31 May 19 | 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.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”39 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Imprisoned journalist Ayşe Düzkan transferred to open prison” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Ayşe Düzkan
23 May 2019 – Imprisoned journalist Ayşe Düzkan was released from Bakırköy Women’s Prison in response to her numerous requests to be transferred to an open prison.
Düzkan was to be transferred to the women’s open prison in Eskişehir province within the next 30 hours following her release, Mezopotamya Agency reported. She will serve the remaining part of her 18-month sentence in Eskişehir.
Düzkan was imprisoned on 29 January 2019 to serve the sentence she was handed down in January 2018 for participating in 2016 in a campaign for solidarity with the now-defunct pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58682
https://bianet.org/english/women/208790-journalist-ayse-duzkan-referred-to-eskisehir-open-prison
https://yesilgazete.org/blog/2019/05/24/ayse-duzkan-eskisehir-acik-cezaevine-sevk-edildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecutor seeks conviction for Gazete Karınca’s publisher in first hearing” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
23 May 2019 – Necla Demir, the former publisher of the online news website Gazete Karınca, appeared before the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the first hearing of her trial.
Demir is accused of “systematically disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” for the website’s coverage of Turkey’s 2018 military operation on the Syrian city of Afrin. Demir and her lawyers Özcan Kılıç and Sercan Korkmaz were in attendance at the hearing, P24 reported.
Addressing the court for her defense statement, Demir said that the indictment against her was against law and press freedom. “The coverage of civilian deaths and the bombings of hospitals, which forms the basis of the indictment have been included in both local and international human rights reports. The coverage was considered objectively and written using journalistic terminology,” Demir said and requested her acquittal.
The prosecution then presented their final opinion of the case, requesting the court to convict Demir of “systematically disseminating terrorist propaganda.” Demir’s lawyers requested additional time to prepare their defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion.
In its interim ruling, the court granted additional time for the final defense statements and adjourned the trial until 11 July 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1131486132376678400
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazete-karinca-nin-eski-imtiyaz-sahibi-necla-demir-hakkindaki-ilk-dava-goruldu,822686
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-necla-demirin-davasi-ertelendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of Meşale Tolu and 26 others adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Meşale Tolu
23 May 2019 – A trial where 27 defendants, including Etkin news agency (ETHA) reporter and interpreter Meşale Tolu and her husband, Suat Çorlu, a member of the central executive board of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), stand accused of terrorism-related charges, resumed at the 29th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
Çorlu and five other defendants were in attendance in the courtroom as well as defense lawyers, P24 reported. Tolu, a German national, did not attend because she is exempt from personal appearance in court.
Çorlu, whose passport was seized by Turkish authorities upon his arrival at the Istanbul Airport on a flight from Germany to attend the hearing the night before the trial, asked the court whether his passport was confiscated upon a court order.
The presiding judge said there was no travel ban issued by the court but they have found out that three other investigations against him were ongoing. His passport might be taken by authorities in connection with one of those investigations, the court said.
The court set 11 October 2019 as the date for the next hearing.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1131444687603216384
https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/prozess-gegen-mesale-tolu-ehemann-darf-tuerkei-nicht-verlassen,RRIXeLg
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Two files against Jin News director Safiye Alağaş merged” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
23 May 2019 – The third hearing in the trial of JinNews news director Safiye Alağaş on the charges of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group,” “inciting the public to hatred and animosity” and “praising crime or a criminal” took place at the 4th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır. Jin News, a women-only and feminist news website based in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakır has faced repeated censorship and investigations over the years.
Alağaş did not attend the hearing, where she was represented by her lawyer, Pirozhan Karali, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The court merged another file against Alağaş on the “propaganda” charge, issued on 16 January 2019 by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office of Diyarbakır, with the ongoing case. The presiding judge said the merged file still lacked the journalist’s permanent address.
Lawyer Karali requested additional time to file the permanent address notification and other lacking documents. The court granted the lawyer 20 days to complete the documents and ruled that it would issue an arrest warrant for Alağaş in order for her defense statement to be taken in the event her lawyer fails to meet the deadline.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58659?page=2
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-alagas-davasi-adres-bildirimi-icin-20-gunluk-sure-verildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mustafa Göktaş ordered to remain behind bars” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
23 May 2019 – The fifth hearing of the trial against Mustafa Göktaş, a former employee of the shuttered pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, took place at the 2nd High Criminal Court of Şanlıurfa.
Göktaş and his lawyer were in attendance at the hearing, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The prosecution reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted during the previous hearing, in which they asked the court to convict Göktaş of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”
Göktaş’s lawyer Mustafa Vefa told the court they rejected the prosecutor’s final opinion and requested his client’s release pending trial.
Göktaş requested a continuance, saying he was physically unfit to make his defense statement because he has been on a hunger strike since 1 March.
Granting Göktaş additional time for his defense statement, the court adjourned the trial until 12 September.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi18.com/tum-haberler/content/view/58686
https://nupel.net/gazeteci-goktas-tahliye-edilmedi-24368h.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Ahmet Altan makes defense statement in “insulting public official” case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
21 May 2019 – A trial in which imprisoned novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan is accused of “insulting a public official” got underway at the Anadolu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, P24 reported.
The case was originally launched in 2010 upon a complaint by former public prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, currently a lawmaker with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The case concerns an article Altan penned in 2010, titled “Büyük Savaş Başladı” (The great battle has begun), in which he mentioned a leaked phone conversation between two justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals about Cihaner’s release from prison, a subject that had previously been covered by news media. Cihaner later withdrew his complaint, and the case was put on hold. However, it got underway again after Altan’s conviction in a case where he was accused of “insulting the president” was upheld by an appellate court in March 2018.
Addressing the court via the courtroom video-conferencing network SEGBİS, Altan said that the prosecution was trying to cover up a scandal in the judiciary that took place 10 years ago by attempting to incriminate him.
In its interim decision, the court ruled to wait for the response from the Criminal Court of First Instance of Gölbaşı concerning Cihaner and adjourned the trial until 17 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1130731056552906753
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379839/ahmet-altan-kamu-gorevlisine-hakaret-iddiasindan-hakim-karsisindaydi
http://www.haberdar.com/gundem/ahmet-altan-savcilar-sanki-en-sacma-iddianameyi-kim-yazacak-diye-yarisiyor-h135742.html[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court convicts 7 defendants in Özgür Gündem trial” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]21 May 2019 – The final hearing in the trial of 24 defendants including former Özgür Gündem daily editors and columnists was held at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
24 defendants were standing accused of “praising the offense or the offender,” “provoking commission of offense,” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda” crimes. The pro-Kurdish newspaper was closed down by a state of emergency decree on August 2016.
Seven defendants, including the shuttered newspaper’s co-editors in chief – lawyer Eren Keskin and publisher Hüseyin Aykol – managing editor Reyhan Çapan and columnists Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu were handed down jail sentences for the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Eight other defendants were acquitted for the same crime. The charges against two defendants were dropped due to the expiration of the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per the Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law and the case files of seven defendants were ruled to be overseen in a separate trial.
The panel sentenced Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to 3 years and 9 months; Hüseyin Akyol to 2 years and 1 month; Hüseyin Güçlü and Tahir Temel to 1 year and 6 months; Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Ayşe Batumlu to 1 year and 3 months in jail for “disseminating terrorist propaganda.”
Hacıoğlu and Batumlu’s sentences were deferred. The sentences that were not deferred will be appealed.
Acquitting Ayşe Berktay, Celalettin Can, Cemal Bozkurt, Çetin Ulu, Emrullah Kurcan, Ergin Atabey, Nuray Özdoğan and Özlem Söyler from the charge of “disseminating terrorist propaganda,” the court decided to separate the case files of Filiz Koçali, Enver Baysal, Hasan Başak, İhsan Yorulmaz, Muzaffer Ayata, Serbest Zan and Züleyha Yılmaz, for whom the arrest warrants issued were not carried out. The defense statements of the seven defendants are yet to be heard.
The court also decided to remove the arrest warrants issued for Ruhat Kaya and Bülent Alp and drop the charge which accuses them of “propaganda” on the grounds that the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law had expired.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1130847861401219076
https://t24.com.tr/haber/ozgur-gundem-davasinda-karar-durusmasi-7-kisiye-15-yil-hapis-cezasi-verildi,822472
http://www.diken.com.tr/ozgur-gundem-davasinda-avukat-eren-keskin-ve-gazetecilere-ceza-yagdi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Assailants attack local journalist in Antalya” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]20 May 2019 – A local journalist in Antalya was targeted by assailants on 20 May. Ergin Çevik, the editor-in-chief of the Antalya-based news portal Güney Haberci, was attacked by three people in the Aksu district, daily Evrensel reported
Çevik was reportedly assaulted because he wrote about allegations of unearned income in the municipality of Aksu in a column he published in the newspaper. In the column, Çevik called on the Mayor of Aksu Halil Şahin, who was re-elected from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the local elections on 31 March, to address the allegations.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379822/gazetecilere-saldirilar-suruyor-antalyada-ergin-cevik-darbedildi
https://bianet.org/english/human-rights/208674-journalist-ergin-cevik-attacked-in-antalya
https://www.haberturk.com/gazeteci-ergin-cevik-saldiriya-ugradi-2470975
Categories: Physical Assault / Injury
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Mustafa Yayla sent to prison in Izmir for ‘insulting the president’” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]19 May 2019 – Mustafa Yayla, a local journalist based in the Aegean province of Aydın, was sent to prison after an appellate court upheld a previous conviction on the charge of “insulting the president,” online news website T24 reported.
Yayla had been given a prison sentence of 11 months and 20 days over his social media posts in a trial overseen by the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Kuşadası. The court refused to defer his sentence or commute it to a judicial fine.
Yayla, who had recently relocated in the nearby city of Izmir, was placed in the Torbalı Prison.
Link(s):
https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/93771/gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-erdogana-hakaretten-cezaevine-girdi
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-cumhurbaskani-na-hakaretten-cezaevine-girdi,822068
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gerekcesi-cumhurbaskanina-hakaret-gazeteci-mustafa-yayla-cezaevine-girdi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial + Government / State Agency / Public official(s) / Political party[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist İdris Demirel taken into custody in Iğdır” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – Local journalist İdris Demirel was taken in custody during house raids by the Gendarmerie in the northeastern province of Iğdır, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported. Demirel was arrested alongside local politician Kemal Çakmak and a citizen named Deniz Kaynar.
Reports said Demirel, Çakmak and Kaynar were arrested as part of an investigation into a demonstration that involved human shields, which took place four years ago.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi19.com/tum-haberler/content/view/57971
http://www.haberdar.com/gundem/igdir-da-biri-gazeteci-3-kisi-gozaltina-alindi-h135254.html
http://www.igdirdogusgazetesi.com/haber/2819/17/igdirda-biri-gazeteci-3-kisi-gozaltina-alindiyok
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of journalist Mehmet Çakmakçı adjourned until November” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – The trial of journalist Mehmet Çakmakçı on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” resumed on 17 May at the 10th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, online news website Gazete Karınca reported. Çakmakçı, who uses the pen name Şiyar Dicle, was jailed pending trial in 2017 and was released at the end of the first courtroom hearing of his trial.
The court ruled to wait for the response from the Council of Forensic Medicine concerning the forensic examination of audio tapes in the indictment against Çakmakçı and adjourned the trial until 8 November 2019.
Link(s):
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-mehmet-cakmakcinin-durusmasi-ertelendi/
https://www.gercekgundem.com/medya/93406/mehmet-cakmakcinin-durusmasi-goruldu
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Local journalist İdris Özyol beaten, hospitalized in Antalya” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]17 May 2019 – Local journalist İdris Özyol was assaulted by a group of three unidentified assailants in the coastal city of Antalya. The veteran journalist was hospitalized following the attack, which took place during evening hours of 15 May 2019 in front of the offices of the local newspaper Akdeniz’de Yeni Yüzyıl, where he works.
The assailants were arrested on 17 May. Özyol said one of his attackers, whom he identified as Taner Canatek, was the driver of a prominent local politician from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which has allied with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during the general and presidential elections in 2018 and the local elections in March 2019. Canatek worked for the AKP candidate during the local election campaign, Özyol claimed. Journalist associations condemned the attack.
Link(s):
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379501/antalyada-gazeteci-idris-ozyol-saldiriya-ugradi
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/15/gazeteci-idris-ozyol-saldiriya-ugradi/
https://ahvalnews.com/journalism/turkish-journalist-beaten-after-critical-commentary
Categories: Physical Assault / Injury
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of Özgür Gündem editors and politician Hatip Dicle adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – A trial where journalists Hüseyin Aykol, Zana Kaya and İnan Kızılkaya — former co-editors-in-chief and managing editor of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem — and Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle stand accused for the news stories and articles published in the newspaper, resumed at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul. Özgür Gündem was closed down by a state of emergency decree in August 2016.
The four defendants are accused of “publicly degrading the government, the judiciary or the police force” and “publicly degrading the Turkish nation, the Turkish Republic and the Parliament” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
None of the defendants were in attendance at the hearing, where they were represented by their lawyer Özcan Kılıç, P24 reported.
In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant against Hatip Dicle and adjourned the trial until 10 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128927471863291904
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Public Prosecutor seeks criminal investigation against Ahmet Şık over his defense statements during trial” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed for the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Ahmet Şık, seeking a criminal investigation over two separate allegations. Şık, a renowned investigative journalist, was sentenced to 7,5 years in prison pending appeal in the trial against the executive and staff of the daily Cumhuriyet in 2018.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Şık of “insulting the Turkish Republic, the government and the judiciary” as per Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code based on his remarks in his defense statement in the “Cumhuriyet trial,” online news website T24 reported. The vocal journalist’s statement had a wide echo in the national political and public debate.
The Prosecutor’s Office is separately accusing Şık of “insulting the president” based on two complaints filed with the Presidency Communication Center (CİMER).
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi-cumhuriyet-davasindaki-savunma-kanit-sayildi,821560
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379513/hdp-milletvekili-ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi
https://tr.sputniknews.com/turkiye/201905161039066278-ahmet-sik-hakkinda-iki-ayri-fezleke-duzenlendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Imprisoned journalist İdris Yılmaz faces new charges” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]16 May 2019 – Imprisoned journalist İdris Yılmaz is facing terrorism-related charges in a new indictment, pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency reported. Yılmaz, a journalist based in the eastern province of Van, is currently imprisoned in the Elazığ No. 1 Maximum Security Prison, serving a combined prison term of nearly 10 years he has been given in various trials over his journalistic work.
The new indictment, prepared in light of a witness testimony, accuses Yılmaz of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” The journalist’s social media posts are held as evidence for the “propaganda” charge.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi19.com/tum-haberler/content/view/57816?page=2
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379554/tutuklu-gazeteci-idris-yilmaz-hakkinda-bir-dava-daha-acildi
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1396389/Gazeteci_Yilmaz_a_bir_dava_daha.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Seda Taşkın acquitted of one charge but convicted of “propaganda”” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – The appellate court overseeing Mezopotamya news agency (MA) reporter Seda Taşkın’s appeal has overturned the trial court’s October 2018 verdict that sentenced the journalist to a total of 7.5 years in prison on two separate charges.
Taşkın addressed the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice from the Ankara courthouse via the courtroom video-conferencing system, P24 reported.
Taşkın told the court that she was put on trial as a result of her journalistic work. “Journalism is not a crime,” Taşkın added.
At the end of the second appeal hearing of Taşkın’s trial, held on 15 May 2019, the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice acquitted the journalist of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” while giving her a prison sentence of 1 year, 11 months and 10 days on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” The court deferred the sentence.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128541621090496512
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379422/gazeteci-seda-taskina-verilen-1-yil-11-ay-hapis-cezasi-ertelendi
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-seda-taskina-hem-ceza-hem-beraat/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court drops charge against journalist Erdem Gül in intel trucks case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – The final hearing of Cumhuriyet daily’s former Ankara representative Erdem Gül and opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu where they were accused of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member,” was held at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The trial is related to the publication of footages allegedly showing weapons bound to Syria in trucks belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency MİT by the newspaper Cumhuriyet on May 2014.
Berberoğlu, a former journalist and editor-in-chief of the mainstream newspaper Hürriyet, was accused of providing the footages to the newspaper.
In its verdict on Gül, the court ruled that the the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per the Turkish press law had expired and dismissed the case, P24 reported.
Concerning Berberoğlu’s file, the court ruled that there was no need to render a separate verdict on the charge of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” on the grounds of Berberoğlu’s previous conviction in another trial in relation to the same news report for “disclosing confidential information pertaining to the security of the state.” The court also lifted the international travel ban on Berberoğlu.
The retrial of Can Dündar, Cumhuriyet’s then editor-in-chief, on the charge of “disclosing confidential information for espionage purposes” over the same coverage in the newspaper also resumed on 15 May at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The court decided to wait for the response from German judicial authorities concerning Turkey’s extradition request for Dündar and adjourned the trial until 31 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://expressioninterrupted.com/tr/mit-tirlari-davasinda-erdem-gul-hakkindaki-suclama-dusuruldu/
https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/15/mit-tirlari-erdem-gul-hakkindaki-dava-dusuruldu/
https://tr.sputniknews.com/turkiye/201905151039059191-mit-tirlari-davasinda-erdem-gul-ve-enis-berberoglu-karari/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Reporter Soner Karabulut briefly detained” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]15 May 2019 – Journalist Soner Karabulut, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish online newspaper Gazete Fersude, was taken into custody on 14 May in Istanbul during house raids by the police, the website reported. The investigation was targeting members of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), the report said.
Karabulut and five others were referred to the Istanbul Courthouse on 15 May. The court released Karabulut and four ESP members under judicial control measures.
Link(s):
https://www.gazetefersude.com/istanbulda-ev-baskinlari-gazetemiz-muhabiri-soner-karabulut-dahil-4-kisi-gozaltinda-58248/
https://ilerihaber.org/icerik/gazete-fersude-muhabiri-soner-karabulut-gozaltina-alindi-97784.html
https://tihv.org.tr/16-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Evrensel editor-in-chief’s trial on ‘insulting the president’ charge adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]14 May 2019 – The second hearing in the trial of journalist Fatih Polat, the editor-in-chief of Evrensel daily, on the charge of “insulting the president” took place at the Bakırköy 31st Criminal Court of First Instance.
Polat is standing trial over his article titled “Erdoğan ailesiyle ilgili bu iddialara muhatapları ne diyor?” (What do those addressed say about these allegations concerning the Erdoğan family?), published in the newspaper on 28 May 2017.
An Istanbul court had ordered the column be removed from the Evrensel website. The newspaper’s lawyers objected to the court order, but their objection was rejected and the article was subsequently removed from the website. After the removal of the article, lawyers representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed a lawsuit against Polat for the column.
Lawyer Devrim Avcı submitted to the court the original news report published in the website theblacksea.eu, that was the source of Polat’s article, P24 reported. Avcı added that the news report was still accessible online.
Avcı also submitted to the court an expert opinion concerning Polat’s case that was penned by the London-based human rights organization Article 19. Avcı told the court that the expert opinion by Article 19 demonstrated that Craig Shaw’s news report, which Polat quoted in its entirety in his article, was nominated for the British Journalism Awards in England and the European Press Prize.
After accepting the documents submitted by the defense lawyers, the court ruled to send a memo to the Journalists’ Association of Turkey (TGC) and the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS), seeking their opinion about the website that was the source for Polat’s article and whether Craig Shaw, the author of the original article, is a journalist or not. The court then adjourned the trial until 17 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1128189606502047744
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379364/gazeteci-fatih-polat-malta-belgeleri-nedeniyle-hakim-karsisina-cikti
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-fatih-polatin-durusmasi-ertelendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences + Censorship (i)
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalists Zeynep Kuray, İrfan Tunççelik spend three days in custody for covering demonstrations” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]13 May 2019 – Journalist Zeynep Kuray and İrfan Tunççelik, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency (MA), were both taken into custody as they were covering demonstrations in Istanbul aimed at raising awareness of ongoing hunger strikes in Turkey’s prisons.
Kuray was arrested while she was covering a demonstration in the Spice Bazaar in the historic Eminönü quarter while Tunççelik was arrested as he was covering a demonstration in front of the Bakırköy Prison, online news website Artı Gerçek reported.
Both journalists were brought to the Istanbul Courthouse on 13 May. The prosecutor requested their imprisonment pending trial. The court released both journalists under judicial control measures.
Link(s):
https://www.artigercek.com/haberler/gazeteciler-zeynep-kuray-ve-irfan-tunccelik-gozaltina-alindi
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteciler-zeynep-kuray-ve-irfan-tunccelik-serbest-birakildi/
https://bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/208453-journalists-zeynep-kuray-and-irfan-tunccelik-released-on-probation
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Assaillants attack prominent columnist in front of his house” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]13 May 2019 – Journalist Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a prominent columnist for the nationalist Yeniçağ newspaper, suffered serious injuries from an attack in front of his house in Ankara.
The attack took place late in the evening hours of 10 May, as Demirağ was returning home after hosting a political show on a private TV broadcaster. The assailants, a group of seven men, fled the scene in a car after beating up Demirağ using baseball bats.
Demirağ was hospitalized by his relatives. Six people who were arrested during the week in connection with the attack were released after giving their statements before a prosecutor on 13 May.
Link(s):
https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/yavuz-selim-demiraga-alcak-saldiri-233723h.htm
https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/gazeteci-yavuz-selim-demirag-evinin-onunde-saldiriya-ugradi,7o-CIobc0kidXDs5hikGCw
https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/savciliktan-yavuz-selim-demiraga-saldiranlar-hakkinda-zoraki-islem-234370h.htm
https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/spor-aleti-51931yy.htm
Categories: Physical Assault / Injury
Source of violation: Unknown[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Canan Coşkun briefly detained over unpaid legal fine” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]11 May 2019 – Journalist Canan Coşkun was taken into custody late 10 May 2019 in Istanbul based on an arrest warrant, which came up during a police security check, DW reported.
It later became clear that the warrant had been issued because of an overdue legal fine of TL 12,600 handed down by the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance in a case where Coşkun was convicted of “insulting a public official” over a news story she penned in 2015 for the Cumhuriyet daily. The newspaper had failed to pay the amount after the ruling became definitive.
Coşkun spent the night at the police station. She was released the next day after the overdue fine was paid.
Link(s):
https://www.dw.com/tr/gazeteci-canan-co%C5%9Fkun-serbest-b%C4%B1rak%C4%B1ld%C4%B1/a-48700121
https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/11/canan-coskun-yazdi-nezarethaneden-izlenimler/
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/11/canan-coskun-serbest-birakildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”“KCK press trial” adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]9 May 2019 – The 16th hearing of the “KCK Press Trial,” where a total of 46 journalists and other media workers stand accused of “membership in a terrorist group” and “terrorism propaganda,” took place at the 3rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
None of the defendants were in attendance at the hearing and were represented by their lawyers, P24 reported.
The presiding judge announced during the hearing that a separate case file about one of the defendants, journalist Yüksel Genç, overseen by the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, was sent to the court with the request to merge the two files. However, the trial court rejected the request.
The court then adjourned the trial until 22 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126429796798431232
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/379064/kck-basin-davasi-goruldu-gazeteci-yuksel-gence-yeni-dava
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/kck-basin-davasi-gazeteci-yuksel-gence-yeni-dava-acilmis-bir-sonraki-durusma-ekimde/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Court announces deferred judgment about jailed journalist Yetkin Yıldız” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]9 May 2019 – A court in Ankara announced a judgment against jailed journalist Yetkin Yıldız that had been deferred, P24 reported.
The 35th Criminal Court of First Instance of Ankara had convicted Yıldız of “insult” in a case that had been filed in 2010 by a judge. The accusation stemmed from a news story published online in the news website Stratejik Boyut, where Yıldız was the chief editor. The 10-month sentence Yıldız was given at the time had been deferred by five years.
Yıldız later stood trial in a separate case on the charges of “insult” and “publicly inciting crime” over an article posted online on the news portal Aktif Haber, where he was chief editor during his five-year probation. Yıldız was also convicted in that case, overseen by the 1st Criminal Court of First Instance of Silivri.
Since he “committed a similar offense” during his five-year probation, the 35th Criminal Court of First Instance of Ankara announced its earlier judgment at the hearing on 9 May. The court suspended Yıldız’s sentence by 1 year.
Yıldız is currently imprisoned in the Silivri Prison in Istanbul. He was sentenced in 2018 to 7 years and 6 months in prison on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” as part of a major media trial where columnists Murat Aksoy and Atilla Taş were among his 25 co-defendants.
Link(s):
https://expressioninterrupted.com/tr/turkiyede-basin-ve-ifade-ozgurlugu-207/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trial of 7 journalists over 2016 news story adjourned until October” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – A trial where seven journalists and one other defendant are charged with “making those involved in combating terrorism a target” resumed at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.
The case was launched after a complaint from senior gendarmerie commander Maj. Gen. Musa Çitil, who was cited in the news report, published in February 2016 by the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA). The agency was closed down by a state of emergency decree in October 2016.
The defendants include Ömer Çelik, who was the news editor at DİHA at the time, DİHA reporters Çağdaş Kaplan, Hamza Gündüz and Selman Çiçek, journalist Abdulvahap Taş as well as the responsible editor and publisher of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür gündem, İnan Kızılkaya and Kemal Sancılı. Çiçek is additionally charged with “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” An eighth defendant, who is at large, is also cited in the indictment.
Sancılı, who is currently imprisoned in Edirne, addressed the court via the courtroom video-conferencing network. The rest of the defendants were not in attendance and were instead represented by their lawyers, P24 reported. This was the third hearing in the case.
In its interim ruling, the court decided to wait for the execution of the arrest warrant in place for the eighth defendant, Selim Günenç, and adjourned the trial until 2 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126007620534448129
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/musa-citilin-sikayetiyle-haklarinda-dava-acilan-yedi-gazetecinin-durusmasi-ertelendi-2/
https://tihv.org.tr/09-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Özgür Gündem trial adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – The trial of 23 former pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper’s editors and columnists, including Eren Keskin, Hüseyin Aykol, Reyhan Çapan, Filiz Koçali, Ayşe Berktay, Nuray Özdoğan, Celalettin Can, Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu, resumed at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. The 23 defendants are accused of “praising crime and criminals,” “inciting crime,” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” The newspaper was closed down on August 2016 by a state of emergency decree.
The prosecution reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted to the court on 26 October 2017. Lawyer Özcan Kılıç, who represents part of the defendants in the case, requested additional time for the final defense statements since the court has rejected his request at the previous hearing to merge this case with another ongoing trial against the newspaper. The court granted additional time for the defense statements and adjourned the trial until 21 May 2019 when the verdict is expected to be announced.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126074473092923392
https://t24.com.tr/haber/ozgur-gundem-davasi-21-mayis-a-ertelendi,820315
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378988/ozgur-gundem-davasi-21-mayisa-ertelendi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecutor seeks conviction for jailed journalist Mehmet Gündem” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]8 May 2019 – The fifth hearing in the trial of jailed journalist and columnist Mehmet Gündem on the charge of “terrorist group membership” took place at the 35th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
Gündem, who is in pre-trial detention in the Silivri Prison, was brought to the courtroom under the supervision of gendarmerie officers, P24 reported.
The prosecutor sought for Gündem’s conviction on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” according to the final opinion submitted to the court in between courtroom hearings.
Gündem’s lawyers requested additional time to prepare their final defense statements and asked for the journalist’s release from prison pending trial.
Ruling for the continuation of Gündem’s pre-trial detention, the court granted additional time to the defense and adjourned the trial until 29 May.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1126053682955603968
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court finds ‘no violations of rights’ in jailed journalists’ files” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court on 3 May rejected the individual application of jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, finding no rights violations in his file that had been pending before the court since November 2016. The court also rejected the application of Nazlı Ilıcak, Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case.
Altan and Ilıcak’s files were among 10 individual applications by journalists reviewed by the top court’s Plenary over two days, on 2 and 3 May.
The other applications were those filed on behalf of former Cumhuriyet staff members Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Bülent Utku and Önder Çelik, former Zaman columnist Ali Bulaç and journalist Murat Aksoy.
The Plenary concluded at the end of the morning session of Friday’s deliberations that there was “no rights violations” in Altan’s file, while it ruled in favor of Bulaç. Rendering its decision concerning Ilıcak’s application on Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Court rejected her application through a unanimous vote.
On Thursday, at the end of the first day of deliberations, the court ruled that Kadri Gürsel and Murat Aksoy’s rights to personal liberty and security had been violated, while it rejected the applications of former Cumhuriyet staffers Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Önder Çelik, Ahmet Şık and Bülent Utku. Both Gürsel and Aksoy, whose demands were accepted by the top court, have served their entire prison sentences. The others, however, have all prison time remaining on their sentence. Çelik and Utku, were recently sent back to prison to serve the remaining part of their sentences after those were uphold by an appellate court. Prison sentences against Atalay, Sabuncu, Şık being over 5 years will be further reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
The court rendered all decisions except for the one concerning Ilıcak’s file through a majority vote.
Link(s):
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/top-turkey-court-rejects-jailed-journalist-appeals-190503181911161.html
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-court-rejects-individual-appeals-of-sentenced-journalists-143145
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-highest-court-says-journalists-rights-violated
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”P24 Founding President Hasan Cemal convicted of “propaganda” over 2015 column” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – P24’s founding president and T24 columnist Hasan Cemal was given a prison sentence of 3 months and 22 days on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” on 7 May 2019.
Cemal was standing trial over an article he penned in 2015, titled “Silvan’dan: Bizi acılara ve ölümlere o kadar alıştırdılar ki…” (Silvan: They’ve inured us to pain and death).
This was the third hearing in the trial, overseen by the Istanbul 36th High Criminal Court. Hasan Cemal and his lawyer Fikret İlkiz were in attendance, P24 reported.
Addressing the court for his defense statement, Hasan Cemal rejected the accusation and asked to be acquitted.
After hearing the defense statements by Cemal and his lawyer, the court went on to issue its verdict, convicting Cemal of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group” and giving him 1 year, 6 months and 22 days in prison. The panel ruled for the sentence to be deducted from a previous sentence Cemal was given on the same charge by the 22th High Criminal Court of Istanbul. As a result, the court gave Cemal a prison sentence of 3 months and 22 days, which it then commuted to a judicial fine of TL 3,360.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125761094323245058
https://t24.com.tr/haber/hasan-cemal-75-yasinda-50-yillik-bir-gazeteci-olarak-teror-propagandasi-iddiasiyla-yargilanmam-turkiye-deki-buyuk-cokusun-gostergesi,820114
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/teror-orgutu-propagandasindan-ceza-41206770
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist Cansu Pişkin given 10-month prison term for news story” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – Journalist Cansu Pişkin was handed down a prison sentence on the charge of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target” over a news report published in 2018 in the Evrensel newspaper.
Pişkin and her lawyers Levent Pişkin, Devrim Avcı and Mustafa Söğütlü were in attendance at the 36th High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the third hearing of her trial, P24 reported. The hearing was monitored by representatives from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Press Institute (IPI), Article 19 and a number of academics and journalists.
Pişkin addressed the court and reiterated her previous defense statement saying that she did not write the news story for which she is accused with the intent to commit a crime but to inform the public.
Following the completion of the defense statements, the court issued its verdict, finding Pişkin guilty of “marking the identity of a state official assigned in the fight against terrorism as a target.” The court sentenced her to 10 months in prison and deferred the sentence.
A group of students from Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University were imprisoned in late March 2018 for staging an anti-war protest. In her news story published on 5 April 2018, Pişkin reported that the prosecutor assigned to the investigation concerning the Boğaziçi students on 3 April, the day on which the students were referred to court, had claimed in a previous indictment that the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) was a political party “operating under the guidance of a terrorist group.”
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125734034636722177
https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/07/gazeteci-cansu-piskine-10-ay-hapis-cezasi-verildi/
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378928/gazeteci-cansu-piskine-10-ay-hapis-cezasi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Prosecution seeks sentence for photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan on “propaganda” charge” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – The fifth hearing of the trial of photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan on the charges of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” took place at the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
Representatives from Article 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI) monitored the hearing, where Erdoğan and his lawyer Figen Albuga Çalıkuşu were in attendance, P24 reported.
The prosecution submitted their final opinion of the case during the hearing, seeking conviction for Erdoğan on the charge of “propaganda” as per Article 7/2 of Turkey’s anti-terror law (TMK). The prosecution requested Erdoğan’s acquittal for the “membership” charge.
Lawyer Çalıkuşu requested a continuance for Erdoğan’s final defense statement. Granting additional time for the defense, the court adjourned the trial until 13 June 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125726809637703682
https://tihv.org.tr/08-mayis-2019-gunluk-insan-haklari-raporu/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Kibriye Evren ordered to remain behind bars” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]7 May 2019 – The trial of jailed journalist Kibriye Evren on terrorism-related charges resumed at the 5th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır.
Evren, who is jailed in the Diyarbakır Prison, and has been on a hunger strike since 16 December 2018, did not attend the hearing, P24 reported. She was represented by her lawyers Pirozhan Karali and Resul Temur.The prosecution said they reiterated their final opinion of the case, submitted to the court on 16 April. The prosecutor also requested the continuation of Evren’s pre-trial detention.
Evren’s lawyer Temur requested additional time for Evren to make her final defense statement in person in the courtroom. He also requested his client’s release pending trial. In their interim decision, the court ruled to keep Evren in pre-trial detention and adjourned the trial until 18 July 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1125652925823508480
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/aclik-grevindeki-gazeteci-kibriye-evrene-yine-tahliye-yok/
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/07/gazeteci-evren-tahliye-edilmedi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Appellate court drops jail sentence given to Pelin Ünker in Paradise Papers case” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]6 May 2019 – An appellate court has overturned a jail sentence handed down in January to former Cumhuriyet daily reporter Pelin Ünker, Medyascope reported.
Ünker was given a 13-month prison sentence by the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul in a lawsuit filed by former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and his two sons over Ünker’s reporting on the “Paradise Papers” leaks.
According to the report, the appellate court ruled on 19 April for the conviction against Ünker in the case filed by Bülent and Erkam Yıldırım to be dropped because the four-month statute of limitations for pressing charges as per Article 26/1 of Turkey’s press law had expired.
The appellate court upheld the legal fine Ünker was given on the charge of “insulting a public official.” However, it ruled that the compensation Ünker was ordered to pay should be TL 7,080 instead of TL 8,660.
Link(s):
https://medyascope.tv/2019/05/06/paradise-papers-davasi-istinaf-mahkemesi-gazeteci-pelin-unkerin-hapis-cezasini-bozdu/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/istinaf-mahkemesi-gazeteci-pelin-unker-in-hapis-cezasini-bozdu,819926
http://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/208208-istinaf-mahkemesi-pelin-unker-in-hapis-cezasini-bozdu-para-cezasini-onadi
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mezopotamya Agency reporter Barış Polat released under judicial control measures” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]5 May 2019 – Barış Polat, an intern reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency, who was taken into custody on 3 May as he was covering a news story at the Şanlıurfa Courthouse, was released from custody on 5 May. Polat was taken to the courthouse following his questioning at the anti-terror branch of the Şanlıurfa Police Department. Polat was released under judicial control measures by the court he was referred to.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/56576?page=8
https://ozgurmanset.net/muhabirimiz-baris-polat-serbest-birakildi/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court finds ‘no violations of rights’ in jailed journalists’ files” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court on 3 May rejected the individual application of jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan, finding no rights violations in his file that had been pending before the court since November 2016. The court also rejected the application of Nazlı Ilıcak, Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case.
Altan and Ilıcak’s files were among 10 individual applications by journalists reviewed by the top court’s Plenary over two days, on 2 and 3 May.
The other applications were those filed on behalf of former Cumhuriyet staff members Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Bülent Utku and Önder Çelik, former Zaman columnist Ali Bulaç and journalist Murat Aksoy.
The Plenary concluded at the end of the morning session of Friday’s deliberations that there was “no rights violations” in Altan’s file, while it ruled in favor of Bulaç. Rendering its decision concerning Ilıcak’s application on Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Court rejected her application through a unanimous vote.
On Thursday, at the end of the first day of deliberations, the court ruled that Kadri Gürsel and Murat Aksoy’s rights to personal liberty and security had been violated, while it rejected the applications of former Cumhuriyet staffers Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Önder Çelik, Ahmet Şık and Bülent Utku. Both Gürsel and Aksoy, whose demands were accepted by the top court, have served their entire prison sentences. The others, however, have all prison time remaining on their sentence. Çelik and Utku, were recently sent back to prison to serve the remaining part of their sentences after those were uphold by an appellate court. Prison sentences against Atalay, Sabuncu, Şık being over 5 years will be further reviewed by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
The court rendered all decisions except for the one concerning Ilıcak’s file through a majority vote.
Link(s):
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/top-turkey-court-rejects-jailed-journalist-appeals-190503181911161.html
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-court-rejects-individual-appeals-of-sentenced-journalists-143145
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkeys-highest-court-says-journalists-rights-violated
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Mezopotamya news agency reporter Barış Polat taken into custody” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]3 May 2019 – Barış Polat, an intern reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, was taken into custody on 3 May at the entrance of the Şanlıurfa Courthouse, where he was covering a news story. Polat was detained on the grounds that he was taking photographs inside the courthouse, the agency reported.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi16.com/tum-haberler/content/view/56367
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/gazeteci-baris-polat-gozaltinda/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/mezopotamya-ajansi-muhabiri-baris-polat-gozaltina-alindi,819514
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Constitutional court rejects Ziya Ataman’s application” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled on the individual application of jailed reporter Ziya Ataman, online news website Gazete Karınca reported. The court rejected Ataman’s application, the report said, finding his claim that his right to personal liberty and security to be “ill-founded” and his claim that his right to a fair trial was violated inadmissible because “all legal remedies have not been exhausted.
Ataman, a reported for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which was closed down by a state of emergency decree in 2016, has been jailed for more than three years. The trial against him is ongoing in the southeastern province of Şırnak.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/05/aymden-tutuklu-gazeteci-ataman-icin-yapilan-basvuruya-ret/
https://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/208071-anayasa-mahkemesi-gazeteci-ziya-ataman-in-basvurusunu-reddetti
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/02/anayasa-mahkemesi-gazeteci-ziya-atamanin-basvurusunu-reddetti/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Former TV10 staff members’ trial adjourned” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – The second hearing of the trial of two former employees of the shuttered TV station TV10, camera operator Kemal Demir and staff member Kemal Karagöz, took place in Istanbul. Both Demir and Karagöz are charged with “membership in a terrorist group” in the case, overseen by the 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
Demir and Karagöz were taken into custody in December 2017. At the end of the detention period, Demir was jailed pending trial while Karagöz was released under judicial control measures. The first hearing of their trial took place on 3 July 2018, but the 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul ruled at the end of the hearing to send the case file to a criminal court in the southern city of Mersin on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction over the case. However, the Mersin court also ruled that it had no jurisdiction and the case file ended up at the Supreme Court of Appeals, which ruled that the original trial court had jurisdiction. The 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, reevaluating the case file after the Supreme Court of Appeals’ decision, ruled on 8 February 2019 for Demir’s release pending trial.
The second hearing, where both Demir and Karagöz were in attendance, was monitored by Rebecca Harms, a German Member of the European Parliament (MEP), and International Press Institute (IPI).
In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for the continuation of Demir’s travel ban while lifting the judicial control measure imposed on Karagöz, P24 reported. The court granted both defendants exemption from personal appearance in the courtroom and adjourned the trial until 10 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123847116370083841
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/378639/tv10-calisanlarinin-yargilandigi-dava-10-eylule-ertelendi
https://www.pirha.net/tv10-calisanlari-demir-ve-karagozun-durusmasi-10-eylule-ertelendi-video-170575.html/02/05/2019/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”“Bakur trial” adjourned until July” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]2 May 2019 – A trial where journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and filmmaker Çayan Demirel are charged with “propaganda” for a documentary they co-directed titled Bakur (“Nort”h in Kurdish) resumed in the southeastern city of Batman.
Both Mavioğlu and Demirel, as well as their lawyers, were in attendance at the sixth hearing in the trial overseen by the 2nd High Criminal Court of Batman. MPs Ayşe Acar Başaran and Ahmet Şık, representatives from the Association of Documentary Filmmakers of Turkey, journalists from the Altyazı film magazine, academics, filmmakers and stage actors were among those who came to Kurdish city to observe the hearing and lend support to Mavioğlu and Demirel.
At the beginning of the hearing, the judges announced that it had recently come to their attention that a separate criminal investigation into Mavioğlu on the charge of “propaganda” was under way in Ankara, P24 reported.
In their interim decision, the court ruled to inquire of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about the investigation into Mavioğlu and ask for a copy of the investigation file. The court also decided to grant additional time to the defendants for their statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion of the case and adjourned the trial until 18 July, when a verdict is expected.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1123902975804678144
http://susma24.com/bakur-davasi-18-temmuza-ertelendi/
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/05/02/bakur-durusmasi-temmuza-kaldi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial[/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:1560520560729-052775e3-ee0d-1″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
01 May 19
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” full_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1556705695442{background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/investigative-journalism-cover-2480.png?id=104855) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: contain !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Targeting the messenger: Investigative journalists under extreme pressure” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”There is a distinct lack of awareness among decision makers about how bad the situation is for journalists reporting on corruption” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]What do criminals, corrupt corporations and crooked politicians have in common? They all fear investigative journalists, whose job is to expose wrongdoing and hypocrisy by holding the powerful to account.
From the groundbreaking UK-based Bellingcat and the well-regarded multi-national Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, to the uncovering of the Panama and Paradise Papers, the dogged reporting and dedication of investigative journalists is clear. Yet these success stories mask the encroaching pressures that threaten to undermine efforts to expose the corruption eating at the foundations of European democracy.
For their work, investigative reporters have come under threat from multiple sources with the shared aim of stopping information that’s in the public interest from coming to light. Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project, which monitors violations against media professionals throughout Europe, recorded 206 cases of investigative journalists in the 35 countries that are in or affiliated with the European Union (EU35) being targeted in their line of work between 1 May 2014 and 31 December 2018. An additional 77 reports from EU35 showed media workers other than investigative journalists being targeted for their role in reporting on corruption.
Under-financing and business models that don’t offer proper support are major problems for investigative journalism in general, but Mapping Media Freedom has also uncovered a litany of methods that have been employed as a direct means to censor journalists, including intimidation (96 instances), defamation (53), laws or court orders curtailing media outlets or workers (48), psychological abuse (35) and blocked access (48). Media workers were also physically attacked on 27 occasions and had their property attacked on 28. Civil lawsuits were taken against journalists on 27 occasions, and criminal charges were brought against journalists on 23.
The country with the largest share of reports was Italy (40), followed by Hungary (25), Serbia (24), France (19) and Turkey (18). “In these five years in Italy, investigative journalism has become increasingly risky, both for journalists themselves and for the media,” Alberto Spampinato, the director of Ossigeno per l’informazione, an Italian press freedom monitor, told Mapping Media Freedom.
Violations of media freedom regarding investigative journalists and those reporting on corruption reported to Mapping Media Freedom per annum went from a low in 2014 of 38, to a high of 75 in 2018 (2015: 51; 2016: 61; 2017: 58).
Mapping Media Freedom’s numbers reflect only what has been reported to the platform. We have found that journalists under-report incidents they consider minor, commonplace or part of the job, or where they fear reprisals. In some cases, Mapping Media Freedom correspondents have identified incidents retrospectively as a result of comments on social media or reports appearing only after similar incidents have come to light.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”106538″ img_size=”full”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-file-pdf-o” color=”black” background_style=”rounded” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”A crisis for journalism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Anuška Delić, a Slovenian OCCRP editor who founded Oštro, a centre for investigative journalism in the Adriatic region, told Mapping Media Freedom that there was a distinct lack of awareness among international and national decision makers about how bad the situation was across Europe for journalists reporting on corruption. “It is usually independent media or journalism centres that are investigating corruption,” Delić said.
Delić pointed out that most corruption reporting did not take place in the mainstream media, except in France, Germany and Scandinavia, where journalism had a better standing. Independent and non-profit media outlets were among the most vulnerable to financial pressures and the target of frequent threats, whether in terms of staff safety or lawsuits. She warned that more EU member states – Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and, to an extent, Slovakia, Italy and Austria – were failing to live up to democratic standards. Delić said there had been a failure at the European Union level to realise freedom of the press did not actually exist in those nations: “How many journalists have to die before we realise something is wrong?”
After spending 13 years working for Delo, Slovenia’s largest newspaper, Delić said she had to leave her position after a new editor-in-chief, “who wanted only to do PR for the owner”, took charge. This change of editorial direction left Slovenia with a lack of outlets where journalists could report on corruption, and exacerbated the low level of funding for investigative centres such as Oštro, which aims to carry out the investigative role that mainstream media used to fulfil.
Independent media outlets that engage in investigative journalism are also under pressure in Malta, independent political blogger Manuel Delia told Mapping Media Freedom. “A big chunk of the media is owned by political parties. We have a two-party system and a heavily polarised society,” he said.
Delia said that since 1990, Malta’s two big political parties – the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party – have each owned newspapers and television stations, giving “two contradictory visions of reality”. Maltese people, he said, assumed that journalists in the island nation represented and spoke for political interests. “This makes independent journalism really difficult.”
Bulgaria’s media, according to Bivol investigative journalist Atanas Tchobanov, operates in a toxic environment, with most outlets controlled by the Bulgarian government or business interests closely aligned with the country’s politicians. Mediapool journalist Polina Paunova agrees, saying that the Bulgarian media has either been bought by businessman Delyan Peevski, who is also a National Assembly member, or is “under his covert influence”.
Media concentration has become a growing issue for journalists across EU35, notably in Hungary.
Serbia is one of the worst countries in EU35 for freedom for investigative journalists. “Even if there are good media and investigative journalists, for example BIRN, KRIK, CINS, Insajder and others, the situation is very bad,” Chiara Sighele, project director for the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa, told Mapping Media Freedom. “You have the big power of the mainstream tabloids and mainstream TV programmes, and it’s hard to challenge this power with investigative stories.”
“We have to consider the cost of investigative journalism, in a country where national television and most of the media are completely controlled through the advertising market by the political party in power,” Sighele added.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Dark new trend” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”100187″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”98320″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”103114″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]The assassination of independent Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb on 16 October 2017 marked a dark new trend emerging in the EU35: the murder of three investigative journalists in less than 12 months. Caruana Galizia’s death was followed by the murder of Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová on 26 February 2018, and the rape and murder of Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova on 6 October 2018. Authorities say Marinova’s death is not connected to her being a journalist, a claim some colleagues have disputed.
There is a marked contrast in the reactions to the deaths of Caruana Galizia and Kuciak in Malta and Slovakia. In Slovakia, Kuciak’s death acted as a tipping point, prompting mass protests and causing politicians to resign. The culture minister stepped down following the murder and later left the ruling party.
“Kuciak’s death changed everything, and it feels that until the next presidential elections, in March 2019, we’re going to be in limbo,” said Slovak journalist Michaela Terenzani, editor-in-chief of The Slovak Spectator. She added that the widespread coverage of the murder, coupled with the public outrage, have created an atmosphere that has encouraged more journalists to dig into allegations of corruption.
“After Kuciak’s killing, the atmosphere was one of co-operation between journalists who published joint investigative reports,” Terenzani added. “They have kept reporting on new scandals linked to the government.”
In Malta, Caruana Galizia’s death was received differently. Delia said: “Our culture minister had been marching in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo murders but after Caruana Galizia was murdered he went to Dubai to sell passports. The government was intent on demonstrating it was business as usual.”
Delia thinks the country is so polarised that only a small part of the Maltese population has been impacted by the journalist’s death.
Impunity is a major problem in the murder of journalists, and not just for those who carry out the crime. Times of Maltajournalist Ivan Camilleri told Mapping Media Freedom: “I think there was a genuine effort to solve [Caruana Galizia’s] murder. I don’t think there was a genuine effort to find who commissioned it.”
Regarding Marinova’s murder, Tchobanov recently told OCCRP that corruption was rife within the police and the judicial system in Bulgaria, pointing at inconsistencies within the current state of the investigation. “If [evidence] disappears, it can also appear to promote a version the authorities like. They have been lying to cover sensitive affairs. Why should we trust their words now?”
The man arrested in relation with Marinova’s murder said he regretted killing her and didn’t remember exactly what had happened. Paunova had a different perspective. “Because of the polarisation of the Bulgarian society at the beginning of Marinova’s case, some of the citizens declared that she was a victim of her work and another part categorically denied that it was possible. That’s why the impression of something hidden was created. Most evidence suggests that the brutal death of Marinova has no connection with her job. But the court will be the judge of this.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Physical assaults” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]In the incidents surveyed for this report, Mapping Media Freedom recorded 28 incidents in which investigative journalists or those media workers reporting on corruption were physically assaulted across 12 countries. Italy was the country with the most reports of physical assaults (6), followed by Croatia (5) and Kosovo (4).
“Threats of aggression and violent acts against investigative journalists seem to be more and more common,” Mehmet Koksal, project officer for the European Federation of Journalists, the European regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists, the global union federation of journalists’ trade unions, told Mapping Media Freedom.
On 23 March 2017 freelance journalist Stefano Andreone was beaten by three men in a bar in Cardito, in the province of Naples, Italy. Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana, the unitary trade union of the Italian journalists, linked the violence to a website Andreone created and manages, which published allegations of corruption on exhumations in the local cemetery. Andreone had to receive emergency care in the hospital of Frattamaggiore.
“With its continuous monitoring Ossigeno keeps the focus on threats and reprisals against journalists,” Spampinato said. “This attention is already in itself a system of protection for reporters.”[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Threats and intimidation” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]“The Council of Europe study on self-censorship among journalists has shown that the main form of pressure is ‘psychological violence’, which is mainly visible by intimidation used by public authorities which has a clear chilling effects on media freedom. We are convinced that many investigative journalists are the target of this type of bullying,” Koksal said.
Between 1 May 2014 and 31 December 2018, Mapping Media Freedom recorded 34 instances of psychological abuse, including verbal harassment, offline bullying, and 96 instances of intimidation, where a media worker is menaced as a result of their work.
Such violations are a major problem in Bulgaria. “Pressure we face ranges from calls demanding we change an article to physical threats,” Tchobanov said. He added that staffers had been subjected to death threats, which they reported to authorities, international organisations and local unions, but “nobody is protecting us”.
The threats against Bivol are wide ranging, from when staffers were informed in June 2015 that an attack was being planned against them to December 2016 when journalist Dimitar Stoyanov received threats both in the run-up to and after publishing several major investigative reports about alleged embezzlement of public funds with links between Bulgarian government officials and criminal groups. “The worst is when they threaten to ‘remove you’,” Tchobanov said, referring to implied death threats. Paradoxically, the staff at Bivol have used these incidents to reinvigorate their investigations, engaging in a new strategy that Tchobanov jokingly calls “publish or perish”.
“The future is very uncertain,” Spampinato told Mapping Media Freedom. Although there have been threats to remove protection from Italian investigative journalist Roberto Saviano — who has received death threats for his reporting of the Italian mafia — following an argument with Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, thankfully no such action has been taken so far, Spampinato added. “The Italian protection system remains the best among all the known systems.”[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Legal measures” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]For journalists reporting on corruption, the threat of legal action is a very serious one, which impacts what one is able to write, particularly for investigative centres with limited resources. Rubino, who recently worked on the CumEx file investigation into a tax fraud scheme discovered in 2017, said: “There are many things we weren’t able to report because there was no ongoing criminal investigation, only an administrative one, and we didn’t want to be sued because that’s automatically thousands of euros spent in legal fees.”
“Reporting on the use of European funds in Bulgaria is important, and it’s important to do it across borders,” said Tchobanov. “We are trying to find patterns and to push the authorities to investigate. The Bulgarian prosecution office is currently investigating only 0.04 per cent of the €5 billion which has been allocated by the European Commission to Bulgaria.”
Delia spoke of a similar pattern in Malta. “Although there are revelations in the press, they have no effect. This increases the vulnerability of journalists who are then portrayed as obsessive crusaders.” In Malta, repeated defamation lawsuits were filed against Caruana Galizia, who had pursued corrupt businesses and politicians as part of her investigative work, prior to her murder. On 21 February 2017 Maltese government minister Chris Cardona and his policy aide Joseph Gerada posted public messages on Twitter taunting reporter Mario Frendo about court action they planned to take against him.
Malta’s investigative journalists have also been ostracised and vilified. Politicians and businesses use lawsuits, public relations and innuendo to ridicule and sow doubt about reportage, as highlighted in the summer 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine.
Tchobanov cited audits by tax authorities, something that repeatedly happened to Serbian newspaper Juzne Vesti, as a tactic employed by politicians to retaliate against news outlets. In Bulgaria, authorities froze the assets of Ivo Prokopiev, who publishes the newspapers Capital and Dnevnik. “All the power of the state is used against free media publishers,” Paunova told Mapping Media Freedom.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Arrest and detention” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Between May 2014 and December 2018, Mapping Media Freedom recorded 17 instances of arrest or detention against investigative journalists. At 7am on 31 August 2018, armed police in boiler suits arrived at the home of Belfast-based award-winning journalist Barry McCaffrey with a search warrant. McCaffrey is the reporter behind Alex Gibney’s 2017 documentary about the 1994 Loughinisland pub massacre during the Northern Irish Troubles, No Stone Unturned. At the same time, around 30 armed police arrived at the home of Trevor Birney, the producer of No Stone Unturned, and confiscated items, including a broken pink phone.
Both men were arrested. The journalists were told that “on October 4th, 2017, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland reported the theft of two ‘secret’ documents from their offices”. The arrests, they were told, were in connection with suspicion of theft, the handling of stolen goods, the unlawful disclosure of information and the unlawful obtainment of personal data. It later transpired that the Ombudsman for Northern Ireland had made no such complaint about the work of the journalists.
“The Loughinisland massacre was one of the most traumatic events in the history of the Troubles. The investigative work of Birney, McCaffrey and Fine Point Productions was a textbook example of public interest journalism, raising fundamental investigations into the police investigation, proving police collusion and taking risks within a dangerous environment, legally and otherwise, by naming suspects,” Séamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, a trade union for journalists in the UK and Ireland, told Mapping Media Freedom. “The arrests, the disproportionate use of police power and the flawed legal process serve to undermine the work of the journalists involved and, importantly as a deterrent to other journalists.”
“Given the legacy of the Troubles there are a number of journalists and film production companies who may be deterred by the legal barriers now confronting Barry and Trevor,” Dooley added. “The abuse of process and the use of judicial procedures by the PSNI in these circumstances shows that in Northern Ireland there is a grave lack of respect for journalists or journalism.”[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Access to information” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Investigative journalists working across EU35 highlight the difficulties in accessing information. Camilleri routinely uses Freedom of Information requests. “There are clearly attempts from the government to make matters take longer,” he said. “The government is not friendly with the independent media at all. The office of the PM employs five to six people, all former Labour employees, who are supposed to answer the media but don’t. They act as gatekeepers. I send questions. They never answer.”
In January 2016 a journalist was prohibited from entering the Maltese Lands Authority offices where he was planning to check records for an investigation into allegations of corruption against the government agency.
Tchobanov told Mapping Media Freedom: “The main difficulty is access to information. Bulgarian and European authorities are very secretive.” Bivol journalists have requested details on Bulgarian officials in receipt of EU funds only to receive incomplete and some incorrect data, which left them unable to properly track the money. Tchobanov added that the publication has to “fight with Bulgarian and Brussels authorities” to get information, often to no avail.
Dragging their feet on FOI requests isn’t the only tactic Bulgarian authorities use to throw up barriers to investigations into corruption. In December 2016 Bivol journalist Dimitar Stoyanov received threats after reporting on alleged corruption, embezzlement of public funds and links between Bulgarian officials and criminals. In September 2018two journalists were arrested after filming people burning documents in a field while conducting an investigation into alleged fraud involving EU funds.
“Investigative journalists [in Serbia] are facing difficulties despite a very good law on access to information: the major institutions do not give them access to the most relevant documents,” Sighele said. “The main problem in Serbia is the current regime leaded by the president Aleksandar Vučić, who is trying to silence the non-aligned media and to minimize the role of the investigative journalism.”[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Denigration of journalists” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Journalists are at risk of slander from politicians in Malta and Bulgaria especially and, to a lesser extent, in Slovakia. In Malta, Delia said he had been portrayed “as a traitor by the Labour party press”.
Official willingness to discredit and defame journalists is a Europe-wide phenomenon, but one that is especially acute for independent media outlets that specialise in investigative journalism into official corruption. Politicians at all levels of national and local governments have used their platform to smear journalists and their outlets to undermine often embarrassing revelations. In Bulgaria, this trend has seen journalists, journalist groups and unions labeled foreign agents, manipulators and, in the case of the Association of European Journalists — Bulgaria, “scum” and “paid urinals”.
In July 2018 Tchobanov was insulted on Facebook by a Bulgarian MEP Nikolay Barekov, who was under investigation by Bivol. In 2015 Bivol was the target of a smear campaign in mainstream media outlets that appeared to be prompted by investigations into alleged draining of cash from a Bulgarian bank through offshore companies, and abuse of European Union funds, which implicated several bankers and politicians, including the media mogul and lawmaker Peevski.
Terenzani said Slovakia has seen incidents of politicians denigrating journalists. “The leader of the ruling party is saying horrible things about journalists constantly. Everything we know about the murder [of Ján Kuciak] suggests that politicians are responsible at some level, because of the atmosphere they have created.”[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What should be done?” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]Mapping Media Freedom’s report into the targeting of investigative journalism highlights issues affecting the accurate reporting of issues that are in the public interest to know. What should be done to reverse this dangerous trend and to make investigative journalism safer?
Index on Censorship first and foremost recommends that all charges against investigative journalists who have been arrested, imprisoned or who are facing legal action must be dropped. Laws designed to impinge on the work of investigative journalists must be reconsidered, and stronger provisions put in place so the right to access to information is respected.
“It is necessary to change some legislation but the political will to do it is lacking,” Spampinato told Mapping Media Freedom. “It is also necessary that journalists and publishers join forces to tackle problems together and reduce the most frequent risks.”
“States should facilitate the work of investigative journalists by strengthening legal protections: decriminalisation of defamation; legal protection of journalistic sources; laws guaranteeing access to public data; transparency laws; legal protection of whistleblowers,” Koksal told Mapping Media Freedom “It is the responsibility of states to guarantee an environment that favours the work of investigative journalists.”
Koksal added that the public, either through public or financial support, can play a big role in improving conditions for investigative journalists. “Journalism is a public good and should be considered as an act on behalf of the public’s right to access information,” he said.
According to NUJ’s Dooley and Koksal, membership of a trade union or professional association feel better supported when facing pressure. “It is the duty of journalists’ organisations to provide effective support, which starts with the public reporting of threats and the provision of concrete support (legal aid, financial assistance, etc.) to investigative journalists under threat,” Koksal added.
The NUJ has been working alongside investigative journalists who face difficulty in the UK and Ireland, such as Birney and McCaffrey, as well as showing solidarity with journalists facing difficulty elsewhere, including Bulgaria and Turkey, which Dooley said are countries of “profound concern”.
Finally, governments must respect the right of journalists to protect confidential information and sources. This is vital, especially in cases involving whistleblowing in the public interest.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
About this report
This report is part of a series based on data submitted to Mapping Media Freedom. This report reviewed 283 incidents involving investigative journalists from the 35 countries in or affiliated with the European Union between 1 May 2014 and 31 December 2018.
Mapping Media Freedom identifies threats, violations and limitations faced by media workers in 43 countries — throughout European Union member states, candidates for entry and neighbouring countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission and managed by Index on Censorship as part of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).
Index on Censorship is a UK-based nonprofit that campaigns against censorship and promotes freedom of expression worldwide. Founded in 1972, Index has published some of the world’s leading writers and artists in its award-winning quarterly magazine, including Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Samuel Beckett and Kurt Vonnegut. Index promotes debate, monitors threats to free speech and supports individuals through its annual awards and fellowship program.
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Acknowledgements
AUTHORS Valeria Costa-Kostritsky and Ryan McChrystal
EDITING Adam Aiken, Sean Gallagher and Jodie Ginsberg with contributions by Joy Hyvarinen, Paula Kennedy and Mapping Media Freedom correspondents: João de Almeida Dias, Adriana Borowicz, Ilcho Cvetanoski, Jonas Elvander, Amanda Ferguson, Dominic Hinde, Investigative Reporting Project Italy, Linas Jegelevicius, Juris Kaza, David Kraft, Lazara Marinkovic, Fatjona Mejdini, Mitra Nazar, Silvia Nortes, Platform for Independent Journalism (P24), Katariina Salomaki, Zoltan Sipos, Michaela Terenzani, Pavel Theiner, Helle Tiikmaa, Christina Vasilaki, Lisa Weinberger
DESIGN Matthew Hasteley
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SUBSCRIBE NOW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]Music has long been a form of popular rebellion, especially in the 21st century. These songs, provide a theme tune to the new magazine and give insight into everything from the nationalism in Viktor Orban’s Hungary to the role of government-controlled social media in China to poverty in Venezuela