03 Jul 19 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This article is part our partnership with the Media and Law Studies Association. The Stories of Justice series is an MLSA project supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”96575″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]
They say that people get a smile on their face when justice is served. Justice in Turkey also makes people smile – sometimes, even when it is not served. What a mysterious success! The person who passes those verdicts could even be nominated for the Nobel prize as a master of black humor if only one forgot that the sentences were products of justice. I think there isn’t a single country on earth with a judicial system that pleases everybody. Something like that is only possible in the afterlife for believers. A judicial system that pleases the majority might be labeled “not bad,” even if one can’t call it “good.” But if this is the case, then should we wait for kingdom come to get justice? Don’t you think that might be a little too late? Justice delayed is justice denied, isn’t it? I can hear the people of my country responding with “better late than never.” But why have late justice when you can have it early?
Justice in Turkey has been lame for a long time because it has been sabotaging itself. However good the laws are, those that mete out justice have either been bad of their own accord, or they have had to be bad out of their own interest.
The latter is the case for most of them. The main reason for verdicts that would make even the best black comedy masters envious is that those that implement justice are under the guidance of the government, meaning they have to act according to orders from on high. What counts for today’s zeitgeist is not that justice is served but the threat of a judicial stick coming crashing down on your head if you contradict the spirit of the time. It’s not the law, but the rules of the government, that are in force. You can see it looking at how the “good boys” of today are acquitted one by one. This is what the zeitgeist requires.
This country is home to a judge who accepted a prosecutor’s request to tap a number of telephones, including his own. When the incident was revealed, he said he could not read properly at the time since he did not have his glasses on him and signed the verdict without fully understanding the request. Let’s take a brief look at some unique ideas of justice in Turkey, which would actually fit better in a work of fictional humor than a courtroom. But this is the real world, and these sentences have all affected the lives of people by violating their right to freedom.
A suspect who was accused of chanting slogans in a crowd was sentenced for conducting terrorism propaganda. So far, so good. But what if that person is deaf and mute? If you live in Turkey, you have to avoid crowds as much as you can, for your own sake. Otherwise, you might get a headache, or even a migraine, from the authorities for reasons like failing to walk away from crowds, looking at people who are dancing a political halay, whistling or keeping the rhythm to the music. I’m telling you…
Speaking about health issues, you should mind your hands, washing them frequently. This is naturally important for hygiene, but it is also important for avoiding particular illnesses and saving you from being detained as a suspect. Please, don’t ask how. One civil servant, who was returning from a cadastral field trip, was detained and later sued for throwing stones at police because his hands were dirty. We cannot know for certain if not washing his hands had pathological consequences, but it obviously resulted in psychological trauma.
Don’t get excited, and never run. Be like a koala; never be in a rush. Move gently and slowly. Otherwise, police who arrive to intervene against an incident may check by hand and notice that your heart is beating fast, leading them to detain and sue you for being involved in an incident and escaping from police. This is part of the reason Turkey is not particularly successful in track and field.
If you happen to come to Turkey from an Asian country, then you should have a translator with you. Otherwise, the court might fail to read your defense after you’ve spent nearly two years behind bars because it cannot find a translator. You might have started learning Turkish in the meantime. Speaking a single language is very important in Turkey. But which language is it, do you think? You would be joking if you thought it was anything but Turkish. Kurdish, for one, is still mentioned as “X” or “unknown language” in parliamentary minutes.
Make sure not to have any maps on scraps of paper, your mobile, tablet or other device you carry. And if there are some different colors and lines on the Turkey part of that map, then you’re in for trouble, because you can be arrested or sued for planning to divide the country. Such a map, which showed the habitats and population of bees in Turkey, was accepted as evidence in a case in which the prosecutor sought an aggravated life sentence for a person who allegedly “disrupted the unity and territorial integrity of the state.” Alternatively, you may face a probe for carrying a world map that shows Turkey smaller than it is. Only those who experience this would know.
If your country has the colors of yellow, red and green in its flag – which is the case for many African countries – and if you have clothing with the same colors, don’t come to Turkey wearing it. You might turn into a terrorism suspect the moment you land at the airport. Please don’t be that evil-minded, dear! They don’t like colors or colors together in Turkey. This is why the first traffic lights in Yüksekova in the southeast had blue-colored lamps instead of green. This might also be why the most appreciated color in the country is black.
Let’s not look into this headache profession of mine. “Propagate for me or shut up,” is what they say here. Justice? Who’s lost it that you’ll find it? A journalist whose name I will not disclose wrote a story that received a prize. Then what happened? The author of the story was sentenced.
On a chilly night in the middle of winter, your sole fear shouldn’t be freezing your hands and legs off as you carry diesel oil on the back of your mule to earn some pocket money. That’s because your body might be torn to a thousand pieces if one of those iron birds they call fighter jets pours fire on the group you are walking with. The next thing that mules will carry might be the body parts of you and your friends wrapped in a blanket. They won’t care why you were taking the sharp ridge of the mountain on a freezing night, and it won’t matter whether you are armed or not. Who cares that most of you are children! Nothing matters at all. Here, “everything is a small detail if the issue is the homeland.” This is what you live through; this is what they make you go through; this is the truth. Take it or leave it! Because at the end of the probe launched to investigate the incident mentioned above, it was ruled that those who died were responsible.
If you are the “other” in this country, you should know that you carry death in your pocket. Your burial shroud should be within easy reach because it is not the creator who knows when you will need it, but those who see themselves as his reflection on earth. Under these conditions, how could I pen a story on justice? Now as “the other,” I ask for a “justice for others.” Do you have it or should I wait for the afterlife? To be honest, I have no intention of ringing the bells for the angel of death. Actually, this story itself is a complete work of fiction and doesn’t have the slightest connection to reality. Does it?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”107712″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://medyavehukuk.org/en”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]The Media and Law Studies Association is a Turkish non-profit (registered as Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği) that campaigns to support democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. MLSA offers legal protection to journalists and promotes the public’s right to information with an emphasis on supporting financial and science reporting.[/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:1561714600534-3dc93beb-c283-8″ taxonomies=”19913″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
19 Dec 17 | Mapping Media Freedom, News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”96575″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]This article is also available in Italian from Index partner Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso – Transeuropa
Kurdish reporter Nedim Türfent has been sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in prison on charges of “membership of a terrorist organisation,” with the court remaining deaf to substantial evidence of witness torture.
“They said they would show the ‘power of the Turk,’” lawyer Harika Karataş said after Türfent, a Dicle News Agency reporter, was sentenced on Dec. 15.
Karataş was referring to the story that led Türfent to being harassed and threatened by the authorities in his hometown of Yüksekova, in southeastern Turkey. In the footage Türfent revealed, a commander of special forces can be seen shouting “You will see the power of the Turk” to a group of detainees handcuffed behind their backs and forced to lie facing down on the ground.
“They whitewashed torture. They considered journalism to be a crime,” Karataş said.
Türfent’s case has stirred outrage among many of Turkey’s beleaguered independent journalists, made worse by the fact that 20 witnesses out of the 21 who appeared in court declared that their police testimonies were collected under torture and duress. These revelations turned the small courtroom in the remote eastern city of Hakkâri into a focal point, with press freedom facing another serious test far from the public eye.
Türfent, who had been under detention for more than 19 months before the hearing, was charged with both “membership of a terrorist organization” and “terror propaganda.” Dismissing repeated allegations of torture and ill-treatment, the prosecutor based his case on the witnesses’ initial testimonies to police and sought to convict Türfent for the former crime, which demands a higher sentence.
Still, defense lawyers and Türfent’s colleagues were cautiously optimistic before the fifth and final hearing of the case on Dec. 15. Twenty witnesses rejected the testimonies included in the indictment and only one witness upheld her testimony. The defense also brought credible evidence of contradictions in her testimony – enough to raise doubts about the veracity of her claims. Türfent himself also previously described to the court the death threats he received from the police when he was detained. The defense stressed that there was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt to convict Türfent on charges of “membership”.
However, the panel of judges thought otherwise. Announcing the verdict, the head judge said they had dismissed some of the initial testimonies but decided to retain others, regardless of the confessions that they had been taken under torture and duress. To justify the sentence, the judge referred cases to testimonies of witnesses who were minors during their interrogation and whose testimonies were not taken in the presence of a prosecutor and either a psychologist or pedagogue, as required by the Law on the Protection of Children.
‘A message to all journalists’
“No legal action was taken against the police, despite 20 witnesses confessing to having testified against Türfent under police pressure. One of the witnesses even told the court during the first hearing that police pulled two of his teeth with pliers in order to get a testimony from him,” Fatih Polat, the editor-in-chief of the left-wing daily Evrensel, told Index on Censorship. “Eventually, Türfent was handed a sentence [with terms] arranged by [the police].”
Polat, who has vocally criticized the case in a bid to draw wider public attention, said the verdict was aimed at intimidating the entire media community. “This verdict is also a message aiming to tell everyone doing journalism in this country: ‘Think carefully before you decide what you report on,’” Polat said.
“If we don’t stand against this unlawful ruling strongly enough today, we shouldn’t be surprised when the same happens to us tomorrow.”
Diyarbakır-based journalist Mahmut Oral, who monitored the trial on behalf of the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), also said that the case was a symbolic one. “Nedim worked in a difficult region during difficult times,” Oral said, referring to the military siege and curfews in Yüksekova.
Oral noted that the court didn’t act to investigate neither witnesses testimonies of torture nor Türfent’s account of ill-treatment when he was taken under custody. His legal complaints had been dismissed by prosecutors.
“This decision may well be legal for the Turkish justice system, but it is not a conscientious one,” Oral said. “This is why I consider this decision as an attempt to attack the rights of journalism.”
Decision to be appealed
The damage that a conviction would cause to journalism in the region and nationwide was repeatedly emphasised by Türfent himself. Türfent, who made his defense statements in Kurdish, has expressed no regrets about his work.
“I have written more than a thousand reports over seven years,” the young reporter said. “Some may not please the government. But it is not lawful to try to discredit these reports by imprisoning journalists.”
Türfent said he was now considered persona non grata for breaking his report on the special forces commander. “But if had the chance I would write the same report again.”
Türfent’s lawyers will now appeal the ruling at an appeals court outside of Hakkari, in the nearby province of Erzurum. They also plan to apply to the Constitutional Court against Türfent’s “long and unjustified detention”.
In his acclaimed novel A Season in Hakkâri, author Ferit Edgü describes Hakkari as a “mountain-top close to the sky.” The province is well-known for its bitter, inhospitable winter, and this winter now seems to have engulfed all rights and freedoms. “We want justice to wake up from its winter sleep,” Türfent said during his defense at court. Perhaps his wish will be echoed across the country.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mapping Media Freedom” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-times-circle” color=”black” background_style=”rounded” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Since 24 May 2014, Mapping Media Freedom’s team of correspondents and partners have recorded and verified more than 3,700 violations against journalists and media outlets.
Index campaigns to protect journalists and media freedom. You can help us by submitting reports to Mapping Media Freedom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Don’t lose your voice. Stay informed.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.
Join our mailing list (or follow us on Twitter or Facebook) and we’ll send you our weekly newsletter about our activities defending free speech. We won’t share your personal information with anyone outside Index.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][gravityform id=”20″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”false”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”2″ element_width=”12″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1513935154207-dc7c9f88-877b-4″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
20 Nov 17 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
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Nedim Türfent has been under detention for more than 18 months. The 5th hearing of his trial will be heard on Dec. 15 at the Hakkari Courthouse. © Mezopotamya Agency
“If we wanted to do, we could kill you right here and then say you were killed during the incidents. No one would be able to prove otherwise.”
That’s what police officers told journalist Nedim Türfent when they arrested him more than 18 months ago.
During the fourth hearing in his trial in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Friday 17 Nov, Türfent, a local correspondent and English news editor for the Dicle News Agency, informed the court about the abusive treatment he had suffered at the hands of authorities. The case had already attracted attention after 19 of 20 witnesses confessed to testifying against Türfent under torture and duress.
Türfent’s description of overt police threats has added more insult to injury in a case that lacks any evidence other than fallacious testimonies. “Don’t worry, we’re going to prepare such a file on you that you’ll be in for at least 20 years. You won’t be getting out anytime soon,” Türfent quoted police as saying during his hearing. The journalist faces up to 22.5 years in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organisation” and “conducting propaganda.” His 18 months in detention could be extended further in the next hearing on 15 Dec.
The fierce crackdown on Turkey’s mainstream media has been covered widely. But this has also created a certain “butterfly effect.” As the government dares to imprison renowned journalists in the “west” – Istanbul – the knock-on effect is much greater for Kurdish journalists in the east as they are sent back in time to face the dark spectres of the 1990s: intimidation, death threats, detentions and ill-treatment. The retaliation against Türfent for his journalistic work in his hometown of Yüksekova is one compelling example.
Yüksekova – Gever to the Kurdish locals – sits on a small flat plain that is surrounded by majestic and jagged peaks that pierce the sky. Located in Hakkari, which borders Iraq and Iran, it is the largest urban area in the country’s deprived southeastern corner. Toughened by the landscape, people from Gever are known to be self-resilient, proud and stubbornly uncompromising against any type of pressure – be it extreme weather or government crackdown. The same can be said for Türfent’s journalism. His bold coverage of the military siege and crackdown in the town in March-April 2016 made him a target.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5HL0b2GwE”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One of Türfent’s stories received country-wide media attention when it revealed footage of a commander of special forces inflicting ill-treatment on a group of detainees. “You will see the power of the Turk,” the commander shouted. The story made a tremendous impact, with the prime ministry announcing that it would open a probe over the images.
But then came the death threats, harassment and, eventually, detention for the journalist who broke the story.
“Nedim is being punished for relating the state oppression in Yüksekova during the curfews,” said Nimet Ölmez, a fellow reporter with Mezopotamya Agency, the latest iteration of Dicle News Agency after it and its successor, Dihaber, were closed by decree. “Nedim didn’t have a weapon, a stick or a stone in his hands. All he had was a camera and a pen.”
Nedim Türfent’s parents and Diyarbakır-based Free Journalist Society co-chair Hakkı Boltan (R) pose at the Hakkari Courthouse during the fourth hearing of the trial on Nov. 17, 2017 in Hakkari, Turkey. © Özgün Özçer
Fethi Balaman, who started covering the news in Yüksekova for Mezopotamya months after Türfent was detained, explained how his colleague’s work kept the authorities under scrutiny.
“He had a huge network and he could reach anywhere. That scared them. This is why he started to receive more and more threats,” he said. “For instance, they knew that if there was a raid somewhere, Nedim would be informed. What did they do then? They took him so they could do anything they wanted.”
Türfent, who answered our questions from prison through a lawyer, Deniz Yıldız, stressed that it was not just himself but all journalists in the region who were being subject to pressure – pressure that continues even in jail. “As journalists who work in the region, we continuously encounter the cold face of the state when we are outside of prison. The same practices are also reflected once inside.”
More than 200 ongoing cases
Indeed, though compelling, Türfent’s case is just one of many lawsuits against Kurdish journalists. More than 200 probes have been opened against regional journalists, according to Diyarbakır-based Free Journalist Society co-chair Hakkı Boltan.
One of them is Dihaber reporter Selman Keleş, who was detained for taking pictures of Van’s Municipality building after it was surrounded with concrete blocks. Dihaber reporter Mehmet Güleş was also recently sentenced to nine years for “being a member of a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda.” Güleş had irritated authorities by reporting about the army’s destruction of homes in his hometown of Şırnak.
Balaman explained that he sometimes has to pass three checkpoints to cover a routine news story. Reporters cannot use a camera anymore, as police and soldiers confiscate them whenever they see one. “When I use a camera, I think about protecting it before protecting myself.”
Türfent is asking for more public awareness and support for the many Kurdish journalists who work across the region. “Our colleagues in the west are confronted with trumped-up indictments. But they have the possibility of moulding public opinion. Journalists who work [here], especially in remote places such as Yüksekova and Cizre, remain in the background.”
The fate of such journalists is a litmus test for defenders of press freedom given the lack of public attention for their plight. “Many colleagues are still waiting for a trial to start two years [after they were detained]. However, there isn’t even a small news story about them,” Türfent said.
Through months of military siege and a state of emergency, local reporters have braved authorities to report on killings, destruction and atrocities that would have been concealed if not for the journalists’ work. But ultimately, the question goes beyond freedom of expression; now, it is the very essence of truth that is at stake.
“Understanding the causes and the results of the Nedim Türfent case means understanding the necessity of freedom for journalists,” said Boltan, demanding more support for Kurdish journalists. “The violations committed here are the source of the pressure on the mainstream media.”
Destruction is still visible in some areas of Yüksekova more than a-year-and-a-half after the military siege. © Özgün Özçer
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mapping Media Freedom” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-times-circle” color=”black” background_style=”rounded” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Since 24 May 2014, Mapping Media Freedom’s team of correspondents and partners have recorded and verified over 3,600 violations against journalists and media outlets.
Index campaigns to protect journalists and media freedom. You can help us by submitting reports to Mapping Media Freedom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Don’t lose your voice. Stay informed.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.
Join our mailing list (or follow us on Twitter or Facebook) and we’ll send you our weekly newsletter about our activities defending free speech. We won’t share your personal information with anyone outside Index.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][gravityform id=”20″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”false”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
