Turkey: Press freedom violations October 2019
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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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Journalist Emre Orman detained over social media posts
24 October 2019 – Journalist Emre Orman, a reporter for Net news agency, was arrested in Istanbul and subsequently jailed pending trial on the charge of “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” on account of his social media posts, Evrensel reported.
Orman was arrested on 23 October 2019 and sent to pre-trial detention after giving a statement to a prosecutor at Istanbul’s Anadolu Courthouse on 24 October.
Update:
1 November 2019 – According to Bianet, Orman was released from detention on 31 October.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/389407/gozaltina-alinan-gazeteci-emre-orman-tutuklandi
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/10/gazeteci-emre-orman-gozaltina-alindi/
http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/214864-gazeteci-emre-orman-gozaltina-alindi
http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/215217-journalist-emre-orman-released
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Human rights lawyer and former Özgür Gündem editor-in-chief Eren Keskin’s house raided by police
22 October 2019 – Police raided the house of Eren Keskin, a prominent human rights defender and co-chairperson of the Human Rights Association (İHD), Mezopotamya news agency reported. Keskin has been prosecuted more than a hundred times for her symbolic support for the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem.
Keskin was not at home during the late-night raid. She testified to a prosecutor the following day, responding to accusations that she was “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization” in her social media posts. Keskin was released without judicial control measures.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi23.com/search/content/view/74224?page=1&key=add81a9e773c7072a8320bb66c8f598e
http://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/214837-house-of-eren-keskin-raided-by-police
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/10/23/eren-keskinin-evine-polis-baskini/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Journalist Özlem Oral briefly detained
On 10 October, President Erdoğan threatened that he would “open the gates” to the EU if they called his military operation an “invasion”.
20 October 2019 – Özlem Oral, a reporter for the left-wing Mücadele Birliği newspaper, was arrested during a police raid on her home on 19 October, Mezopotamya news agency reported. Oral was accused of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” for her social media posts about Turkey’s military operation in Syria. She was referred to the courthouse on 20 October and was subsequently released under a travel ban and has been ordered to report to the police station once a week.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi23.com/tum-haberler/content/view/73855
https://t24.com.tr/haber/mucadele-birligi-gazetesi-muhabiri-ozlem-oral-gozaltina-alindi,844469
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/10/gozaltina-alinan-gazeteci-ozlem-oral-serbest-birakildi/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Nurcan Baysal’s house raided by police
19 October 2019 – Police carried out an early morning raid on columnist and T24 contributor Nurcan Baysal’s home in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır. Announcing the incident on Twitter, Baysal said that she was abroad when the raid took place, and therefore she was not arrested, but her two children were at home at the time of the raid. Baysal said that she believed the raid to have been in connection with her social media posts.
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/nurcan-baysal-in-evine-polis-baskini,844441
http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/214700-yazar-nurcan-baysal-in-evine-polis-baskini
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/turkiye/2019/10/19/nurcan-baysalin-evine-polis-baskini/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Journalist Tuğba Özer ordered to pay compensation over report
17 October 2019 – Tuğba Özer, an editor for Cumhuriyet daily, was ordered to pay 5,000 Turkish lira (around $875) in compensation over a news report, Bianet reported. The lawsuit was overseen by the 23rd Civil Court of First Instance of Istanbul.
The lawsuit was filed by the conservative and Islamist İHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation over Özer’s report about an elementary school teacher volunteering for İHH. Özer reported that the teacher had made his students pose for a picture as they held pieces of rope symbolizing the executioner’s rope and shared these pictures on social media.
The picture was posted at a time when President Erdoğan was reigniting the debate on bringing back the death penalty. The report says that the teacher shared the picture in which he is seen showing the rope on his social media account, saying “Either the state should take the lead or the raven will hover over the dead. President! We want justice.” The message came after a terrorist attack near the Inönü stadium in Istanbul’s central neighborhood of Beşiktaş killed 48 people, mostly police officers. In another social media message the teacher is seen forcing his students to make a military salute in the classroom. The teacher was suspended after the report caused a wide outcry.
Link(s):
https://tele1.com.tr/cocuklara-idam-ipi-veren-degil-haberi-yazan-gazeteci-ceza-aldi-92814/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
BirGün editor Hakan Demir briefly detained over report on military operation
10 October 2019 – Hakan Demir, editor of the website of BirGün daily, was taken into custody during an early morning police raid on his Istanbul home, Bianet reported.
The grounds for Demir’s arrest was “the way in which a news item posted on the newspaper’s online edition was shared on Twitter.” The report referred to the military operation launched by the Turkish military in Syria on 9 October.
Demir was referred to the courthouse later in the day. The 13th Criminal Judgeship of Peace ruled to release the journalist under an international travel ban.
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/bir-gun-gazetesi-internet-sorumlusu-hakan-demir-gozaltina-alindi,843105
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Police / State security
Diken’s news editor Fatih Gökhan Diler detained for “inciting hatred”
10 October 2019 – The managing editor of the news portal Diken, Fatih Gökhan Diler, was arrested at Diken’s offices in Istanbul, the website reported. Diler was eventually released under a travel ban by the Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
Diler was reportedly detained as part of an investigation on the allegation of “incitement of hatred and animosity” in a news story published by Diken that featured a statement by the speaker of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Turkish military launched an operation in Syria on 9 October, mostly targeting Kurdish forces controlling the border.
Link(s):
http://www.diken.com.tr/dikenin-sorumlu-yaziisleri-muduru-fatih-gokhan-diler-gozaltina-alindi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Police / State security
JinNews reporter Beritan Canözer’s home raided by police over her social media posts
10 October 2019 – Reporter Beritan Canözer of the Diyarbakır-based pro-Kurdish and feminist news website JinNews had her home raided by police, Bianet reported. During the raid, police confiscated several magazines and newspapers they found in her apartment.
Police officers informed Canözer’s sibling, who was alone in the apartment when the police came, that the journalist was being summoned to the Diyarbakır Police Department to give her statement in connection with her social media posts.
Link(s):
https://www.yeniyasamgazetesi.com/gazeteci-beritan-canozerin-evi-basildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Police / State security
Broadcasts denigrating Syria operation to be ‘silenced’, TV watchdog said
10 October 2019 – Turkey’s TV watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), released a statement warning that any broadcast that endorsed terrorism and misled citizens with “false, incomplete or biased information” would be silenced, Andolu Agency reported. Turkey’s military launched an operation named Peace Spring on 9 October in northern Syria, targeting the Kurdish groups controlling the border.
While thanking broadcasters for “meeting society’s need of being informed with accurate information and contributing to national unity and togetherness,” RTÜK said it would not tolerate negative coverage of the operation. In the statement, RTÜK said that divisive and destructive broadcasts against Operation Peace Spring, published with the support of the [PKK] terrorist organization, are being swiftly identified and silenced with the support of other state institutions.
Link(s):
http://www.yeniyasamgazetesi1.com/rtukten-susturma-aciklamasi/
http://susma24.com/blog/2019/10/11/rtuk-harekat-aleyhindeki-yayinlar-hizlica-susturulmaktadir/
Categories: Censorship – Other Serious Issues
Source of violation: Government / State Agency / Public official(s) / Political party
Evrensel columnist faces investigation for column about First Lady
7 October 2019 – Evrensel writer Ender İmrek is facing an investigation over a column he wrote about First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the newspaper reported.
First Lady Emine Erdoğan
The column titled “The Hermes bag was shining brightly” criticized the First Lady’s ostentatious display of wealth.
In a Twitter post, Imrek said he was called to testify at the police station over his column.
Link(s):
http://susma24.com/blog/2019/10/08/gazeteci-ender-imreke-sorusturma/
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/388407/emine-erdoganin-hermes-cantasini-yazan-ender-imreke-sorusturma
https://www.dusun-think.net/haberler/gazeteci-ender-imreke-sorusturma/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security[/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:1574865309697-99e30f8e-0394-5″ taxonomies=”35195″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Free speech and human rights organisations call for Turkish novelist Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and other journalists to be released
UPDATE: Index on Censorship is delighted to learn of the news that Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak have been released from prison and that Mehmet Altan has been acquitted and released.
We nonetheless remain concerned that Altan and Ilıcak were convicted and are on probation, and that their co-defendants — Fevzi Yazıcı, Yakup Şimşek and Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül — remain in detention after having been convicted of “membership of a terrorist organisation”.
Ahead of the second hearing in the retrial of Turkish novelist Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and four other journalists and media workers, Article 19 and 16 free speech and human rights organisations call for all detained defendants to be released and for the charges to be dropped. We believe that the charges against Altan and the other defendants are politically motivated and the case should never have gone to trial. We believe that the new charges are also bogus, as no credible evidence has been presented linking the defendants to terrorism.
Altan and Ilıcak have been in pre-trial detention for over three years on bogus charges. They were initially charged with sedition and are now being re-tried on terrorism charges following a decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals. The final prosecutor’s opinion has been published ahead of the hearing on Monday 4 November, revealing that the prosecutor will ask for the judge to sentence significantly above the minimum required sentence for these offences. If the judge rules in line with the Prosecutor’s opinion, this will mean that the defendants will remain in detention during the appeals process which could take many more months. The on-going violation of their rights is a damning indictment of the state of Turkey’s judicial system, which has been placed under immense political pressure since the failed coup of July 2016.
We have serious concerns regarding the panel of judges overseeing this retrial. It will be presided over by the same judge who oversaw the first trial, which involved several violations of the right to a fair trial and according to the Bar Human Rights Committee, “gave the appearance of a show trial”. The same panel of judges also previously refused to implement the Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights rulings that Mehmet Altan’s rights had been violated by his pre-trial detention, sparking off a constitutional crisis.
With the Constitutional Court failing to find a violation in the case of Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak in May 2019, we look to the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) for justice. In 2018, the Court found several violations of Mehmet Altan’s rights. The Court also said that it would keep the effectiveness of remedies before the Constitutional Court under review. Altan and Ilıcak have now spent over three years in pre-trial detention. If the judge rules on Monday in line with the Prosecutor’s final opinion, they will be condemned to an even longer period of unjustified detention. By January 2020, their applications before the Strasbourg Court will have been pending for three years. A judgment from the European Court of Human Rights on their cases is now crucial.
Signatories
Article 19
Articolo 21
Danish Pen
English Pen
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Freedom House
German Pen
Global Editors Network (GEN)
IFEX
Index on Censorship
Norwegian Pen
P24 – Platform for Independent Journalism
Pen America
Pen Canada
Pen International
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Swedish Pen
About the case
The retrial in the case of writers and media workers Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Yakup Şimşek, Fevzi Yazıcı and Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül began on 8 October 2019, after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned their convictions of “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order through violence and force” under Article 309 of the Turkish Penal Code, for which they had been given aggravated life sentences. The Supreme Court of Appeals found that there had been no evidence of their use of “violence and force” and that Mehmet Altan should be acquitted entirely due to lack of sufficient evidence. The charges for the other five defendants were reduced: Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak face new charges of “aiding a terrorist organisation” while Yakup Şimşek, Fevzi Yazıcı, Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül face charges of “membership in a terrorist organisation”. Their re-trial, on new charges, began in October 2019 and the second hearing, at which the judge may rule on the case is on November 4, 2019.
More detailed information on these cases and the retrial can be found here
ARTICLE 19 submitted an expert opinion to the court in June 2018: https://www.article19.org/resources/turkey-article-19-submits-expert-opinion-in-the-case-of-brothers-ahmet-and-mehmet-altan/
Freedom of expression in Turkey
Under President Erdogan’s rule, freedom of expression has severely declined in Turkey. Over the last four years, at least 3,673 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed and the judiciary effectively purged of anyone who is perceived as opposing the government through the exercise of freedom of expression. Around 170 media outlets have been closed down over claims they spread “terrorist propaganda”. Only 21 of these have been able to reopen, some of them however being subject to major changes in their management boards. Turkey has become the world’s biggest jailor of journalists with at least 121 journalists and media workers currently in prison and hundreds more on trial.
For more information on freedom of expression in Turkey, please see our joint NGO submission for Turkey’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations
https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Turkey-UPR-submission_July2019.pdf
CONTACT
For further information Pam Cowburn, [email protected], 07749 785 932.
Turkey: Press freedom violations September 2019
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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
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):
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/
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/
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]