4 Mar 2016 | About Index, Campaigns, mobile, Statements, Turkey, Turkey Statements
Index on Censorship condemns the seizure by Turkey’s courts of the newspaper Zaman, one of the country’s highest circulation newspapers.
The move is the latest in a spate of attacks on the free press by the government, which has arrested and detained scores of journalists over the past 12 months.
Last month, Turkey’s authorities were forced to release journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül after Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that their rights had been violated by their arrest. Dündar, the editor-in-chief of the daily Cumhuriyet, and his Ankara bureau chief, Gül, had been held since the evening of 26 November. They are charged with spying and terrorism because last May they published evidence of arms deliveries by the Turkish intelligence services to Islamist groups in Syria. The charges have not been dropped and the journalists are awaiting trial.
Zaman said in a statement on Friday that administrators had been appointed to run the paper.
“We are going through the darkest and gloomiest days in terms of freedom of the press,” the organisation said.
The move highlights how far press freedom has deteriorated in Turkey in recent months. Index has recorded more than 10 press freedom violations over the past month alone and 203 verified violations since May 2014.
“With this move, Turkey has hit a new low for media freedom,” said Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “We now need the international community to help pull it back from the brink by encouraging governments to speak out publicly against these actions instead of turning a blind eye to President Erdogan’s creeping authoritarianism.”
Ahead of the EU-Turkey meeting on migration next week, it is crucial for the EU to denounce the unprecedented crackdown on media freedom and remind Turkey of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Any agreement on migration should not undermine the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
2 Mar 2016 | About Index, Campaigns, Mapping Media Freedom, Statements, Turkey, Turkey Statements
Index on Censorship condemns Türksat’s decision to drop independent broadcaster IMC TV’s signal. It must reverse itself and allow unfettered access to information.
“This is another case of terror charges being used to silence media in Turkey”, said Index Senior Advocacy Officer Melody Patry. “Turkey must halt its crackdown on media outlets and ensure citizens have access to diverse information and viewpoints, including those that differ from the government’s political line.”
Privately-owned channel IMC TV, was pulled of the air by one of Turkey’s largest broadcasters, state-controlled Türksat Satellite Communication and Cable TV Operation, Reuters reported.
IMC TV’s signal was dropped by Turksat after an Ankara prosecutor requested IMC be taken down because of allegations that the channel is “spreading terrorist propaganda” for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey has designated a terrorist organisation.
The channel was taken off air during a live interview with Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, two prominent journalists who were freed pending trial that same day after spending 92 days in prison.
IMC TV is known for being critical of the policies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and had recently covered clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish separatists in the southeast region of the country.
The incident was recorded on Mapping Media Freedom and Index will alert the Council of Europe platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.
The climate for media freedom has declined in recent months.
1 Mar 2016 | Europe and Central Asia, Mapping Media Freedom, mobile, News and features, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: Philip Janek / Demotix)
The ongoing deterioration in Turkey’s press freedom has been well documented by Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project since its launch in 2014. The crackdown appears to be getting worse, according to a new report by Amnesty International this month. It states that the “human rights situation deteriorated markedly” in Turkey in 2015, as did respect for freedom of expression, including criminal detention though anti-terror laws and the targeting of anyone critical of government policy.
Despite the welcome release of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül on 26 February, the situation for media freedom looks uncertain. Here are some of the most worrying reports from February.
Journalists killed
In total, Mapping Media Freedom has recorded the deaths of 15 journalists since July 2014. Seven of these deaths have occurred in Turkey, two of those in this year alone. Gülsen Yıldız, a journalist working in Ankara for Tarim TV, was killed on 18 February. She was among 28 people who died during a terrorist attack on passing military vehicles in the capital.
Later in February, the discovery of a body, later identified as journalist Rohat Aktaş, in the southeastern town of Cizre. Aktaş had been shot in the arm in late January while covering efforts to help those wounded during clashes between Kurdish separatists and Turkish forces.
On 24 February, Dicle-Haber reported that Aktaş’ body was identified by DNA tests carried out by the forensic authority. “Scores” of people are reported to have been killed in Cizre following a raid by security services on buildings they say harboured Kurdish separatist fighters. The exact details of Aktaş’ death are currently unknown.
Journalists detained on anti-terror charges
This year began on a somewhat positive note with the 5 January release of VICE News journalist Mohammed Ismael Rasool. Rasool, an Iraqi Kurdish reporter, had been detained since 27 August 2015 while reporting in the country’s southeast and charged with working for a terrorist organisation.
On 11 February, Nazım Daştan, a journalist for Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which reports in Kurdish, was arrested in Gaziantep on charges of spreading online propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the Turkish state lists as a terrorist group. On the next day, he was brought to testify in court and then taken to jail.
On the same date, Feyyaz İmrak, also journalist for Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was arrested along with 16 others on charges of being members of the PKK. Police searched his home and confiscated his reporting equipment and notes.
İmrak appeared before a criminal court 15 February to hear the charges against him, and is currently being held at Antalya Prison, pending trial.
Journalists denied access
For any journalist, access to sources is essential for their ability to carry out their duties. The denial of access is a major problem for journalists in Turkey, something foreign journalists know all too well.
On 9 February, Turkish authorities rejected a permanent press accreditation application filed by Silje Rønning Kampesæter, a correspondent for Norway’s Aftenposten. The press accreditation application also affects her residence permit in Turkey. No reason was given for the rejection.
The authorities also detained Claus Blok Thomsen, a Danish journalist working for Denmark’s daily newspaper Politiken, at the Istanbul airport, barring him from entering the country. The journalist was seeking access to report on refugees at the Turkish-Syrian border.
When Thomsen identified himself as a journalist, police forced him to open his phone and computer, undermining the confidentiality of his sources. He was then detained in a cell overnight and put on a plane to Copenhagen the next day. He was reportedly told to not try re-entering Turkey.
Also see:
Statement: Index condemns seizure of Zaman
Sign Our Petition: End Turkey’s crackdown on press freedom
Letter: Writers and artists condemn seizure of Zaman news group
Reaction: Turkish court orders seizure of Zaman news group
This article was originally published at Index on Censorship.
25 Feb 2016 | About Index, Campaigns, Mapping Media Freedom, Turkey
Index on Censorship welcomes the release of journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül after Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that their rights had been violated by their arrest. Index strongly reiterates its call for Turkish authorities to drop all charges against the pair.
Dündar, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, and his Ankara bureau chief, Gül, had been held since the evening of 26 November. They are charged with spying and terrorism because last May they published evidence of arms deliveries by the Turkish intelligence services to Islamist groups in Syria.
The arrests of the two journalists underscored extreme lengths that the government of Turkish president Recep Erdogan had taken to stifle dissent and restrict access to information. In the past 12 months, there have been 106 verified violations of media freedom reported to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project.
