about why free speech is vital for all of us, and has always been at the heart of the ways laws and attitudes are changed. We want to hear what lots of people have to say.”
In another part of the Free Speech Is For Me programme, twelve applicants will receive one-on-one support from leading free speech experts, as well as media, communications and public speaking training. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the challenges of censorship around the world and the tools to overcome them, as well as how to best advocate for and use free speech principles.
“‘Free speech has become a dirty word in the last few years,” Jodie Ginsberg, Index on Censorship’s chief executive, said. “Free Speech Is For Me aims to show how freedom of expression furthers democracy and individual liberty and benefit everyone. If we allow free speech protections to be weakened, we lose our greatest tool in advocating for change.”
You can find more information about the campus tour and how to attend on the Index on Censorship events page. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1571413290506-656617e0-84ba-7″ taxonomies=”8935″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
