04 Jul 19 | Turkey, Turkey Incident Reports
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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=”30 Incidents” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Five newspaper staff convicted in Özgürlükçü Demokrasi trial
28 June 2019 – The final hearing in the trial of 14 staff members of the shuttered newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi on terrorism-related charges took place at the 23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
The newspaper’s editors Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Reyhan Hacıoğlu and publisher İhsan Yaşar have been in pre-trial detention as part of the case since April 2018. All 14 defendants in the case were accused of “membership in a terrorist group,” “publishing statements by terrorist groups” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.” The pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgürlükçü Demokrasi was founded from the ashes of Özgür Gündem, which was closed on August 2016 by a state of emergency decree. But Özgürlükçü Demokrasi’s headquarters was raided by the police in March 2017 and the newspaper was also closed down shortly thereafter by decree.
At the end of the hearing, the court convicted journalists Hicran Urun, Reyhan Hacıoğlu and İshak Yasul of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” and gave each a prison term of 3 years, 1 month and 15 days. Yasul was also given an additional sentence of 1 year, 6 months and 22 days on the charge of “propaganda.” Mehmet Ali Çelebi was also convicted of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” and given a prison sentence of 3 years and 9 months.
The court ruled to release Hacıoğlu, Çelebi and Yaşar pending the appeal process in view of the jail time they spent in pre-trial detention. However, Çelebi was not expected to be released immediately because of a previous conviction in another case.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1144570016664301568
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/382078/ozgurlukcu-demokrasi-gazetesi-davasinda-14-yil-ceza
https://t24.com.tr/haber/ozgurlukcu-demokrasi-gazetesi-davasinda-5-kisiye-14-yil-ceza,828162
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Sendika.Org editor Ali Ergin Demirhan briefly detained
28 June 2019 – Sendika.Org editor Ali Ergin Demirhan was taken into custody in Istanbul during a security check by the police, the journalist said via his Twitter account. Demirhan was taken to the Aksaray Police Station. The grounds for his arrest was an ongoing investigation on the allegation that Demirhan “insulted the president” on social media. Demirhan was released after giving his statement at the Istanbul Courthouse.
Link(s):
http://sendika63.org/2019/06/sendika-org-editoru-ali-ergin-demirhan-serbest-birakildi-3-552999/
https://t24.com.tr/haber/sendika-org-editoru-ali-ergin-demirhan-serbest-birakildi,828273
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/gazeteci-ali-ergin-demirhan-serbest-birakildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Haydar Ergül’s trial adjourned until December
28 June 2019 – The trial of Haydar Ergül, the editor of the periodical Demokratik Modernite, and 18 others on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” resumed at the 22nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported. This was the ninth hearing in the case. The court ruled to release detained defendants Eşref Yaşar, Ayşegül Turhan, Mustafa Elma, Münevver İlingi and Aysel Diler and adjourned the trial until 26 December 2019.
Link(s):
https://medyavehukuk.org/tr/haydar-ergulun-de-yargilandigi-davada-5-tutuklu-saniga-tahliye
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Constitutional Court rules for rights violation in Deniz Yücel’s application
28 June 2019 – The Constitutional Court issued its judgment concerning the application on behalf of journalist Deniz Yücel, the former Turkey correspondent of the German newspaper Die Welt, who remained in pre-trial detention in Turkey for a year before being released by the trial court’s decision in February 2018.
In its judgment, dated 28 May 2019 and made public on 28 June 2019 on the court’s official website, the court’s Second Section ruled that Yücel’s pre-trial detention violated his rights to personal liberty and security, enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution, and the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, enshrined in Articles 26 and 28.
Link(s):
https://medyascope.tv/2019/06/28/anayasa-mahkemesinden-deniz-yucel-karari-ifade-ve-basin-ozgurlugu-ozgurluk-ve-guvenlik-hakki-ihlal-edildi/
https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/aymden-deniz-yucel-karari,A8Ilp95lxUiVlErRyXKAJw
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/aymden-gazeteci-deniz-yucel-icin-hak-ihlali-karari/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Turkish Constitutional Court issues judgments in Ahmet Altan case and 13 others
26 June 2019 – The Constitutional Court’s Plenary has issued the judgments concerning its 3 May 2019 decisions, in which it rejected the individual applications filed on behalf of jailed journalists Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak and former Cumhuriyet staff members including Murat Sabuncu and Ahmet Şık.
All nine applications, filed in 2016 and 2017, asserted that the applicants’ arrests violated their rights to liberty and security and freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
The top court’s judgments were published on 26 June 2019 on the court’s official website. The judgments concerning the rejected applications said, in a nutshell, that “the assessments made by the investigation authorities and the decisions rendered by the courts that ruled for [the journalists’] arrests could not be deemed as ‘arbitrary and baseless’.”
In Ahmet Altan’s application, the President of the Constitutional Court Zühtü Arslan, Vice President Engin Yıldırım and three other justices disagreed with the majority opinion. All five judges were of the opinion that Altan’s arrest violated his rights to liberty and security and freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
At the end of two days of deliberations on 2 and 3 May, the Constitutional Court’s Plenary had rejected the applications of Ahmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, who is Altan’s co-defendant in the “coup” case, Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık and six former Cumhuriyet Foundation executives, including Önder Çelik and Musa Kart. The judgments issued on 26 June revealed that the Plenary had ruled that Ahmet Şık’s application was “inadmissible.”
The top court had found rights violations in the files of journalists Kadri Gürsel, Murat Aksoy and Ali Bulaç.
Link(s):
https://t24.com.tr/haber/aym-nin-9-gazeteci-hakkindaki-gerekceli-kararinda-sosyal-medya-paylasimlari-da-suc-sayildi,827859
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/381956/aymnin-gazetecilerle-ilgili-ihlal-kararlarinin-gerekceleri-belli-oldu
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/26/aym-tutuklu-gazeteciler-icin-ret-gerekcesini-acikladi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Prosecutor seeks up to 15 years of jail for Jin News reporter
26 June 2019 – The second hearing in a trial where journalist Gazeteci Beritan Canözer is accused of “membership in a terrorist group” took place at the 9th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, Mezopotamya Agency reported.
Canözer and her lawyer Resul Tamur were in attendance in the courtroom. Statements by witnesses who testified against Canözer were first read out during the hearing. Addressing the court afterwards, Canözer rejected the accusations in the witness testimonies and told the court that she was a journalist and was only doing her job.
The prosecution then went on to submit their final opinion of the case, seeking up to 15 years in prison for Canözer on the charge of “membership in a terrorist group” based on testimony by four witnesses.
Accepting Canözer’s request for additional time to prepare her defense statement in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, the court adjourned the trial until October.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/61757?page=2
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/381908/gazeteci-beritan-canozerin-7-5-yildan-15-yila-kadar-hapsi-isteniyor
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/26/beritan-canozere-15-yila-kadar-ceza-istendi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Ahmet Altan’s trial over 2009 column adjourned until September
25 June 2019 – The third hearing in a trial where jailed novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan is accused over a column he penned in 2009 in the now-defunct Taraf daily took place at the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul’s Anatolian Courthouse, P24 reported.
Altan is accused of “attempting to influence a fair trial” and “violating the confidentiality of an investigation” in the case, filed upon a complaint by former Sakarya Chief of Police Faruk Ünsal.
Addressed the court from the Silivri Prison where he remains jailed since September 2016, Altan requested to be acquitted. In its interim ruling, the court decided to ask the 1st Civil Court of First Instance of Ankara, which initially dismissed the compensation case, for the original case file, and adjourned the trial until 5 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/ExInt24/status/1143469315854929920
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist and union activist Boltan faces “insulting the president” charge
21 June 2019 – The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has pressed charges against Hakkı Boltan, the spokesperson of the Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGİ),online news website Gazete Karınca reported. Boltan faces trial on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public official.”
The indictment accuses Boltan for his remarks in a public statement he delivered in Kurdish concerning Azadiya Welat newspaper’s former managing editor Rohat Aktaş, who was murdered in the basement of a building in Cizre in 2016. Boltan faces a combined prison term of up to 6 years on both charges.
The first hearing of Boltan’s trial will take place on 14 November 2019 at 12th Criminal Court of First Instance of Diyarbakır.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/ozgur-gazeteciler-inisiyatifi-sozcusune-cumhurbaskanina-hakaret-davasi/
https://www.jiyanhaber.net/ozgur-gazeteciler-inisiyatifi-sozcusu-hakki-boltan-hakkinda-dava-acildi/
http://www.dusun-think.net/haberler/ozgur-gazeteciler-inisiyatifi-sozcusune-erdogana-hakaret-davasi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Prosecutor seeks jail term for Yeni Yaşam managing director
20 June 2019 – Journalist Osman Akın, the responsible managing editor of the pro-Kurdish Yeni Yaşam newspaper, appeared in an Istanbul court for the first hearing of his trial on the charge of “successively disseminating terrorist propaganda.” Yeni Yaşam was launched a few months after Özgürlükçü Demokrasi was raided by the police in March 2018 and officially closed down by decree a few weeks later.
Akın is accused over the newspaper’s coverage of the recent hunger strikes in prisons, P24 reported. He attended the hearing at the 28th High Criminal Court of Istanbul with his lawyer Özcan Kılıç. Addressing the court for his defense statement, Akın denied the allegations and requested to be acquitted.
The prosecutor requested Akın to be sentenced for “systematically disseminating propaganda” based on two news reports. Granting the defense more time to prepare their statements, the court adjourned the trial until 22 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1141671477080657920
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/yeni-yasamin-yazi-isleri-mudurune-ilk-durusmada-ceza-talebi/
http://yeniyasamgazetesi1.com/yazi-isleri-mudurumuze-ilk-durusmada-ceza-talebi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Canan Coşkun acquitted in “insult” case
20 June 2019 – Journalist Canan Coşkun appeared before the 40th Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul in the second hearing of her trial on the charge of “insulting the president,” P24 reported.
Coşkun, a former reporter with the Cumhuriyet daily, was on trial for a news story dated 27 November 2015, titled “Erdoğan buyurdu, gazetecilik tutuklandı” (Erdoğan ordered, journalism got arrested), in which she reported about the arrests of Cumhuriyet’s former Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and Ankara representative Erdem Gül.
Coşkun’s lawyer Abbas Yalçın stressed that the case was filed more than two years after the news story was published and requested her acquittal.
Issuing its verdict at the end of the hearing, the court ruled for Coşkun’s acquittal.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1019619106704764929
https://bianet.org/bianet/ifade-ozgurlugu/209557-cumhurbaskanina-hakaret-ten-yargilanan-gazeteci-canan-coskun-beraat-etti
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/gazeteci-coskun-cumhurbaskanina-hakaretten-beraat-etti/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Detained ETHA employees released
19 June 2019 – Five employees of the Etkin news agency (ETHA), who were taken into custody on 15 June as part of an investigation into a supplement issued by the weekly newspaper Atılım, have been released under judicial control measures, Mezopotamya Agency reported.
The five ETHA employees were among a group of 14 people that also included administrators from the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), who were arrested as part of the investigation. All 14, who were taken into custody on the allegation of “inciting the public to hatred and animosity,” were brought to the Istanbul Courthouse on 19 June 2019 to give their statements to a prosecutor.
The prosecutor referred all 14 to a Criminal Judgeship of Peace after the completion of their testimonies.
The judgeship ruled to release İsminaz Temel, Havva Cuştan, Serdal Işık, Deniz Bakır, Ozancan Sarı, Gülçin Aykul and Mehmet Acettin, but imposed travel bans on all seven. Şahin Tümüklü, Ezgi Bahçeci, İlknur Çetin, Özge Doğan, Zeynep Güler Gerçek, Yaren Tuncer and Hüseyin İldan will have to report to the nearest police station once every 15 days in addition to being banned from traveling abroad.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/61113?page=1
https://ilerihaber.org/icerik/etha-baskininda-gozaltina-alinanlar-serbest-99506.html
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Lawsuit against Ahmet Altan launched upon the complaint of late president adjourned
19 June 2019 – A lawsuit against imprisoned novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan resumed at the 10th Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul’s Anatolian Courthouse, P24 reported.
Filed upon the complaint of the late former President Süleyman Demirel, the lawsuit seeks the punishment of Altan for “not publishing a correction and refutation” over a 2010 article in shuttered Taraf newspaper titled “Ölüm babanın emri” (Death is the father’s command). Demirel was nicknamed “father,” especially by his supporters, during his political career.
The court determined that some heirs of the accuser, Süleyman Demirel, were not notified about the case. Altan and his lawyer told the court that they would not make any statements at this point. The court decided to inform Demirel’s heirs before proceeding and adjourned the trial until 30 October 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1141316078582321152
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
“Taraf MGK report trial” adjourned until September
19 June 2019 – The trial of Mehmet Baransu, the former reporter of shuttered Taraf newspaper and the paper’s former responsible managing editor Murat Şevki Çoban resumed, P24 reported.
Baransu and Çoban stand accused of “acquiring documents related to the security of the state,” “exposing documents related to the security of the state” and “exposing documents of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT)” over a news report published in November 2013, titled “Gülen’i bitirme kararı 2004’te MGK’da alındı” (Decision to finish off Gülen was taken by National Security Committee in 2004). Both face possible prison terms of 25 to 52 years.
Baransu, who has been jailed pending trial for over three years, was brought from Silivri prison to attend the 19th hearing of the case overseen by the 10th High Criminal Court of Istanbul’s Anatolian Courthouse. He told the court that he was tried and acquitted on the same charge before and he requested the case to be rejected. He also argued that a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals, which dismissed a case against journalist Erdem Gül due to the expiry of the statute of limitations for pressing charges should create a precedent for the present case.
The court decided to send the case file to the prosecution for the preparation of the final opinion and adjourned the trial until 24 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1141256027872120832
https://www.dha.com.tr/istanbul/baransunun-mgk-belgelerini-ifsa-etme-davasi/haber-1665622
https://www.memurlar.net/haber/836865/baransu-nun-devletin-gizli-belgelerini-ifsa-etme-davasinda-mutalaa-istendi.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Harun Çümen remains behind bars in 3rd hearing
19 June 2019 – The third hearing in the trial of jailed journalist Harun Çümen, the former responsible managing editor of shuttered Zaman newspaper, took place at the 32nd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
Çümen is one of four defendants in the case and he is charged with “membership in a terrorist group.” Two of Çümen’s co-defendants were in attendance in the courtroom while Çümen addressed the court from the Balıkesir Prison, where he has been imprisoned for more than a year.
The presiding judge asked Çümen about the digital forensics report, which claimed that messaging concerning a plan to flee the country were found on Çümen’s phone.
Çümen rejected the allegation in the report and asked to be released pending trial.
The prosecutor requested the continuation of Çümen’s detention on remand. In its interim ruling, the court ordered the continuation of Çümen’s pre-trial detention and adjourned the trial until 18 July 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1141318981258813441
https://twitter.com/Cetele_tr/status/1141334776705626112
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Trial of journalists arrested in Özgür Gündem raid adjourned
19 June 2019 – The trial of 22 journalists beaten and arrested during a 2016 police raid on the offices of the Özgür Gündem newspaper on the charges of “insult” and “resisting a public officer” resumed at Istanbul 5th Criminal Court of First Instance, P24 reported.
Özcan Kılıç, the lawyer representing a number of defendants, requested the return of the materials confiscated by the Beyoğlu District Police Department during the raid. Kılıç said: “During the raid both İMC TV was on air and the police camera was recording. Police have the İMC TV footage. We request you to examine that footage before you render a decision.”
Announcing its interim decision at the end of the hearing, the court ruled to inquire the Beyoğlu District Police Department about and request an urgent response concerning where the confiscated materials are currently located. DDeciding to wait for the execution of the arrest warrants issued for defendants Amine Demirkıran, Günay Aksoy, Bayram Balcı and Ersin Çaksu, the court adjourned the trial until 5 November 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1141234398278410241
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Prosecutor seeks conviction for journalist Atakan Sönmez
18 June 2019 – Atakan Sönmez, the former news director of the online edition of Cumhuriyet newspaper, appeared before the 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul for the third hearing of his trial on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Sönmez is accused because of Cumhuriyet website’s coverage of Turkey’s 2018 military operation on Syria’s Afrin, P24 reported. He attended the hearing alongside his lawyer Buket Yazıcı.
In their final opinion of the case, which they had submitted in between courtroom hearings, the prosecution requested conviction for Sönmez on the charge of “successively disseminating terrorist propaganda.”
Sönmez’s lawyer Yazıcı said that they had just obtained the final opinion on the day of the hearing and he requested additional time for the preparation of the final defense statement. Accepting the request, the court adjourned the trial until 19 July 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1140881948937785344
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Ozan Kaplanoğlu released on probation
15 June 2019 – Ozan Kaplanoğlu, the editor of the online news outlet Bursamuhalif.com, who was sent to prison late May, was released on probation, Mezopotamya Agency reported.
Kaplanoğlu was imprisoned after an appellate court upheld the journalist’s conviction for “insulting the president”. He was sent to prison on 31 May to serve the remainder of the 11-month prison sentence given by the trial court. Kaplanoğlu had remained in pre-trial detention for three months in 2017 as part of the case.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/60729?page=6
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/gazeteci-ozan-kaplanoglu-tahliye-edildi/
https://twitter.com/dokuz8haber/status/1139922334222041090
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Court lifts travel ban on Adil Demirci
15 June 2019 – The international travel ban on Turkish-German journalist Adil Demirci has been lifted, Deutsche Welle reported.
Demirci, a Germany-based reporter and translator for the Etkin news agency (ETHA), is one of the defendants in an ongoing trial on terrorism-related charges that is overseen by an Istanbul court. He remained in pre-trial detention for 10 months as part of the trial before being released in February under a travel ban.
Link(s):
http://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/gazeteci-demircinin-yurt-disi-yasagi-kaldirildi/
https://www.dw.com/tr/adil-demircinin-yurt-d%C4%B1%C5%9F%C4%B1-yasa%C4%9F%C4%B1-kald%C4%B1r%C4%B1ld%C4%B1/a-49218483
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/adil-demirci-darf-offenbar-die-tuerkei-verlassen-a-1272830.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
ETHA offices raided by police, 7 taken into custody
15 June 2019 – Police raided the Istanbul office of the Etkin news agency (ETHA) on the grounds of a court decision ordering that “İstanbul Sokakta” (Istanbul on the streets), a recent supplement issued by the weekly newspaper Atılım, be pulled off newsstands. Five ETHA employees and two others were taken into custody during the raid.
The technical work concerning the supplement, published on the occasion of the upcoming 23 June rerun of the Istanbul mayoral election, was carried out at the ETHA office. The grounds for the publication to be pulled off newsstands is that it allegedly includes expressions that “insulted the president” and could “incite public unrest.”
The police confiscated the mobile phones of ETHA editors and reporters during the search, which lasted for over four hours. At the end of the search, police confiscated all memory cards and sim cards, the agency’s server, 11 computers, three hard drives, seven notebooks, five cameras and six mobile phones for forensic examination. Police also examined all books in the agency’s library. Access to the agency’s website http://etha10.com was also banned during the raid.
ETHA was unable to dispatch reports for hours on Saturday because all of the agency’s digital equipment was confiscated by police.
Police then took ETHA employees İsminaz Temel, Serdal Işık, Havva Cuştan, Mehmet Acettin and Ozancan Sarı into custody. Deniz Bakır, an advisor to the central executive committee of the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), and Gülçin Aykul, an employee of the Ceylan Publications, who were both visiting the ETHA office as guests, were also detained. All seven were taken to the Istanbul Police Department. The grounds for their detention were not disclosed. Reports said a confidentiality order was in place concerning the investigation.
All seven are expected to appear before a public prosecutor on 19 June following a four-day custody period.
Link(s):
https://www.artigercek.com/haberler/etha-ya-polis-baskini-calisanlarimiza-ulasamiyoruz
https://bianet.org/bianet/medya/209393-etkin-haber-ajansi-na-polis-baskini-yedi-kisi-gozaltina-alindi
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/15/ethaya-polis-baskini/
Categories: Arrest / Detention / Interrogation
Source of violation: Police / State security
Sözcü trial adjourned until September
14 June 2019 – The trial of nine employees of the Sözcü newspaper on the charge of “knowingly and willingly aiding an armed terrorist organization without being its member” resumed at the 37th High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
defendants Gökmen Ulu, Mediha Olgun, Yonca Yücekaleli, Metin Yılmaz, Mustafa Çetin, Necati Doğru, Yücel Arı and defense lawyers were in attendance at the 8th hearing of the case. Veteran columnist Emin Çölaşan addressed the court from Ankara via the courtroom video-conferencing system.
Yücekaleli and Çetin requested additional time for their final defense statements in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion, submitted before the previous courtroom hearing. The rest of the defendants made their final defense statements, rejecting the accusations and requesting to be acquitted.
Lawyers representing the defendants also requested a continuance for the final defense statements. In its interim ruling, the court granted additional time and adjourned the trial until 4 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1139428881738457088
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1438554/Sozcu_Gazetesi_davasi_ertelendi.html
https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/sozcu-gazetesi-davasi-4-eylule-ertelendi,G9cnPZQreUCOfV5QheKeGw
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Trial into murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink resumes
13 June 2019 – The trial of intelligence officers, gendarmerie and law enforcement officials allegedly involved in the murder of Hrant Dink, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly Agos, resumed on 11 June at the 14th High Criminal Court of Istanbul.
Dink was assassinated on 19 January 2007 outside the Agos weekly’s offices in Istanbul. Seventeen-year-old Ogün Samast had fired three shots at Dink’s head from the back at point blank range.
The case into Dink’s murder has been ongoing since 2007 with many turns and twists. Five witnesses, including former Istanbul Governor and Interior Minister Muammer Güler, testified during the three-day hearing – the 93rd since the start of the trial.
Güler, one of the key names in the investigation who appeared before the court for the first time during the entire trial on 12 June, denied having received any request from intelligence units to grant Dink protection. He said that the Istanbul Police Department was investigating the topic and only one intelligence report out of 20 composed by the Trabzon Police about a plot to murder Dink was sent to the Istanbul Police.
Speaking on his meeting with dink that took place on 24 February 2004 at the Istanbul Governorship, Güler said it had no relation with the murder.
The court decided to send camera footage outside the Agos newspaper office on the murder day to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), for the footage to be matched with the defendants in the case. They also decided to wait on the response to the request to have National Intelligence Organization (MİT) employees testify in the trial. The trial was adjourned until 4-5-6 September 2019.
The case is seen as a landmark trial against impunity in unsolved murders of journalist involving the state.
Link(s):
http://www.agos.com.tr/tr/yazi/22521/muammer-guler-dink-cinayeti-nde-ifade-verdi-istanbul-a-ham-bilgi-gelmisti
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1434985/Muammer_Guler__Hrant_Dink_davasinda_ifade_verdi__Guler_e_o_soru_soruldu.html
https://bianet.org/english/politics/209350-dink-murder-case-former-istanbul-governor-testifies-on-his-meeting-with-dink
Categories: Death / Killing
Source of violation: Unknown
Yeniçağ columnist Demirağ imprisoned, released on probation
13 June 2019 – Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a vocal columnist for the right-wing nationalist Yençağ newspaper, was admitted to a prison in Ankara on 13 June 2019 to serve an 11 month and 20-day sentence, daily Cumhuriyet reported. The sentence had been given on the charge of “insulting a public official” in a case filed upon a complaint by President Erdoğan.
Demirağ’s sentence was upheld by an appellate court in April, making it final. Demirağ, who surrendered to the Ayaş Prison, was released on probation the same day around midnight.
Link(s):
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/1437575/Gazeteci_Yavuz_Selim_Demirag__cezaevine_girdi.html
https://www.yenicaggazetesi.com.tr/yavuz-selim-demirag-tahliye-edildi-238014h.htm
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-yavuz-selim-demirag-tahliye-edildi,825890
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Semiha Şahin, Pınar Gayıp released under house arrest
13 June 2019 – The fifth hearing in the trial of Etkin News Agency (ETHA) journalists Semiha Şahin and Pınar Gayıp, who have been in pre-trial detention in the Bakırköy Women’s Prison since April 2018, took place in an Istanbul court.
23rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, ruled at the end of the hearing to release both Şahin and Gayıp on house arrest after 14 months in detention on remand, P24 reported.
Şahin and Gayıp are on trial on account of their journalistic work and their social media posts. They are accused of “membership in a terrorist group” and “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist group.”
The journalists were brought to the courtroom in handcuffs by the gendarmerie. They both requested to be released from prison and acquitted at the end of the trial. The prosecution asked the court to rule for the continuation of Şahin and Gayıp’s detention.
In its interim ruling at the end of the hearing, the panel ruled to release Şahin and Gayıp from jail but decided to place them under house arrest. The court set 15 October 2019 as the date for the next hearing.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/P24DavaTakip/status/1139133987262214144
https://t24.com.tr/haber/gazeteciler-pinar-gayip-ve-semiha-sahin-davasi-ev-hapsiyle-tahliye-edildiler,825741
https://bianet.org/bianet/medya/209323-gazeteciler-pinar-gayip-ve-semiha-sahin-e-ev-hapsiyle-tahliye
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Çağdaş Erdoğan’s trial adjourned until September
13 June 2019 – Photojournalist Çağdaş Erdoğan’s trial on terrorism-related charges resumed at the 33rd High Criminal Court of Istanbul, P24 reported.
This was the sixth hearing in the case. Erdoğan’s lawyers requested additional time. Accepting the lawyers’ request, the court adjourned the trial until 5 September 2019.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/ExInt24/status/1139131848880263168
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Azadiya Welat employees including murdered editor-in-chief face investigation
12 June 2019 – An investigation was launched into 27 employees of the shuttered Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, including Rohat Aktaş, who was the former editor-in-chief of the paper before he was murdered in Cizre in 2016, Mezopotamya Agency reported. The Diyarbakır-based newspaper entirely published in Kurdish was closed down in October 2016 by a state of emergency decree.
Other than Aktaş, the investigation also targets publisher Ramazan Ölçen, managing editor İsmail Çoban and journalists Bişar Durgut, Emrah Kelekçiler, Mehmet Çetin Altun, Melek Bozan, Rojhat Bilmez, Zafer Tüzün and Zeynel Abidin Bulut.
Six journalists and 3 former employees gave their statements at the Diyarbakır Counter-Terrorism Bureau (TEM) on the charges of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “terrorist organization membership.”
The lawyer representing the journalists, Resul Temur, said the police told him that they are aware Aktaş was deceased. After the death of Aktaş, ongoing trials against the journalist have been dropped.
Link(s):
http://mezopotamyaajansi21.com/tum-haberler/content/view/60352
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/oldurulen-rohat-aktas-dahil-azadiya-welat-calisanlarina-sorusturma/
https://ilerihaber.org/icerik/kapatilan-gazetenin-oldurulen-yazi-isleri-muduru-hakkinda-sorusturma-99156.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Lawsuit against Çiğdem Toker filed by postal company rejected
11 June 2019 – A lawsuit filed against journalist Çiğdem Toker by Turkey’s postal service company PTT resumed at the Ankara 20th Civil Court of First Instance. The PTT was seeking TL 50,000 in non-pecuniary damages in the lawsuit over a column Toker wrote in April 2018 for the Cumhuriyet daily.
At the hearing, the court eventually rejected the defamation case, in which the PTT claimed that Toker’s column “tarnished the company’s reputation,” P24 reported. The court ruled that the conditions requiring a lawsuit were not formed.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/ExInt24/status/1138382049188941825
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/381035/cigdem-tokere-acilan-50-bin-tllik-dava-reddedildi
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/11/gazeteci-cigdem-toker-hakkinda-acilan-tazminat-davasi-reddedildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Ayşe Düzkan released on probation
11 June 2019 – Journalist Ayşe Düzkan, who was handed down an 18-month prison sentence and jailed in January for participating in the “substitute editor-in-chief” campaign to show solidarity with the now-defunct pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper, was released from the Eskişehir Women’s Prison.
Düzkan was released on probation after serving 130 days in jail. Düzkan’s daughter Haziran announced her mother’s release via her Twitter account.
Link(s):
https://m.bianet.org/english/women/209293-journalist-ayse-duzkan-released
https://www.evrensel.net/haber/381106/gazeteci-ayse-duzkan-tahliye-oldu
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/12/gazeteci-ayse-duzkan-tahliye-edildi/
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Prosecutor objects to appellate court decision in Seda Taşkın case
5 June 2019 – The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has objected to the verdict rendered by the appellate court in the case of journalist Seda Taşkın, online news website Gazete Karınca reported on 5 June.
At the end of the appeal hearing of Taşkın’s trial on 15 May, the 6th Criminal Chamber of the Erzurum Regional Court of Justice had acquitted the journalist of “aiding a terrorist organization without being its member” while giving her a deferred prison sentence of 1 year, 11 months and 10 days on the charge of “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
On 30 May, the chief public prosecutor’s office objected to the appellate court’s ruling, saying the acquittal was “in violation of the law and procedural code.”
Link(s):
https://gazetekarinca.com/2019/06/gazeteci-seda-taskina-verilen-beraat-kararina-itiraz/
https://www.gazetefersude.com/gazeteci-seda-taskina-verilen-beraat-kararina-haber-yapip-uluslararasi-kamuoyu-olusturmak-iddiasiyla-itiraz-edildi-61039/
https://gazeteyolculuk.net/gazeteci-seda-taskinin-beraat-kararina-itiraz
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Nurcan Baysal briefly detained
3 June 2019 – Journalist and columnist Nurcan Baysal was taken into custody in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, online news website Bianet reported. After being brought to the anti-terror branch of the Diyarbakır Police Department where she gave her statement, Baysal was released the same day.
Baysal later announced via her Twitter account that she was detained as part of an investigation into the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) on the allegation of “terrorist group membership.”
Link(s):
https://m.bianet.org/bianet/medya/209078-nurcan-baysal-hakikati-yazmak-ne-kadar-zormus
https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/gundem/2019/06/03/gazeteci-nurcan-baysal-serbest-birakildi/
https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/nurcan-baysala-teror-orgutu-uyeligi-iddiasiyla-gozalti.html
Categories: Criminal Charges / Fines / Sentences
Source of violation: Court / Judicial
Journalist Hayri Demir faces another criminal case
1 June 2019 – Journalist Hayri Demir will be standing trial in a newly opened case where he is facing between 7.5 and 18 years of imprisonment if convicted.
Demir announced the news of the new trial on 1 June via his Twitter account. He said that the accusations in the new file stemmed from his journalistic work from the years 2015 and 2016 and his social media posts — particularly one where he shared an old news piece for which he stood trial and was convicted.
Link(s):
https://twitter.com/hayridemir_/status/1134792936347045888?s=12
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:1562241977093-4c99b139-abf4-1″ taxonomies=”8996″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
31 May 19 | Turkey, Turkey Incident Reports
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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]
07 Jan 19 | Artistic Freedom, Artists in Exile, News and features, Turkey
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Özgül Arslan
“It turned into a place where it became impossible to breathe,” says feminist visual artist Özgül Arslan about Turkey. “Everything and everywhere changed. Nothing was familiar anymore. Everything that makes up the country’s memory is being sold, demolished and destroyed one by one.”
Arslan grew up in a Turkey marred by the 1980 coup d’etat, when the Turkish military overthrew the government following violence between left- and right-wing factions. Though some say military rule helped stabilise Turkey, which changed prime ministers 11 times in the 1970s alone, the military arrested hundreds of thousands of people and executed dozens more. Others were tortured or just disappeared — all for their activism, opinions or work.
Arslan, and many others living in Turkey, learned how to remain silent for their own safety. It was this period of silence that drew Arslan to art. With its metaphors and hidden messages, it gave Arslan a voice.
But even now, Turkey is growing increasingly illiberal under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdogan has taken control of media, diminished the opposition party, and restricted freedom of expression by imprisoning journalists and human rights activists. The president has also restricted the role of the parliament and prime minister, allowing himself to legislate by decree.
Socially, the situation is just as grim. Erdogan has spoken of creating a “pious generation,” one which adopts traditional Islamic values. This trend is seen in education, with religious schools receiving more funding than secular schools, despite having less students. In 2017, secular schools were forced by the government to remove evolution from the curriculum, which was seen as the government’s conservative and religious ideology infiltrating schools. The government defended the changes, saying the new curriculum would be both nationalist and moral.
The government has also condemned feminism, with Erdogan saying in 2014 that women and men were not equal. Arslan said that women are taught to be chaste at every opportunity. Furthermore, Arslan is a part of the Alevi faith, a minority sect of Islam. Arslan says there has always been problems for people of the Alevi faith, but now the Erdogan is pressuring everybody not of the majority Sunni faith.
“It is meaningless to live in a country where the government is constantly uttering threats. It makes our lives, our humanity and our minds lose their worth,” Arslan said.
She didn’t want to raise her daughter in this kind of environment, so she and her husband moved to London in 2016.
Arslan, who has done exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad, spoke to Leah Asmelash from Index on Censorship about censorship of the arts in Turkey, how her beliefs affect her work and upcoming projects. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”104410″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://ozgularslan.com/catharsis-circle/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index: How old were you when you first started creating art? What drew you to it?
Arslan: Since I was born until I was 11-years-old I lived in Erzincan, a city in eastern Turkey located within an earthquake zone. We sometimes used to stay in a tent put up on a land near our house for our safety. There would be no paper nor paints, we only took with us the most basic supplies necessary for living. Whenever we would enter to our house, which we called shelter, or go out of it, we would run. There would always be something of a construct and reconstruct around me when I was growing up. What I made at the time were – I could only define it long afterwards – “land art” experiments. I would draw on earth, rocks, branches, water, snow, ice, crops, etc. anything you could think of. I would give them shape, interfere with their natural cycle, reorganize them, then observe the changes they would undergo and the entire process of it… This was a kind of game I played with nature. I used to do and nature would undo again what I made. I have produced this type of ecologic artworks during my first years at university.
These were times when we were caught between tradition, faith and parents who would keep silent and teach their children to remain silent like them after the 1980 military coup. I always wanted to make art, but what drew me into it was art’s metaphorical and ironic narrative using symbols. It was a path I chose intentionally to record the process of defining myself and what was happening around me.
Index: Your art typically has political messages. When did your art become political? Was it a response to things happening around you?
Arslan: When I was studying at university, I would often hear that it wouldn’t be easy for a woman to make art. There was a lot of gender discrimination in art as everywhere else. The exact same struggle I was giving against my family, society or the state stood right in front of me in the world of art. The mere fact of continuing working with the belief that it is possible to make art anywhere, with anything and under any condition was a political stance in itself.
Domestic violence, child abuse, the insignificance of being a woman, privation, deficiencies in education, discriminations based on identity, etc. Any of these issues related to this region is my past… What is personal is political. As an artist, I chose to express my relationship with the present and my questioning through my work. Even though I can’t really tell if there was a defining moment, there has always been a latent political content in all my artistic works.
In short, I wanted to create a visual language consisting of personal and social codes and references to question the relationship between public space, home and modernity.
Index: Much of your work features different mediums, including painting, photos and videos. Why have you chosen to use such differing mediums?
Arslan: I mainly studied literature, philosophy and art history. I was an avid reader and I also used to draw. I used to paint on canvas during my high school years and afterwards. I worked for a painting gallery and for an architecture firm that would also make decorations. I learned a lot of things there that would have been impossible to learn at school. I also worked with painters, studied painting and acting. Murals I made during my university years in internal spaces and outdoors, the different techniques I have tried while working on walls and through my work with materials such as glass helped me to understand what decorativeness corresponded to technically and in terms of content.
Although the first conceptual works date back to 1965, because those did not have a continuity, we can set the starting date of contemporary art production in Turkey in the end of the 1980s. The military coup of 1980 played a significant role in it. But art was still affected by the negative influences stemming from the domination of Turkish modernism and the tradition of painting attached to it. One of the results of this conservative influence was that art institutions would not give an opportunity to young artists.
As someone who started making art works at the end of the 1990s, the core of my influences from photography to video and from using manufactured articles to painting are the Dada movement in 1920s and the conceptual arts that started developing in the 1960s. By using various medium and developing new techniques, I have adopted a multidisciplinary construct in which the content of the project was determinant.
This also included my choice of spaces. With the Internet becoming a part of our life, I have also sought with my work to define the field and how we would position ourselves in it. When conceiving the form, essence and content of my artistic works, I usually try to work in public spaces other than art galleries and organize the space in a way that has a bond with what I want to produce.
I chose the medium either according to the content and to the space after conducting my research and reading on a certain concept and questions that arise from a given situation or totally based on my intuition. This can either be an object, a manufactured article, a photograph or a video, or I may also develop a new technique different from the traditional ones by using other medium befitting to the content.
Index: You come from an Alevi background, which is considered heresy by the by the dominant form of Islam, and Alevis face a lot of persecution in Turkey. People have said that Erdogan is trying to make Turkey more Sunni. How is freedom of religion diminished in Turkey, and how are you affected by that?
Arslan: In 1993, radical Islamists staged an arson attack on the Madımak Hotel in Sivas where intellectuals who came to attend an event in the city from across Turkey were staying, because they were Alevis and atheists. Thirty-three intellectuals and two hotel workers were killed in the attack. The subsequent trial dropped due to statute of limitations. Today, those who were defending that disaster sit in important positions in the government.
As you say, Alevis have always been under pressure but freedom of belief is no longer a problem unique to Alevis in Turkey. It is the problem of seculars altogether. Conservatives are trying to put everyone else under pressure to be and live like them. When 20 or 30 years ago it was the secular way of life which was imposed on everyone, it’s now conservatives who are exerting the same pressure. Nothing has changed or improved in the life of Alevis, they still feel themselves forced to hide their identity.
Part of society who wants to see modern and rational policies and move forward is facing a group ruling – or wanting to be ruled – with ignorance. It is meaningless to live in a country where the government is constantly uttering threats. It makes our lives, our humanity and our minds lose their worth. Some of our friends have been deprived of their freedoms or their jobs just because they have pronounced words such as “freedom” and “peace.”
Index: Your work commonly features women and comments on sexism within society. Why is that message important to you? How does your identity as an Alevi woman impact your perspective and thus the art you create?
Arslan: There are too many issues concerning women’s rights. There is a predominant patriarchal discourse at home, at work, at school and anywhere you can think of. There are cultural codes embedded in society through state and religion. Those are constantly telling us what we can or we cannot do, how we should obey, how we should love, what we should wear and even what we should eat. We are fighting for our human rights every day, even with our closest ones. I consider myself as a feminist artist. Since I make art through my personal references as a woman, an artist, a teacher and a mother of a girl, women, children and all the marginalized are my problem too.
I see myself lucky for being born in an Alevi family, despite being socially marginalized and subject to a degrading discourse. Alevi families traditionally raise their children with freedom of belief. They respect everyone’s beliefs because of their own faith. Moreover, there is no prohibition of representation and statues like in conservative Islam.
Being raised in an Alevi family allowed me to notice at an early age social discriminations based on identity, state and religious policies, people who were marginalized and marginalization in general and to develop a sensibility on these issues.
Index: As Turkish society grows increasingly conservative, how are artists being silenced?
Arslan: Every dissenting, marginal opinion is being finger-pointed as a target by the government. Artists are being discredited. Either their artistic works are censored or artists themselves exercise self-censorship.
In the past years, galleries in the center of Istanbul were attacked by mobs with batons and stones because people were allegedly drinking alcohol – actions we call “pressure from the neighbourhood.” Those galleries either moved or closed. No one claimed responsibility and no legal action was initiated against anyone over the incidents. There has been attacks targeting certain exhibited pieces in different events. Some artworks were removed. Not only they don’t understand contemporary art, but they are also pointing the fingers at the artistic work on this field through disdainful social media comments or statements relayed pro-government publications. By doing so, they turn these artists into a target for their supporters.
No artistic event whose content doesn’t back the government’s discourse or which is traditionally aligned with it can get funding or financial support. Many theatres were closed, buildings housing art schools and conservatories were emptied. Academics at schools were either dismissed or reassigned somewhere else. A lot of statues in public spaces were removed and no one really knows what happened to them. Others were subject to attacks and damaged by radical Islamists. Works of art were called “monstrosity” by the authorities. A large number of historical artefacts restored by government supporters who had no experience have been irreparably damaged. Buildings with an important historical and artistic significance, such as the Atatürk Cultural Center in Istanbul, were demolished. The parliamentary speaker ordered actresses during a theatre performance to get out of the stage and the play continued without any woman acting. Several restrictions were brought to performing arts under state institutions such as theatre and ballet.
Index: How has this silencing affected the way you work and what you produce?
Arslan: Part of my work has been influenced by social movements. This led me to question art and work on new techniques – which I shared with my students. But in the last few years, the way I presented my work was much stronger as a result of what we have been through. I have tended to render apparent what used to be covered up by using an aesthetic language.
Index: What motivated you to leave Turkey?
Arslan: It turned into a place where it became impossible to breath. Everything and everywhere changed. Nothing was familiar anymore. Everything that makes up the country’s memory is being sold, demolished and destroyed one by one. Nature got its share too. Rivers, streams, lakes, forests, lands owned by the treasury, cultural heritage sites, the air, water, the soil, seeds… So much has been sacked.
Those who speak up against it are arrested in their house in the middle of the night and kept in jail for months without an indictment. They otherwise lose their jobs.
“Either you have to keep silent or you will leave.” Think a President who threatens half of the population with the other half that elected him. We have recently witnessed a number of bomb attacks, we were subject to tear gas almost every day and we became used to walk between water cannons and armed riot police.
They took children from their schools to events held by a pro-government foundation or the directorate of religious affairs without asking the permission of their families.
Turkey has turned its back to science. Entire curriculums were changed. Many qualified teachers were dismissed. The country is rapidly verging to Dark ages in the hands of a government looking to raise a “religious and rancorous” generation.
The number of sexual attacks and violence against children and women is very high. While the “man” who perpetrates this crime can get a reduction of sentence for good behaviour in court, the fact that a woman wore a mini skirt or went outside late at night can be used as a justification for “provoking” him. If the laws don’t protect women and children, they also give women lectures of chastity at each opportunity. The government is aggressively discrediting the discourse of feminists. What we call “the pressure from the neighbourhood” is now a reality everywhere.
As a feminist family, we didn’t want to raise our daughter with a conservative education which is not based on science. Personally speaking, I preferred to move where I could work more freely and keep developing my art without exercising self-censorship rather than sitting back and watching everything.
There are a lot of modern families who left Turkey and stopped their careers to move in other countries. These are families who don’t want to force their children to live under this dark regime. Especially secular white collars are leaving Turkey.
As writer Tezer Özlü once said, “This not our country, but the country of those who want to kill us.”
Index: Now that you’re based in London, how do you think this change in location will affect your art, if at all?
Arslan: My art studio is in Turkey. Most of the artwork I have produced and my materials are also there. My conditions of work are changing and my production is limited. I am trying to live and continue producing with my meagre means. I also follow the artistic production here and learn about the processes of production.
After moving here, I opened one solo exhibition in Istanbul and took part in group exhibitions. Being invited in group exhibitions here as well is a great satisfaction and keeps me motivated to produce more works. Artists and curators I have worked with in London are very understanding and open to communication and sharing.
Although I am far from Turkey in terms of distance I still follow what happens day. I continue thinking and reading about being subject to everyday violence. Although I define myself as a “voluntary migrant”, I started to focus on the links between voluntary migration and violence and oppression. The artworks I am producing here follow this direction.
Index: How is your art, with its feminist messages, received in Turkey versus internationally? Is there a difference and if so, why do you think that is?
Arslan: The audience in London knows a lot about art. They can therefore read your work very easily. I needed to make less explanations to the public in London than what I used to do in Turkey. Generally speaking, the audience here has extensive knowledge about art, they are interested in feminism or other political issues and better equipped to empathize. My methods of productions are methods or metaphors they are familiar with. The themes of my artworks are not only issues we are confronted in Turkey but current universal issues we are facing.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”104411″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://ozgularslan.com/exposure-maruz/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index: Sanat yapmaya başladığınızda kaç yaşındaydınız? Sizi sanat yapmaya çeken neydi?
Arslan: Doğduktan sonra onbir yaşına kadar ki sürecim Türkiye’nin doğusunda bulunan şehirlerden biri olan ve deprem bölgesinde yer alan Erzincan’da geçti. O yüzden güvenlik nedeniyle bazı dönemlerde haftalarca evimizin yakınındaki arazide, sadece çadırda kalmamız gerekirdi. Kağıt, boya malzemeleri yoktu, sadece yaşamsal zorunluluğu olan malzemleri yanımıza alırdık. O zamanlarda ev, sığınak dediğimiz yere ise koşarak girip koşarak çıkardık. Etrafımda hep bir “yapı kurumu”(construct) ve “yeniden yapım”(reconstruct) vardı. O zaman ürettiklerim daha çok sonradan tanımını koyabildiğim “Land art” denemeleriydi. Toprak, taş, dal, su, karlı arazi, buzlar, ekinler vs. aklınıza ne gelirse üzerine çizmek, şekil vermek, onların var olan döngüsüne müdahale etmek, düzenlemeler yapmak ve sonrasında geçirdikleri değişimi, süreci gözlemlemek… Bu bir çeşit doğayla oyun oynamaktı, ben yapardım o da tekrar değiştirirdi. Üniversitenin ilk yıllarında bu tip ekolojik çalışmalar ürettim.
Gelenek, inanç ve 1980 darbesi nedeniyle susulan, çocuklarına kendileri gibi sessiz kalmayı öğreten veliler arasında geçen dönemlerdi. Sanat yapma isteğim hep vardı ancak en çok da sanatın kodlarla, metaforik ve ironik anlatım yönü beni sanata itti. Kendimi ve çevremde olup bitenleri tanımlama sürecimi kayıt altına almak için bilinçli olarak tercih ettiğim bir yoldu.
Index: Eserlerinizde genellikle siyasi mesajlar görmek mümkün. Sanatınız ne zaman politik hale geldi? Etrafınızda olup bitenlere karşı bir cevap mıydı bu?
Arslan: Üniversite yıllarımda bir kadının sanat yapmasının pek de kolay olmayacağının altı sık sık çiziliyordu. Kadın ayrımı her yerde olduğu gibi sanatta da vardı. Aile, toplum ve devletle verdiğim kimlik mücadelesi sanat ortamında da karşımdaydı.Her yerde, her şeyle ve her şartta sanat yapılır anlayışıyla çalışmalarımı devam ettirmem de politik bir tavırdı.
Aile içi şiddet, çocuk olarak uğradığınız tacizler, kadın olarak hiç bir değerinizin olmaması, yokluk, eğitimdeki eksiklikler, kimlik ayrımları vs. Bu coğrafyanın sorunu olan her şey benim de geçmişim…Kişisel olan politiktir. Ben de bir sanatçı olarak var olan durumla ilişkimi, sorgulamalarımı, çalışmalarımla ifade etme yöntemini seçtim.
Kesin zaman verememekle birlikte sanırım çalışmalarımda gizli politik bir içerik hep vardı.
Özetle, kamusal alan-ev-modernite ilişkisini ve politikalarını sorgulayan, kişisel ve toplumsal kodlara referanslarla bir görsel dil oluşturmak istedim.
Index: Çalışmalarınızın önemli bir kısmında resim, fotoğraf ve video gibi farklı sanatsal araçlar başvurmanız dikkat çekiyor. Neden birbirinden farklı medyumlar kullanmayı tercih ettiniz?
Arslan: Ağırlıklı olarak edebiyat, felsefe, sanat tarihi dersleri aldım. İyi bir okuyucuydum ve resim yapardım. Lise yıllarımda ve sonrasında tuval yapım ve yerel resim galerisinde, daha sonra da dekorasyon yapan bir mimarlık şirketinde çalıştım. Okulda öğrenmenin olanaksız olduğu çok şey öğrendim. Aynı zamanda ressamlarla da çalıştım ve akademik desen, resim ve oyunculuk eğitimi aldım. Üniversite yıllarımda, dış ya da iç mekanlara yaptığım duvar resmi, denediğim duvar üzeri farklı teknikler ve cam gibi malzemelerle yaptığım işler sayesinde dekoratif olanın, hem içerik hem de teknik olarak neye karşılık geldiğini kavradım.
Türkiye’de güncel sanat üretiminin 1965 yılında ilk kavramsal çalışmalar yapılmış olsa da süreklilik gösteremediği için 1980’lerin sonlarında başladığını öne sürebiliriz ve bunda 1980 darbesinin büyük rolü var. Bu dönemde Türk modernizmi ve ona bağlı pentür geleneğinin sanat alanındaki hakimiyetinin olumsuz etkileri devam etmekteydi. Bu muhafazakar etkilerden biri sanat kurumlarının genç sanatçılara yer vermemesiydi.
1990’ların sonunda üretimine başlamış biri olarak, 1920’lerde Dada ve 1960’lardan itibaren gelişen kavramsal sanat, fotoğraftan videoya, hazır nesneden resme uzayıp giden eğilimlerimin kökenini oluşturuyor. Çok sayıda medyumu bir arada kullanarak ve yeni teknikler geliştirerek projenin içeriğinin belirleyici olacağı çok disiplinli bir yapıyı benimsedim.
Buna mekan seçimlerim de dahil oldu. İnternetin hayatımıza girmesiyle birlikte alanı nasıl tanımlayacağımıza, içerisinde nasıl konumlanacağımıza dair yaptığım çalışmalarım da oldu. Sanat galerileri dışında kamusal alanlarda çalışmaya ve çalışmalarımda biçim-öz-içerik oluştururken mekanın üretilecek işle bağını kuracak şekilde kurgularım.
Sezgisel olarak yada bir durumun sonucunda oluşan bir kavram ve sorular hakkında okuma ve araştırmalarımı yaptıktan sonra, kullanılacak medyumu içeriğe ve mekana göre belirlerim. Bu bir obje, hazır nesne, fotoğraf-video olabiliyor ya da geleneksel tekniklerin ve medyumların dışında içeriğe uygun bir teknik geliştiririm. Kişisel sergilerimde dahi sergide yer alacak her bir çalışmayı mekanda yerleştirilecek düzenlemenin bir elemanı gibi kurgular ve üretirim. Dışarıdan içeriye, içeriden dışarıya bir referans, hemen hemen tüm çalışmalarımda vardır.
Index: Alevi bir aileden geliyorsunuz. Alevilik, İslam’da heretik olarak görülüyor ve Türkiye’de de Alevilere yönelik yoğun baskılar var. Erdoğan’ın Türkiye’yi Sünnileştirmeye çalıştığı belirtiliyor. Türkiye’de din ve inanç özgürlüğü ne kadar daraldı ve siz bundan ne şekilde etkileniyorsunuz?
Arslan: Muhafazakarlar, Sivas’ta Madımak Oteli’nde 1993 yılında bir etkinlik için toplanan Türkiye’nin farklı yerlerinden gelen aydınları, Alevi ve Ateist oldukları gerekçesiyle yaktılar. 33 Aydın ve 2 otel görevlisini hayatını kaybetti. Dava zaman aşımına uğradı. Şimdi o felaketin savunucuları şu anda yönetimde söz sahibi makamlardalar.
Belirtiğiniz gibi Alevilere karşı bir baskı hep var ancak günümüz Türkiye’sinde inanç özgürlüğü sorunu sadece artık Alevilerin sorunu olmaktan çıktı. Bu artık tüm sekülerlerin sorunu. Muhafazakarlar kendilerinden olmayan kerkesi, kendileri gibi olmaları ve yaşamaları için her alanda baskı altına almaya çalışıyorlar. Bundan 20-30 yıl önce seküler yaşam tarzi herkese dayatılırken şimdi muhafazakar kesim bu baskıyı yapıyor. Alevilerin hayatında gelişen veya değişen bir şey yok, hala kimliklerini gizlemek zorunda kalabiliyorlar.
Çağdaş akılcı yöntemleri görmek ve ilerlemek isteyen bir kesimin karşısında cahilce kararlarla yöneten ve yönetilmek isteyen bir kesim var. Sürekli size tehtitler savuran bir yönetimin içinde yaşamak anlamsız. Hayatımızı, insanlığımızı, aklımızı değersizleştiriyor. “Özgürlük”, “barış“ gibi kelimeleri sırf telaffuz ettiler diye koca bir toplumun önünde bazılarımız özgürlüklerinden ya da işlerinden edildiler.
Index: Çalışmalarınızda yaygın olarak kadınlara ve toplum içindeki cinsiyet ayrımcılığına yer veriyorsunuz. Bu mesaj sizin için neden önemli? Alevi bir kadın olmak bakış açınızı ve sanatınızı nasıl etkiliyor?
Arslan: Kadınların hakları konusunda çok fazla sorun var. Evde, işte, okulda aklınıza gelebilecek tüm alanlarda ataerkil söylem hakim. Bize sürekli nerede ne yapacağımızı ve ne yapamayacağımızı, nasıl itaat etmemiz, nasıl sevmemiz, nerede ne giymemiz, ne yememize kadar söyleyen devlet ve din yoluyla toplumda yer etmiş kültürel kodlar var. Her günümüz, insani haklarımız için en yakınlarımızla dahi mücadele etmekle geçmekte. Ben feminist bir sanatçıyım, kişisel referaslarımla ürettiğim için bir kadın, sanatçı, öğretmen ve bir kız çocuğu annesi olarak doğal olarak kadınlar, çocuklar ve tüm ötekileştirilenler benim de meselem.
Türkiye’ de sosyal olarak ötekileştirmeler, hakaret niteliği taşıyan söylemlere maruz kalmış olsam da Alevi bir ailede dünyaya gelmiş olmam konusunda kendimi şanslı görüyorum. Alevi aileler çocuklarını inanç özgürlüğüyle yetiştirirler ve inançları gereği herkesin inancına saygı duyarlar. Ayrıca muhfazakar İslamdaki gibi suret ve heykel yasağı yoktur.
Alevi bir ailede büyümüş olmam topkumdaki kimlik ayrımcılıklarının, devlet ve din politikalarını, öteki olmak, ötekileştirmeleri erken yaşta fark etmemde ve bu konuda duyarlılık geliştirmemde faydası oldu.
Index: Türkiye’de toplum giderek muhafazakârlaştıkça, sanatçılar nasıl susturuluyor?
Arslan: İktidar tarafından muhalilif, marjinal her düşünce hedef gösterliyor. Sanatçılar ve üretimleri itibarsızlaştırılıyor. Üretilen çalışmalar ya sansürleniyor ya da sanatçılar otosansür uyguluyor.
Galeriler, geçtiğimiz yıllarda İstanbul’un merkezinde mahalle baskısı uygulanarak içki içiliyor gerekçesiyle bir grup tarafından taşlı sopalı saldırıya uğradılar. Galeriler oradan ya taşındı ya da kapattılar. Hiç kimse bu olayda sorumluluk almadı ve kimseye hukuki bir işlem yapılmadı. Bazı sergilenen çalışmalara, farklı etkinliklerde saldırılar oldu ya da eserler kaldırıldı. Çağdaş sanat çalışmalarını anlamadıkları gibi bu alanda yapılan çalışmaları küçümseyecek yazılarla sosyal medya ya da iktidara ait yayınlarda açıklamalar yaparak kendi yandaşlarına açık açık hedef göstermekteler.
Geleneksel veya içeriksel olarak kendi söylemlerini desteklemeyen hiç bir sanat etkinliğine fon-maddi destek ayrılmıyor. Tiyatroların çoğu kapatıldı, sanat, koservatuar okullarının binaları boşaltılıyor. Okullarda akademisyenler ya görevlerinde alındı ya da görev yeri değiştirildi. Kamusal alandaki pek çok heykel kaldırıldı, akıbetlerinin ne olduğu belli değil. Yine kamusal alandaki heykellere muhafazakar kesim tarafından saldırıldı, zarar verildi. Sanat eserleri iktidar tarafından “Ucube” olarak nitelendirildi. Bu iktidar dönemi sırasında işi bilmez iktidar yanlılarına yaptırılan pek çok tarihi eser, restorasyon sırasında geri dönüşü olanaksız zararlara uğradı. Tarihi ve sanatta önemli bir yere sahip bazı binalar yıkıldı, “Atatürk Kültür merkezi” bunlardan biri. Meclis başkanı bir tiyatro gösterisinde kadın oyuncuları sahneden indirdi, kadınlar olmadan gösterim yapıldı. Devlete bağlı tiyatro, bale gibi gösteri sanatlarına pek çok gösterim sınırlamaları getirildi…
Index: Bu susturma çabaları çalışmanızı ve sanatsal üretimlerinizi nasıl etkiledi?
Arslan: Sosyal hareketlerden etkilenerek ürettiğim çalışmalarımında aynı zamanda sanatın sorgusunu yaparak yeni yöntemler üzerinde çalışıyor ve eğitimci yanımla da öğrencilerimle paylaşıyordum. Son yıllarda yaşadıklarımızın etkisiyle çalışmalarımdaki sunumlar da sertleşti. Örtbas edileni estetik dille görünür kılmaya yöneldim.
Index: Türkiye’den neden ayrılmaya karar verdiniz?
Arslan: Nefessiz kaldığınız bir yer oldu artık. Her şey her yer değişti. Hiç bir yer tanıdık değildi. Ülkenin belleği tek tek satılıp,yıkılıp yok ediliyor. Doğa da nasibini aldı, nehirler, dereler, göller, ormanlar, hazine arazileri, kültür miras alanları, hava,su, toprak, tohum…pek çoğu talan edildi.
Buna karşı ses çıkaranlar gecenin bir vakti evlerinden alınıyor ve aylarca bir iddianame hazırlanmadan içerde tutuluyor veya işinden edilebiliyor.
Ya susup boyun eğeceksin ya da gideceksin” Bir başkan düşünün ki kendisini seçen %50 ile diğer %50’ yi tehtit ediyor. Son zamanlarımızda sürekli bir yerlerde bombalar patlıyor, neredeyse her gün biber gazına maruz kalıyorduk, tomaların, çelik zırhlı polislerin arasında yürüyorduk.
Çocuklar ailelerinin izni alınmaksızın ders saatlerinde okuldan alınarak İktidar yanlısı bir vakfın ya da diyanetin düzenlediği toplantılara götürülebiliyor.
Türkiye bilime sırtını döndü, tüm müfredatlar değiştirildi. Nitelikli pek çok eğitimci görevinden edildi. “Dindar ve kindar” bir nesil yetiştirmek isteyen bir iktidarın elinde hızla orta çağ karanlığına doğru gitmekte.
Çocuklar ve kadınlara çok fazla cinsel saldırı ve şiddet söz konusu. Bu suçu işleyen “erkek” mahkemede kıravat taktığı için iyi hal indirimi alabiliyorken, kadın ya da çocuk kısa etek giydiği, gece dışarıda olduğu için gibi oldukça anlamsız gerekçeler de ağır tahrik sebebi olabiliyor. Yasalar kadınları ve çocukları korumazken, her fırsatta kadınlara iffetli olma dersleri veriliyor. Hükümet Feministleri hedef gösterici tavırla itibarsızlaştırarak söylemlerinin altını boşaltıyor.
Mahalle baskısı sessiz bir şekilde her yerde.
Biz feminist bir aile olarak kızımızın bilimden uzak, muhafazakar bir eğitimle yetişmesini istemedik. Ben de çalışmalarımı daha özgürce devam edebileceğimi, kendime otosansür uygulamayacağım, sanatımı geliştirebileceğimi düşündüğüm için ve tüm olup bitene seyirci kalmak, hiç bir şey yapamayarak orada olmaktansa taşınmayı tercih ettim.
Bizim gibi Türkiye’den ayrılıp, kariyerlerini bırakıp başka ülkelere taşınan çok fazla çağdaş düşünen aile var. Çocuklarını bu karanlık düzene mahkum etmek istemeyen aileler. Seküler kesimin özellikle beyaz yakalıları ülkeyi terk etmekte.
Yazar Tezer Özlü’nün dediği gibi “Burası bizim değil, bizi öldürmek isteyenlerin ülkesi”
Index: Artık Londra’da yaşıyorsunuz. Bu mekân değişikliğinin sanatınızı etkileyecek mi ya da etkilerse, sizce nasıl etkileyecek?
Arslan: Atölyem Türkiye’de, çalışmalarımın ve atölye malzemelerim de çoğu orada. Üretimimde var olan şartlar değişiyor, produksiyonum sınırlı, kısıtlı imkanlarımla üretmeye ve yaşamaya çalışıyorum. Burada üretilenleri takip ediyorum, üretim süreçleri ve işleyişlerini öğreniyorum.
Buraya geldikten sonra İstanbul’da bir solo sergi ve grup sergilerine katıldım. Burada da grup sergilerine davet almış olmam sevindirici, üretmem için iyi bir motivasyon sağlıyor. Londra’da çalıştığım sanatçılar, ve küratörler oldukça anlayışlı, iletişime ve paylaşıma açıklar.
Türkiye’den lokasyon olarak uzakta olsamda hala oraya ait meseleleri takip ediyorum. Her gün Şiddete (“Everyday Violence”) maruz kalmamız üzerine düşünüyorum ve okumalar yapıyorum. Her ne kadar ben “ gönüllü göçmen” statüsünde tanımlansam da zorunlu ve ya gönüllü göçün şiddet ve zulumle bağını odağıma aldım. Burada ürettiğim çalışmalarım bu doğrultuda ilerlemekte.
Index: Sanatınız ve verdiğiniz feminist mesajlar Türkiye’de nasıl karşılanıyor? İki ülke arasında bir fark görüyor musunuz ve, varsa eğer, neden kaynaklandığını düşünüyorsunuz?
Arslan: Burada ki sanat izleyicisi oldukça donanımlı haliyle çok rahat okuma yapıyorlar. Turkiye’de yaptığımdan daha az açıklama yapmam yeterli oldu diyebilirim. Genel olarak sanat izleyicisini bilgi yelpazesi geniş, feminist ya da diğer politik meselelerle ilgili bilgi sahibiler o yüzden empati kurabiliyorlar. Üretim metedodlarım aşina oldukları yötemler ve metaforlar. Çalışmalarım salt Türkiye’de karşımıza çıkan meseleler de değil, güncel ve uluslararası arenada da örneklerini gördüğümüz konular.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”104413″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://ozgularslan.com/silencia-silence/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1546851612980-bd13bbff-a326-1″ taxonomies=”15469″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
01 Nov 18
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” full_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1541435907815{background-image: url(https://mappingmediafreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MMF-overview-1460×490.jpg?id=100814) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Demonising the media: Threats to journalists in Europe” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Burned in effigy. Insulted. Menaced. Spat at. Discredited by their nation’s leaders. Assaulted. Sued. Homes strafed with automatic weapons. Rape threats. Death threats. Assassinations.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
This is the landscape faced by journalists throughout Europe over the past four years.
Mapping Media Freedom has documented media freedom incidents across Europe — over 3,000 were surveyed for this report — since May 2014. The information gathered shows journalists and media outlets targeted in a kaleidoscopic array by political leaders, businesses and the general public – but some key trends have emerged from the reports recorded and verified by the platform. This document outlines some of these, and is intended as a survey of the landscape for media freedom in the region to aid lawmakers and those who wish to help an independent, pluralistic media landscape to flourish.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Key trends” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Five issues that have been identified from the reports submitted to Mapping Media Freedom” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
National Security and Counter-terrorism Legislation
Well-intentioned legislation that aims to protect the citizens and institutions of a country is, in the best-case scenario, often blind to journalism in the public interest. In the worst-case scenario, such laws are used deliberately to prevent the dissemination of information that is in the public interest. In 39 cases, reporters have been targeted for prosecution for publishing embarrassing leaked information that governments have asserted was not meant for public discussion. This is an acute issue that often involves the judicial and extrajudicial surveillance of journalists in an effort to ferret out the identities of whistleblowers.
Political Interference
This report identifies two key trends within this category. The first is direct interference in the operations of media outlets, either by politicians requesting editors or others involved in the production of news to alter or halt a story, or by replacing journalists critical of a particular political party or policy with ones more favourable to those in power.
Political interference has come from across the spectrum – from Podemos in Spain to the Front National in France, from Fidesz in Hungary to Labour and the Scottish National Party in the United Kingdom. The methods can take many forms, sometimes subtle (behind-the-scenes phone calls to an editor), sometimes overt (preventing a journalist affiliated with particular outlets from attending a press conference) – but the goal of controlling information flow remains the same.
The second form of interference is potentially more insidious: attempts to discredit media outlets by smearing journalists, news outlets, and in some cases an entire industry in order to sow doubt about the veracity of their reporting. This is having a damaging effect, particularly on the safety of journalists, who increasingly are seen as “fair game” by the broader public and subjected to both verbal and physical threats.
Social Media/Online Harassment
Social media has provided journalists with a wide avenue to share their information and interact with readers in a public yet intimate way. This has helped media professionals in reporting and allowed for constructive debates around current events, and can help improve the quality of information available to citizens overall. However, the other side of that bargain is the growing hostility toward journalists online. This takes many forms, from tweets of sexual harassment to death threats made via Facebook. This is a widespread and pernicious issue that journalists across the continent confront on a daily basis, and is fomented by the widely reported remarks of some politicians from member states. Women are most frequently the target of such attacks.
Protests
Journalists also face a number of risks offline. When protesters pour into the streets, journalists are necessarily among the first responders – an essential part of their professional duties. Traditionally present at demonstrations to document and interpret events, media workers – whether freelance or staff – are also among the first to be corralled, targeted and injured. A number of incidents documented at protests – as recorded by the Mapping Media Freedom project – provide insight into the multidimensional threats that journalists confront when called upon to report from the scene of demonstrations, whether small or large. These include a lack of understanding among some police forces about the role of media at such events.
Public Television
A significant but underreported trend during the period was the threat to public broadcasters. A number of national broadcasters were brought under closer government control. Taken together, these reports outline the importance of maintaining the editorial independence of these vital public services.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”About Mapping Media Freedom” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Monitoring violations against media professionals” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Driven by Index on Censorship’s decades-long experience in monitoring censorship across the globe, Mapping Media Freedom set out to record the widest possible array of press freedom violations.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Mapping Media Freedom is a project, funded by the European Commission, to investigate the full spectrum of threats to media freedom in the region – from the seemingly innocuous to the most serious infractions – in a near-real-time system that launched to the public on 24 May 2014.
Driven by Index on Censorship’s decades-long experience in monitoring censorship across the globe, Mapping Media Freedom set out to record the widest possible array of press freedom violations in an effort to understand the precursors to the retreat of media freedom in a country. The ambitious scope of the project called for a flexible methodology that draws on a network of regional correspondents, partner organisations and media sources.
Mapping Media Freedom defines a media worker as anyone partaking in the gathering, assessing, creating and presenting of news and information.
How It Works
Submitted reports are fact-checked against news outlets and through discussions with the submitting correspondent. Reports are then published to a public-facing website for use by researchers, journalists and policymakers. The outputs are available to the wider public through downloadable CSV files from the database and are shared widely on social media. The project has issued periodic reports that summarised data on a quarterly and yearly basis. This document is the result of a full review of the data reported to and verified by the project’s contributors covering 35 countries.
Each report is flagged against seven main categories and 64 subcategories to provide a sortable and searchable database of the types of press freedom violations taking place in a country. EU-affiliated countries are further categorised by their status: member states, candidates and potential candidates. Full descriptions of the categories and subcategories are available in the Mapping Media Freedom methodology section of this document.
Going beyond traditional statistical recording, Mapping Media Freedom’s correspondents write short narrative reports about the incidents. The goal is to recount the facts dispassionately, without bias toward the journalist or media outlet. Where possible, the incident is placed in the context of wider trends within the locality, whether a city or national media market. All reports for the 35 countries covered in this report are published in English and edited by project staff based at Index on Censorship.
The platform records incidents at the local and national levels. In addition to the categorisation, this geographic spread aims to provide for the first time the fullest possible awareness of the state of play for journalists away from a country’s largest media markets, where most well-publicised press freedom violations occur.
Because Mapping Media Freedom relies primarily on inputs from a concentrated group of part-time correspondents, it cannot record every violation of press freedom in the countries covered. Further, if incidents are not reported in the media, addressed by unions or self-reported by journalists on social media, there is no way for the database to register that the incident occurred.
Because of its focus on narrative, the platform allows for the retrospective interrogation of reports against new criteria as its methodology evolves, and as the database recorded an ever-larger pool of information new categories were added. For example, EU-related and “whistleblowing” flags were appended in late 2015, and a “commercial interference” flag was added in spring 2018. In a manual process, each new flag is tested against all the reports on the platform, providing researchers with insights into incidents that have occurred since 2014.
The methodology aims to be as succinct as possible, and directs submitters to flag the most appropriate subcategories that apply to the Limitation to Media Freedom category. As a result, reported incidents can appear – legitimately – in simultaneous subcategories across the project. For example, a journalist’s car or home could be firebombed after they have published a series of articles about corruption in the local administration. This report could be listed as a “Limitation to Media Freedom”, subcategories “Attack to Property” and “Intimidation”, depending on the facts of the incident. At the same time, reports are keyworded and mapped to appear geographically on the map and through the platform’s search functionalities.
Mapping Media Freedom covers all media workers, whether they work for state-backed news outlets, those funded by supporters of opposition parties or non-partisan media providers. In all instances, the reports documented are rigorously fact-checked by an independent editorial team working at Index on Censorship.
The Software
The Mapping Media Freedom map and database rest on a modified version of the Ushahidi platform, which was developed to track election violence in the wake of Kenya’s disputed 2008 presidential poll. The platform is now in its third iteration; Mapping Media Freedom uses the map as its primary visualisation of the data and offers targeted search functionality at mappingmediafreedom.org to help users navigate to the data they are seeking. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”European media freedom” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Key themes 2014-18″ font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
As security – rather than the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms – becomes the number-one priority of governments worldwide, broadly written security laws have been twisted to silence journalists.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
National Security Legislation
In October 2017, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal was convicted of producing “terrorist propaganda” in Turkey and sentenced to more than two years in prison.
Ayla Albayrak was charged over an August 2015 article in the newspaper, which detailed government efforts to quell unrest among the nation’s Kurdish separatists, “firing tear gas and live rounds in a bid to reassert control of several neighbourhoods”.
Albayrak was in New York at the time the ruling was announced and was sentenced in absentia, but her conviction forms part of a growing pattern of arrests, detentions, trials and convictions for journalists under national security laws – not just in EU candidate country Turkey, the world’s top jailer of journalists.
As security – rather than the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms – becomes the number-one priority of governments worldwide, broadly written security laws have been twisted to silence journalists.
It is seen starkly in the 272 cases that Mapping Media Freedom has logged and verified from countries affiliated with the EU. This includes everything from the alleged glorification of terrorism in Spain to the hundreds of journalists jailed in Turkey following the failed coup to the seizure of a BBC journalist’s laptop in the United Kingdom.
This abusive phenomenon started small, as in the case of Turkey, where dismissive official rhetoric was aimed at small segments – like Kurdish journalists – among the country’s press corps, but over time expanded to extinguish whole newspapers or television networks that espoused critical viewpoints on government policy.
While Turkey has been an especially egregious example of the cynical and political exploitation of terror offences, the trend toward the criminalisation of journalism that makes governments uncomfortable is spreading.
In Spain, the police association filed a lawsuit against Mònica Terribas, a journalist for Catalunya Ràdio, accusing her of “favouring actions against public order for calling on citizens in the Catalonia region to report on police movements during the referendum on independence”. The association said information on police movements could help terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals.
In Turkey, reporting deemed critical of the government, the president or their associates is being equated with terrorism – as seen in the case of German journalist Deniz Yücel, who was detained in February 2017.
Yücel, a Turkish-German dual national, was working as a correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt. He was arrested after he was summoned to a police station for questioning about a report he wrote about the Turkish energy minister. He was accused of sedition and using “terrorist propaganda to incite the population”. He was eventually released after a year in detention.
There are also multiple examples of Turkey using Interpol arrest warrants against exiled journalists like Can Dündar, whose extradition from Germany it demanded, and Hamza Yalçın, who was detained by Spanish authorities, though both of those countries declined to enforce the requests.
And governments are also using terror laws to spy on journalists. In 2014, the UK police admitted that it used powers under terror legislation to obtain the phone records of Tom Newton Dunn, political editor of The Sun newspaper, to investigate the source of a leak in a political scandal. Police used powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which circumvents another law that requires police to have approval from a judge to get disclosure of journalistic material. In September 2018, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK’s mass surveillance regime violated human rights.
Even jokes can land journalists in trouble under terror laws. French police searched the office of community station Radio Canut in Lyon and seized the recording of a radio programme after two presenters were accused of “incitement to terrorism”. The presenters had been talking about the protests by police officers which had recently been taking place in France. One presenter said: “This is a call to people who killed themselves or are feeling suicidal, and to all kamikazes, [to] blow themselves up in the middle of the crowd.” One of the presenters was put under judicial supervision and forbidden to host the radio programme until he appeared in court.
The misuse and abuse of national security legislation to identify government critics, or silence critical media, is of growing concern. EU governments in particular need to be mindful that loosely drafted national security laws are often copied by far more restrictive regimes to support their repression of critical media.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
All too often, politicians and business interests are short-circuiting the public’s right to information by placing their personal or party agendas ahead of the public good.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Political Interference
Direct Interference
A journalist working for a country’s public broadcaster produces a report that points out that a high-level politician’s family could potentially gain from a government investment. The politician sends a series of emails attacking the journalist for publishing false information and accusing them of acting unprofessionally. The journalist resigns, saying that further research into the conflict of interest is being prevented by their employer.
These events took place in Finland in November 2016. The country’s prime minister, Juha Sipilä, sent emails to Yle journalist Salla Vuorikoski after she wrote articles about a deal involving public money, a state-owned mining firm and another firm linked to the prime minister’s family. Nearly three weeks later, in December 2016, Vuorikoski stepped down, and fellow Yle senior reporter Jussi Eronen resigned citing pressure to act in contradiction of his journalistic ideals. Sipilä, who had handed control of his business interests to his children several years earlier, was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing by the country’s parliamentary ombudsman.
Several months later, in March 2017, the political party The Finns, which was supporting Sipilä’s government in the Finnish parliament, proposed altering the governing structure of Yle, limiting its independence. At the time, the party’s opposition to multiculturalism was cited as the motive for the proposal.
While these two distinct events – the original reportage and the later push to amend Yle’s governance – may be unconnected, the appearance of political manoeuvring raises serious implications for press freedom, and highlights how journalists can come under pressure from politicians even in a country widely regarded as having some of the highest levels of media freedom worldwide.
In an ideal media environment, ethical journalists would be free to investigate and independently reveal the information that they had found, without retribution or pressurisation by political or business interests. Even the member states of the EU are not ideal environments. All too often, politicians and business interests are short-circuiting the public’s right to information by placing their personal or party agendas ahead of the public good.
Since the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president, several members of the government have tried to control coverage by calling editorial offices, by asking journalists not to criticise the government, write about the ruling party’s finances or explore allegations of corruption, or even by threatening legal action when information which was embarrassing for the government was leaked.
Other forms of interference include lawsuits, such as the 47 lawsuits being brought against investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia at the time of her murder in Malta in 2017, as well as libel cases in countries such as Spain and Greece. The use of litigation to intimidate journalists is a serious concern and an area that Index on Censorship will be focusing on in 2019.
In the United Kingdom and France, journalists may be locked in side rooms or barred from attending conferences – an all-too-common occurrence across the continent, as Mapping Media Freedom’s “Blocked Access” subcategory shows.
The purchase or takeover of previously independent or critical media outlets by government supporters, or the abuse of the media licensing system is another form of interference. In Hungary, business interests aligned with the governing party have bought up media outlets and turned them from critical to pro-government outlets overnight, and popular radio stations have lost their licences against a backdrop of diminishing media plurality. In candidate country Serbia, when a tax inspection fails to find any impropriety at a media outlet, another is ordered, then another, then another. In Poland, a network was nearly fined for reporting on protests that were sparked by opposition to reporting restrictions in parliament.
Targeting the media financially is a well-trodden route for penalising critical outlets. On 6 July 2017 the offices of Rise Project, a Romanian investigative outlet, were raided by tax inspectors. Many believe the timing of the raid was chosen to intimidate the outlet, as Rise Project had previously announced that they would publish an important story on 6 July. The investigation alleged that Liviu Dragnea, the president of the governing Social Democratic Party, had exerted control over the Romanian secret services.
On 28 January 2018, a confidential report by the Romanian Tax Authority on the activity of Rise Project, containing its sources of income as well as the list of its paid collaborators and projects, was leaked to the press. The report was used in a smear campaign against the organisation.
Other forms of direct interference include intervening in the appointment of staff at state media operators, as outlined in section on Public Broadcasting.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
The willingness to smear journalists or the outlets they report for, rather than debate the facts, in order to warp the public’s right to information is the true threat to media freedom in the EU.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Demonising the Media
The willingness to smear journalists or the outlets they report for, rather than debate the facts, in order to warp the public’s right to information is the true threat to media freedom in the EU, its candidate countries and potential candidate countries. This fraught situation is occurring in countries at the heart of the EU, but it is even more pronounced in countries on its fringes, where robust checks and balances are absent in practice, and the independent media are anaemic due to shrivelling advertising budgets – or, worse, dependent on government largesse for large portions of their financing.
Leading political figures in countries from the UK to Hungary have smeared journalists and media outlets critical of them, dismissing their reports as “fake news”; they have thus created an environment in which reporters are demonised, and thereby more vulnerable to abuse online and off.
In Romania, journalists are publicly chastised for “promoting” protests against government policies. In Italy, journalists have been threatened with having their police protection removed.
In November 2016, during a press conference, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico called journalists dirty, anti-Slovak prostitutes, and before that he did not hesitate to call journalists “toilet spiders” or “slimy snakes”. In August 2017, during a press conference, Fico accused a reporter of being “controlled by the opposition”.
In Serbia, where President Aleksandar Vučić is a dominant presence on TV channels, he regularly humiliates journalists at press conferences. They are often shouted at, threatened and targeted: in some cases, journalists who Vučić mentioned by name in a negative context later receive death threats online.
Stevan Dojčinović, the editor-in-chief of KRIK, a media organisation which investigates crime and corruption, has been attacked and smeared numerous times by pro-government tabloids after reporting about the private property of politicians. Dojčinović and KRIK have been sued by Nenad Popović, a minister in the current Serbian government, after reporting on his offshore companies which appeared in the Paradise Papers data leak.
“If you are targeted, put on the front page or at the central headlines in the evening news, and accused of being a traitor, political activist, non-balanced or simply a thief – you are automatically forced to defend yourself, if not publicly, then at least in your nearest surrounding,” journalist Tamara Skrozza told Mapping Media Freedom. Skrozza was described as an “enemy of the state and President Vučić” by a pro-government TV station earlier this year, and describes the result of such smears: “Your family is in danger, your privacy is attacked and you are not able to lead a normal life. This, of course, causes a lot of stress and damages your health for a long time.”
None of this should be taken as an advocation of a position that holds that journalists and journalism should be free of critique. But the quality of the debate needs to be constructive, factual and professional. Burning a journalist in effigy, as happened twice in Croatia, does not contribute to the overall quality of information available to Croatians.
A culture of impunity is also exacerbating these problems. Investigative journalists are under particular pressure in the region: three journalists have been killed in the EU since October 2017.
These cases have received a great deal of attention internationally. However, other examples of impunity abound. In Croatia, a threatening comment was left on the Facebook page of independent and critical news website Index.hr: “These Index.hr journalists should be killed … because they undermine and damage everything that is Croatian.”
The poster was quickly identified and indicted, but legal authorities dropped the charges because, among other extenuating circumstances, he was a “highly decorated Croatian war veteran”. The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) condemned the decision, describing it as “scandalous”.
Ema Tarabochia, a researcher for a regional project on media freedom and the safety of journalists, said that the corrosive influence of hate speech on Croatian society in recent years has been very strong. “Even though there are no extremist parties in parliament, public space is poisoned by daily verbal attacks,” Tarabochia said. She said that evidence shows that journalists working for independent, commercial and nonprofit media, who are labelled as “leftist journalists”, are at a higher risk of suffering minor injuries and death threats. This pattern is repeated in a number of countries covered by the map.
“They are threatened or attacked out of ideological or ethnical reasons,” Tarabochia said, adding that there are still no verdicts in two cases in which members of a far-right party, Autochthonous Croatian Party of Right (A-HSP), burned copies of Novosti, the Serbian-language minority newspaper. The campaign, led by far-right political parties and conservative civil associations, reached fever pitch in September 2017 and was followed by numerous verbal threats to Novosti journalists.
“Lack of public rebuke from the centres of power, especially the political one, are encouraging the perpetrators,” Tarabochia said, adding that condemnation “would be a clear message to the perpetrators that such behaviour will not be tolerated”.
Moreover, an absence of reports should not be taken as evidence that the press freedom environment is healthy in such countries. With just 10 reports verified by Mapping Media Freedom during the time period covered here, Finland is the among the member countries with the fewest reports. Yet if the country’s prime minister is willing to pressurise a journalist, it should be assumed that only the most egregious examples of press freedom violations are being discussed in the public arena. A number of member states with smaller populations – Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – have few reports, but this may be something of a false flag. Other factors – such as societal and professional pressures – may be interfering with the discussion of incidents.
The pressures placed on journalists as part of this widespread political interference also lead to self-censorship on the part of the individual, and lessen the appetite for risky investigative journalism on the part of news outlets; this was cited as the reason for the resignations in the Yle cases.
Reporting incidents of censorship – including self-censorship – is vital to building an accurate picture of the state of media freedom in the region; we would urge journalists’ unions and media outlets to continue to report incidents widely, and confidentially if necessary.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
Blocked Access
Informal blacklists of media outlets. Exorbitant fees for access to public information. Restrictions on reporting from parliament and refugee camps. Journalists prohibited from asking questions at – or barred outright from – press conferences.
These Hungarian incidents, which were among the 545 cases of blocked access that were verified in the 35 EU-affiliated countries covered in this report, are all too often a fact of life for journalists. When journalists are prevented from reporting on an event – whether it be the opening of a pig farm or a press conference or a protest – the public’s right to information is damaged.
In the Hungarian context, preventing journalists from reporting comes in a variety of forms, from chasing them with a piece of construction equipment to preventing their investigation of a leak at a garbage dump to placing restrictions on where and how they can report in parliament. News outlets were barred from the Fidesz election centre. At the height of the government’s feud with television network RTL Klub, it was prevented from covering the opening of a new football stadium – as well as targeted with a punitive tax on its profits.
The Fidesz government’s shifting war with the media has seen journalists from outlets owned by business interests on the outs with the country’s prime minister repeatedly blocked from attending party events. In February 2018, yet more restrictions were placed on journalists, limiting members of the press to a 10-metre-long hall in parliament. During the period covered here, Mapping Media Freedom recorded seven incidents that highlight the limiting of the right to report from the seat of government power. Further restrictions on the press in the halls of power have arisen in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany.
At the height of the refugee crisis, Hungary repeatedly denied journalists the ability to access camps housing the migrants. An AP journalist was compelled to delete footage that showed police unleashing a dog on migrants crossing the border from Serbia. Police issued a letter forbidding journalists from approaching “illegal immigrants” to ask questions. In another incident, police declared a train station an “operational zone” and pushed journalists out. One journalist tweeted that the refugees said: “Do not leave us.” The journalist accused the Hungarian authorities of trying not to let the world see what they were doing. Similar restrictions have been placed on journalists at the Greek border.
Among the candidate countries, half of Turkey’s 103 incidents of blocked access reviewed for this report took place before the July 2016 coup attempt. Police and the government have placed an array of restrictions on reporters, from curfews near to the Syrian border to deportation orders and the well-documented trials of journalists taking place in the country.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
The immediacy and near-anonymity of social media allow journalists to connect with a huge audience, but leave them open to insult and derision.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Online Harassment
In December 2016, an anonymous Twitter user posted a private photo of journalist Vonny Moyes, a writer for Scottish newspaper The National, to shame her. Moyes said that she was targeted because she had written for pro-independence outlets and drawn the attention of pro-union trolls. When a particular column was commented on by leading UK conservatives, Moyes said this acted as an amplifier and exposed her to more direct harassment than usual.
The individual who ultimately sought out and posted the nude images of the journalist had trolled her over earlier articles. When the photos appeared on Twitter, Moyes asked the user to remove them and told the troll she would be contacting the police. She asked her followers to report the user to Twitter, which they did. The user deleted their account soon after.
“I then tweeted for the rest of the evening about the issue in order to deconstruct the victim-blaming and sex-shaming narrative, to essentially take back the perceived power the troll believed they had,” Moyes told Mapping Media Freedom of the incident.
In August 2014, Amberin Zaman, a Turkish journalist who was then the Turkey correspondent for The Economist, was singled out by the country’s president, who said to her: “Know your place.” In November 2014, a Twitter user wrote that she would be cut in half for writing about Isis, and she was told by a western embassy to avoid travelling to the Syrian border. Later, Zaman’s press card was revoked for her critical – tweeted – opinions about the Turkish government. In each of these situations, Zaman faced an onslaught of threats via social media.
Foreign correspondents in Turkey have also come under pressure, with one saying he had to leave the country upon receiving thousands of threatening comments after his reporting on the Soma mine disaster.
The immediacy and near-anonymity of social media allow journalists to connect with a huge audience, but leave them open to insult and derision. The online harassment incidents reported to Mapping Media Freedom from the countries covered here include a litany of death, rape and fake news accusations from members of the public and politicians.
In the 117 cases of online harassment reviewed here, the largest number of reports among EU countries came from Croatia with 16. It was followed by Italy (9), Spain (9), the UK (8) and France (5). In candidate and potential candidate countries, the highest number of incidents was logged as originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina with 16. It was followed by Serbia (9), the Republic of Macedonia (5), Kosovo (4) and Turkey (4).
Other studies undertaken into the level of harassment faced by journalists, particularly female journalists online, suggest the number of cases reported to Mapping Media Freedom vastly underestimates the extent of the problem. We welcome the attention that bodies such as UNESCO and the OSCE have brought to this issue.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Traditionally present at demonstrations to document and interpret events, media workers – whether freelance or staff – are also among the first to be corralled, targeted and injured.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Protests
When protesters pour into the streets, journalists are necessarily among the first responders; this is an essential part of their professional duties. Traditionally present at demonstrations to document and reflect, media workers – whether freelance or staff – are also among the first to be corralled, targeted and injured.
A number of incidents happening at protests – as recorded by the Mapping Media Freedom project – have provided an insight into the various threats that journalists confront when called upon to report from the scenes of demonstrations, whether small or large.
Against a backdrop of nationalism, xenophobia, economic insecurity and anti-government sentiment, reporters have been indirectly targeted by demonstrators, counter demonstrators and police.
This report examined 191 verified cases from the 35 countries affiliated with the EU – 28 member states, 5 candidates for entry and 2 potential candidates for entry. There were 46 incidents in France, 31 in Spain, 27 in Germany and 14 in Romania.
The numbers reflect only what was reported to and verified by Mapping Media Freedom. We have repeatedly found during the project that journalists underreport incidents they see as too minor, commonplace or part of the job, or where they fear reprisals from organised groups or law enforcement. In some cases, project correspondents have identified incidents retrospectively as a result of offhand comments on social media networks or media reports appearing only after a similar incident has come to light.
Contexts vary, but journalists face risks originating with both protesters and police, and as a result of finding themselves stuck between protesters and police (or various groups of protesters). However, more than half the incidents (13 out of 25) reported in the first seven months of 2018 involve members of law enforcement, suggesting the need for improvements in police handling of media attending protests.
This year also saw a number of incidents in which protesters targeted journalists because of the political alignment that they or the media outlet they work for holds. This has been exhibited by reports originating from anti-government protests aimed at Poland’s conservative Law and Justice Party.
This issue is explored further in our companion report Targeting the Messenger, which is available here. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-angle-double-right” color=”black” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
The question of the independence of national broadcasters is regularly debated and contested across Europe.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
Public Broadcasting
During the period covered in this report, Mapping Media Freedom has recorded a number of incidents related to national broadcasters in EU member states. Taken together, these reports outline the importance of maintaining the editorial independence of public broadcasters.
The question of the independence of national broadcasters is regularly debated and contested across Europe. Many governments play an important role in selecting national broadcasters’ management, for instance in Italy or France.
Public broadcasters have come under particular pressure in Poland and Hungary. Overhauled in 2016, Telewizja Polska has come under the direct control of the ruling conservative Law and Justice Party. The Polish legislation was modelled on the Hungarian changes implemented by that country’s ruling party Fidesz. In each country, the restructuring resulted in the elimination of hundreds of positions, including dozens of journalists.
In Austria, the conservative and far-right coalition government is planning an extensive reform of the state Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), which would include scrapping the tax funding it gets so that funds would be directly allocated by the government.
In June 2018, presenters of Galician public broadcaster TVG’s afternoon news programme resigned in protest at the alleged political influence of the news agenda at the channel. The presenters and some of their colleagues had taken part in regular “Black Friday” actions in protest at the alleged manipulation of the channel’s news report. The action was inspired by an effort launched by staff at the Spanish national broadcaster RTVE in April 2018 in protest at what they see as political manipulation of the news agenda.
The control exerted by the Polish government over state broadcasters creates a situation where state channels can be used as a platform by members of the government to attack private media outlets and journalists working for them, as happened in May when TVP published information meant to discredit Łukasz Maziewski, a journalist who had been critical of the Law and Justice government. TVP pointedly described Fakt, the publication for which he writes, as a “German-Swiss tabloid”. Fakt is the bestselling newspaper in Poland.
In 2017, in Poland, there was a proposal to introduce a 15% cap on foreign ownership of media companies, reminiscent of a Russian law passed in 2014 which prevented foreign investors from owning more than a 20% stake in Russian media outlets. In Poland, public media are pitted against privately owned channels, which government officials regularly attempt to discredit, as happened in May when an MP claimed that 90% of privately owned media belong to foreign capital.
In Poland and Hungary, Mapping Media Freedom has logged incidents in which journalists who work for independent and privately owned media outlets are banned from accessing events, while journalists who work for state media gain access.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the beginning of July, after months of pressure, a cantonal government replaced the managers of the local public broadcaster RTV USK. In Romania, at the end of June, Romanian public television terminated the contract of the production team responsible for the programme Starea Nației (State of the Nation), which had recently aired content that showed the broadcaster’s management in an unflattering light. In a video, TVR head Doina Gradea could be seen berating TVR journalists who had published reports critical of the government, and shouting: “They deserve fists in their mouths!” Gradea and the channel’s legal department signed the notice terminating the contract.
In Austria, in April, a month prior to his election as head of the ORF’s board of trustees, a member of the right-wing governing Freedom Party of Austria voiced his concerns about the “objectivity” of the broadcaster and threatened to dismiss a third of its foreign correspondents.
In Montenegro, at the beginning of June, the council supervising the Montenegrin public broadcaster RTGC dismissed the head of the broadcaster, Andrijana Kadija; the action was seen by local civil society and journalists as an attempt by the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists to stifle editorial independence. The Montenegrin Journalists’ Association said RTCG staff were working under “tremendous political pressure” from the government, making it “difficult for reporters and editors to do their jobs professionally”.
The pressure exerted on journalists results in politically warped content, increased censorship and self-censorship.
Mapping Media Freedom’s Poland correspondent said she felt that public broadcasters contributed to “creating a parallel reality”, and that when she worked for a state broadcaster she abstained from pitching stories that could be deemed controversial, as she knew they would not be commissioned. She said: “Most of the journalists for TVP are very young, not experienced and not qualified, but they fulfil their editors’ expectations. The rest does not matter. Public media outlets are seen as propaganda tools, detached from reality.”
Close governmental control over state broadcasters can have very tangible effects for a country’s citizens. Mapping Media Freedom’s Hungary correspondent, said: “Controlling and using the public media for political purposes is a very important piece in the overall plan of the Orbán government to control the information ordinary people living in rural areas have access to. In underdeveloped areas, most people get their daily news from public media. Local newspapers were purchased by businessmen close to the government; independent radio stations did not receive new licences from the Media Council (and were replaced by government-friendly stations), meaning that people who are not particularly tech-savvy, and don’t use the internet, have no access to information critical to the government. Meanwhile independent media is shrinking.”
Between 2015 and 2016, the European Audiovisual Observatory noted that a third of public media suffered budget cuts totalling nearly €139 million. In France the government asked for large cuts, prompting a strike in autumn 2017. The French government has also announced changes to public television due in 2019. Unions already fear that certain channels will be merged or eliminated.
Debate over licence fees persists across the EU, as seen last year in Switzerland, where the proposition to make the licence fee disappear was overwhelmingly opposed by citizens during a referendum.
This context of crisis contributes to deteriorating working conditions and job losses at state broadcasters. In the Czech Republic, in June, during a meeting of the parliamentary committee for the media, the head of the state radio announced planned cuts of 120 workers. When an opposition party deputy on the committee asked him whether he was planning to use this opportunity to settle scores with his opponents within the radio network by carrying out a purge, the director said that he did not want to increase the licence fee, and that the dismissals would provide enough money in the budget to pay the remaining employees.
These incidents suggest that public media, which plays a vital role in citizens’ right to information, is under acute pressure. The EU must act more decisively to ensure these services have independence.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Limitations to media freedom: Key categories” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Five subcategories that register the most serious threats to individual media professionals” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”106449″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
The 19 reports coded with the death flag from EU member states, candidate states and potential candidate states in the database record a variety of factors.
Member States
Slovakia
Investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner were killed at their home in February 2018. Kuciak was investigating the relationship between criminal syndicates and government officials. Authorities have since made a number of arrests.
Malta
Anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed when the car she was driving exploded as a result of a bomb in October 2017. Caruana Galizia was the subject of multiple lawsuits at the time of her murder.
Denmark
Swedish freelance journalist Kim Wall was murdered during a trip on an experimental submarine in August 2017. Inventor Peter Madsen, who created the vessel Wall was writing a story about, was later found guilty of the crime.
Danish film director Finn Nørgaard and security guard Dan Uzan were murdered in February 2015 when an armed individual attacked two seminars in an attempt to assassinate Lars Vilks, a controversial Swedish cartoonist, who was scheduled to appear.
The Netherlands
Crime journalist Martin Kok was shot dead in December 2016. Kok, who was the founder of a blog about the Dutch criminal underworld, had been targeted with a car bomb in July 2016.
Poland
Journalist Łukasz Masiak was beaten to death in Mława in June 2015. Masiak, who ran local news site NaszaMlawa.pl, which monitored local officials, had regularly received death threats, though Polish authorities later found that his profession did not play a role in his death and the perpetrator was charged.
France
Twelve people were murdered in a January 2015 terrorist attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Ten of the victims worked for the weekly, which had published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, and two were police officers. Four cartoonists were killed.
Candidate Countries
Serbia
Journalist and radio host Luka Popov was murdered at his home in Srpski Krstur during a burglary in June 2016. Three suspects were later arrested and police said they confessed to the crime.
Turkey
- Syrian journalists Orouba Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat were murdered by a distant relative in September 2017. They had been subjected to threats from groups associated with the Bashar Assad government.
- In April 2017 Saeed Karimian was killed in Istanbul by several hooded men who shot him and his business partner, a native of Kuwait. Karimian, an Iranian television executive based in Istanbul, was condemned in absentia in Tehran for “spreading propaganda against Iran”.
- During the failed July 2016 coup attempt, soldiers shot and killed Mustafa Cambaz, a photographer with the pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak, in the Çengelköy neighbourhood of Istanbul.
- Journalist Mohammed Zahir al-Sherqat was murdered in April 2016 by members of Isis, which claimed he was killed for presenting “anti-Islamic State programs”.
- Journalist Gülşen Yıldız was killed in February 2016 during a terrorist attack on a military convoy in Ankara. The journalist was among 28 people killed in the incident.
- The body of Rohat Aktaş, a news editor and reporter for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, was recovered in February 2016 from a Cizre basement, where he was trapped with dozens of others during clashes between Kurdish separatists and Turkish forces.
- Syrian journalist Naji Jerf was shot and killed in Gaziantep. Jerf’s murder was seen as an assassination because he had documented atrocities by Isis and trained hundreds of citizen journalists.
- Syrian citizen-journalist Ibrahim Abd al-Qader was beheaded in the city of Şanlıurfa, where he had been living as a refugee. Al-Qader was a contributor to the “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” information network and the Ayn al-Watan website. The journalist’s body was found at the home of a friend, Fares Hammadi, who had also been decapitated.
- Influential Turkish blogger Ferdi Özmen was killed in Istanbul in October 2014. Özmen was an ardent supporter of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s policies and a critic of the government.
- Serena Shim was killed in a car crash in Suruç in October 2014. Shim, a reporter for Iran’s Press TV, had been reporting from the Turkish-Syrian border on Isis militants crossing into Turkey, and had recently said on air that she was accused of spying by Turkish intelligence.
- Media worker Kadri Bağdu was murdered in October 2014 while distributing the Kurdish dailies Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem in Seyhan, in the south-eastern province of Adana. He was shot five times by two individuals who then fled on a motorcycle.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”106447″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
There were 445 verified incidents flagged as having a physical assault as part of the narrative in the EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries.
Italy was the EU member state with the most reports categorised as physical assaults, with 83 incidents verified during the period covered. It was followed by Spain (38), France (36), Germany (25) and Hungary (18). In candidate and potential candidate countries, Turkey had the highest number of assaults with 36. It was followed by Serbia (26), Bosnia and Herzegovina (16), Macedonia (14) and Kosovo (13).
In Italy, assaults are most often directed against journalists by private individuals who are part of the stories being covered. In France, Germany, Spain and Hungary, journalists are most often assaulted during demonstrations – whether by protesters or police. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”106446″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
There were 437 verified incidents flagged as having included an arrest or detention as part of the narrative in the EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries.
The overwhelming number of arrests and detentions in the countries covered in this report took place in Turkey. The country’s 324 reports – including the 80 that took place before the failed coup of July 2016 – document the ongoing crackdown on press freedom that accelerated after the attempted putsch.
Among the member states, Greece had 15 reports. It was followed by France (9), Germany (8), the Netherlands (7) and Latvia (6). In the candidate and potential candidate countries: Macedonia (9), Serbia (8), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4) and Kosovo (4). [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”106448″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
There were 545 verified incidents categorised as having blocked access as part of the narrative in the EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries.
Among the member states, Hungary’s journalists were prevented from covering events in 52 incidents. It was followed by France (38), Poland (36), Germany (34) and Italy (33). In candidate and potential candidate states, Turkey had 103 incidents. It was followed by Serbia (29), FYROM (28), Bosnia and Herzegovina (19), Albania (5) and Montenegro (5). [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”106453″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
There were 697 verified incidents categorised as having intimidation as part of the narrative in the EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries.
Among the member states, Italy’s journalists were intimidated most often, with 133 reports. It was followed by Romania (47), Croatia (41), France (39) and Hungary (36). In candidate and potential candidate countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina had 47 reported incidents. It was followed by Serbia (40), Macedonia (31), Turkey (31) and Montenegro (19).
Italian journalists are most often threatened by private citizens, who often resort to physical violence. The country’s journalists also face intense pressure from individuals allegedly connected to criminal syndicates. The high number of Italian reports is due to the awareness of the issue raised by the work of Ossigeno per l’informazione, which monitors press freedom in Italy using its oxygen methodology. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Selected countries” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”We have chosen six nations from the project which demonstrate the various trends outlined above. These are not indicative of “best” or “worst”, and are here to illustrate the regional themes as they are experienced in individual countries.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
In Austria, Mapping Media Freedom has recorded a significant rise in the intimidation of media outlets and journalists. Seven of the eight incidents that have been categorised as intimidation were logged by the platform after the December 2017 election. Journalists’ unions and watchdogs see a correlation between the change in Austria’s political landscape and the increase in violations of media freedom.
“Since the inauguration of the Austrian conservative right-wing populist government on 18 December 2017, there are rapidly increasing signs that media freedom is being restricted in Austria. Journalists are publicly attacked by politicians,” Rubina Möhring, president of Reporters Without Borders, told Mapping Media Freedom in March 2018.
Eike-Clemens Kullmann, president of the Journalists Department of Austria’s Union of Private Sector Employees, Graphical Workers and Journalists, told Mapping Media Freedom: “In the print media, the union observes with great concern an increasing number of attacks and defamation aimed at intimidating colleagues who are willing to stand up for the freedom of journalism.”
A clear majority of threats reported to Mapping Media Freedom originated with the right-wing governing coalition partner FPÖ and its political affiliates, which targeted media outlets, in particular the public broadcasting cooperative ORF.
Fred Turnheim, president of the Austrian Journalists Club, told Mapping Media Freedom: “The former far-right opposition party FPÖ has been well known for criticising the press for what it considers a liberal bias and lack of objectivity in the past.”
Turnheim said that since joining the government, FPÖ has the ability to influence the media landscape and try to pressure journalists into silence.
Turnheim views the influence of US President Donald Trump as an important turning point, which now risks normalising the defamation of media outlets as peddlers of fake news and journalists as liars. “President Trump opened the possibility of discrediting journalists without providing any evidence. This is an attitude which has spread not only to Austria.”
Möhring cited the FPÖ’s intention “to intimidate individual journalists in order to produce and influence reports in their favour and to reduce the reputation of independent journalism, especially the ORF, among the general public”. However, she assigned responsibility for the rise in intimidation in the country not only to the FPÖ, but also to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, “who tolerates and approves of the FPÖ’s behaviour and, additionally, pursues an enforced one-sided information policy called message control”.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Mapping Media Freedom published 69 reports of censorship in Hungary between May 2014 and 31 July 2018. The most important impact on the state of media freedom is the concentration of media outlets in the hands of a few businessmen close to the government.
Only a handful of independent media outlets continue working in Hungary, publishing almost exclusively on the internet. This has led to a situation where access to information critical of the government is difficult to obtain, especially in rural areas with low internet penetration and for people who are less tech-savvy.
One of the largest internet news sites, Origo, was sold to business circles close to the government in 2014. The most important left-leaning daily, Népszabadság, was closed in October 2016.
After Fidesz won the parliamentary elections in April 2018 for the third time, dissenting oligarch Lajos Simicska sold his media interests. The leading conservative newspaper Magyar Nemzet was closed in April 2018, and the only news channel critical of the government, Hír TV, was also sold in July 2018.
After a media outlet is taken over by business circles close to the government, the leading journalists and management are usually dismissed, and the outlet begins publishing/broadcasting materials in line with the direction set during informal meetings by people close to the government. Self-censorship is pervasive among the journalists who continue working at these outlets.
Press freedom and the right to access to information in Hungary were considerably affected by the acquisition of virtually all county newspapers by businessmen close to the government in 2016.
“We consider the government monopoly on news unhealthy and damaging, going against the laws concerning free competition and media,” Miklós Hargitai, the president of the National Association of Hungarian Journalists (MÚOSZ), told Mapping Media Freedom. He added that because MÚOSZ is not a government authority, its leverage is limited.
“We raise awareness of the illegalities through our statements and petitions, as well as interviews published in the few remaining free media outlets. We also plan to file a complaint to the European Commission, because the media conglomerate serving the interests of the government is functioning using mainly public funds: cheap credits and preferentially contracted state advertising. In our opinion, this is state subsidy, which is forbidden in the EU,” Hargitai said.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
On 21 June this year, the offices of two Dutch weekly magazines were shot at with an anti-tank gun. The property was badly damaged, but as it was late at night, no one was injured. The weeklies, Panorama and Nieuwe Revu, are both known for their reporting on organised crime, and more specifically feuds between various criminal motorcycle gangs. The main suspect turned out to be a member of one of those motorcycle gangs.
Over the past five years, Mapping Media Freedom has shown that most of the media freedom violations in the Netherlands were reported in the subcategory “Intimidation”. The intimidation came from various sources: individuals, politicians, companies and the public. Journalists are mostly the target when they deal with such topics as organised crime, Islam, right-wing politician Geert Wilders and Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan.
Several journalists received threats in the aftermath of the failed coup in Turkey and a diplomatic row between the Netherlands and Turkey in 2017. Political party Denk, a Dutch party accused of having ties with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, refused critical journalists at their press conferences. They published a campaign video in which they warn their voters to “distrust the media, don’t fall for it”.
Journalists who write critically about far-right parties like Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom and Forum for Democracy also often receive threatening and intimidating messages.
A trend of sexist threats and intimidation against women journalists reached a low point in May 2017, when Dutch journalist Loes Reijmer received multiple rape threats after the right-wing blog GeenStijl published her photo with a salacious text. It resulted in many more women journalists coming out in the open with their stories about sexual harassment online.
“Parties like Denk and PVV increasingly depict journalists as a biased party,” said Thomas Bruning, from the Dutch Union for Journalists (NVJ). “And because of social media, the threshold is lower than it used to be for the public to react, often anonymously. And the chance of being caught is lower, so people are getting away with it.”
A prominent Dutch study showed that over 60% of Dutch journalists have at some point in their career received threats and experienced intimidation. The survey, A Threatening Climate (2017), showed that 61% of all (638) questioned Dutch journalists had been threatened, 22% even on a monthly basis. Amnesty International called the Dutch numbers “worrying”.
According to Alex Brenninkmeijer, the former Dutch ombudsman who led the investigation, an explanation is the lack of trust in the media. “This is a consequence of the attitude of politicians towards journalists. You see this in the US and the UK, and it’s spilled over to the Netherlands,” he said. “The tone used by politicians has become increasingly harsh. These are the people who should lead by example.” He added that journalism has become more polarised and politicised over the past few years, like the society has. “The pressure on journalists has increased, as if they are forced to take sides, left or right. As a result, they become the subject of hate and intimidation.”
This often results in self-censorship. The majority of journalists questioned in the survey stated that threats and intimidation have negative consequences on the quality, independence and diversity of their work, and are therefore a danger to press freedom. Some have become more careful when dealing with sensitive topics; some avoid certain places and topics.
Brenninkmeijer added that he is most worried about the vulnerable position of journalists in their profession. “Fewer journalists are contracted, instead they have flexible contracts or are freelancers,” he said. “This leads to an employer having less responsibility for the safety of the journalist. The journalist’s position is weak and unprotected. And journalism becomes increasingly under pressure in society.”[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Between May 2014 and August 2018, Mapping Media Freedom reported 46 cases of censorship in Spanish media. Nemesio Rodríguez, president of the Spanish Federation of Journalism Associations, said: “There is evidence of journalists being pressured to change their information. Only 21% of journalists declare they have never received pressures to change their information. 75.7% believe it is usual that journalists yield to pressure, which in many occasions leads to self-censorship.”
Rodríguez pointed to judicial decisions as one of the factors that have limited the freedom of information. These decisions derive from restrictive laws passed during the right-wing People’s Party governments, especially the so-called “Gag Law” – the Citizen Security Law – which “contains articles that have weakened this freedom, since its judicial interpretation has ended by penalising free opinion. On the other hand, police sanctions against journalists and photojournalists have led to self-censorship to avoid problems.”
The Platform for the Defence of Freedom of Information also blames legislative and judicial powers. “The Citizen Security Law has been applied against journalists in the exercise of their work; and judicial procedures against investigative journalism, mainly in corruption cases by demands for the right to honour.”
Rodríguez also blames governments. “The News Service Council – the body in charge of guaranteeing internal control and independence within Spain’s public TV and radio corporation – reported hundreds of cases of censorship, manipulation, partisanship and other bad practices during Mariano Rajoy’s government.” Rajoy, the former head of the PP, was Spain’s prime minister from 2011 to 2018. “Also, Catalan television TV3 received accusations of informative manipulation and partiality in favour of a pro-independence thesis.”
PDLI pointed out: “We cannot forget other threats, such as the reform of the Criminal Code, as well as the deterioration of working conditions in the press; and the safety of journalists, especially women, due to threats and harassment in social networks would be another relevant factor.”
Overall, Rodríguez remarked that “this is not a state of widespread risk for freedom of expression and freedom of press. There is no censorship in Spain, if we understand censorship as the aim of a government to prevent the dissemination of information contrary to its interests.” Nevertheless, he admitted: “It is much harder to put an end to pressures coming from economic powers, since many media outlets are controlled by financial groups.”
PDLI does not share Rodríguez’s views. “There has been an unprecedented deterioration, particularly since the approval of the ‘Gag Law’, and it needs to be reverted urgently.”[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Sweden is still home to resilient, diverse and independent media, with relatively healthy commercial media supplementing a well-funded public service offering over TV, radio and online. The past year has however seen further evidence that the rise of populist right-wing politics in Sweden threatens both the operational freedom of journalists and their traditional place as an important component in the functioning of Sweden’s parliamentary democracy.
This threat is most obvious in the actions of extra-parliamentary hard-right activists pursuing traditional neo-Nazi methods of intimidation through marching, physical attacks and directly criminal behaviour, but a more pervasive threat is the delegitimisation of the media more generally by activists and politicians from the insurgent Sweden Democrats party.
In August 2018, for example, the SD leader Jimmie Åkesson said on air that he would like to close down the public service radio channel P3 for being too left-wing, attracting criticism. In the runup to the recent election the party has maintained a consistent hostility to the established commercial and public media, which they claim are trapped by political correctness and populated by a leftist elite. On election night Åkesson audibly lamented the number of journalists in the room, and the party’s strong showing has raised the prospect of their influencing media legislation in the coming years. Jesper Bengtsson, the chairman of Swedish PEN, said that “in Jimmie Åkesson’s world all journalism seems to just be an opinion. How should we get away from that idea of journalism?”
This type of scepticism of professional journalistic work has also been evident in the Moderate Party. This summer Hanif Bali, a member of parliament, was heavily criticised after posting mocked-up pictures of himself on the cover of the computer game Call of Duty, indicating that he was at war with the newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
Other dangers in the Swedish media include the increased precarity of work for freelancers, who are facing structural challenges to carrying out their work safely, and the apparent indifference by some members of the police to the safety and responsibility of journalists operating in public spaces. There is also a secondary challenge from foreign broadcasters in the US and Russia producing inaccurate news reporting on Sweden, which then undermines the professional legitimacy of Swedish journalists – a phenomenon which became particularly evident during the election campaign.
Going forward, the Swedish government is taking measures to combat fake news and reform support it provides to online and offline publications.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Montenegro’s atmosphere of impunity is cited by reporters within the country as the main reason for the high rate of intimidation against media workers. Nineteen of the 47 incidents logged in the country between May 2014 and August 2018 included threats against journalists. The threats come from a variety sources, including politically connected individuals and politicians: “Prime minister’s brother threatens and swears at journalist” and “Parliament vice-president threatens and insults journalist” are among them.
Marijana Camović, president of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, told Mapping Media Freedom that the escalation of threats and intimidation is the end result of unresolved assaults and the 2004 murder of Duško Jovanović, who was the director and editor-in-chief of the daily Dan. “In a society where such things are unpunished, then intimidations are even less punished,” Camović said.
According to Tea Gorjanc-Prelević, executive director of Human Rights Action, an NGO that focuses on freedom of expression, one of the main reasons for the rise in intimidation is that there is little respect for the country’s laws, authorities or institutions – “especially if the one who is threatening is affiliated to the authorities”.
Camović said that authorities need to resolve threats against journalists quickly and effectively. She pointed to the case of journalist Sead Sadiković, who was targeted twice in as many years with threats and intimidation. A year after the first incident, an explosive device was thrown at his home because the perpetrators were upset with his reporting. “If the institutions were proactive in the first incident, the second would have never happened,” Camović said.
Gorjanc-Prelević said that priority should be given to strengthening the rule of law regarding all kinds of criminal behaviour, but pressure should also be put on authorities to diligently investigate and sanction those who are threatening journalists.
HRA recently proposed amendments to the Montenegrin Criminal Code with the aim of increasing the punishment for attacks on journalists, in order to contribute to the climate of general prevention.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Methodology” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]What is Mapping Media Freedom?
The map is a collection of narrative reports about incidents targeting journalists/media workers in 43 countries. While visualised as a map, it is a news service and database verifying, collating and recording threats to media freedom that have been reported to it by a network of correspondents, partners and journalists. The strength of Mapping Media Freedom is that it contains a wealth of details about the types of incidents affecting journalists.
What kinds of incidents are reported?
Mapping Media Freedom monitors limitations, threats and violations that affect journalists as they do their job. We strive to have a complete narrative of the objective facts of incidents without bias against news outlets or journalists.
Each incident is categorised by the following:
Limitation to Media Freedom
Did the incident happen to a media worker while they were carrying out their professional duties? If so, what categories fit the facts of the incident?
- Death: Media worker killed as a result of their work
- Physical Assaults: Media worker subjected to violence as a result of their work
- Injury: Media worker injured as a result of their work
- Arrest/Detention: Media worker arrested or detained as a result of their work
- Interrogation: Media worker questioned by authorities as a result of their work
- Intimidation: Media worker menaced as a result of their work
- Collateral Targets: Threats made against those associated with a journalist, ie family or friends
- Attack to Property: Computers, cameras or other tools damaged
- Civil Charges: Media worker sued as a result of their work
- Criminal Charges: Media worker charged in connection with their work
- Legal Measures: Laws or court orders curtailing media outlets or workers
- Loss of Employment: Termination, job cuts
- Blocked Access: Media worker prevented from covering a story or speaking to a source
- Defamation/Discredit: Media worker publicly ridiculed
- Psychological Abuse: Verbal harassment, offline bullying
- Sexual Harassment: Media worker targeted for gender or sexual identity
- Trolling/Cyberbullying: Media worker harassed online
- DDoS/Hacking: News site or journalist targeted
- Violation of Anonymity: Publicly naming a source
- Bribery/Payments: Money proffered to influence coverage
- Impunity: Incidents where crimes against journalists go unpunished
- Targeting Whistleblowers: Targeting anonymous sources
- Attacking Freedom of Association: Union-busting by media outlet management
Case of Censorship
Did this incident include content produced by a journalist/media worker? What happened to that content?
- Article/Work didn’t appear at all
- Article/Work was heavily cut omitting important information
- Article/Work was slightly but significantly changed
- Article/Work was framed in a misleading way
- Self-censorship
- Soft censorship
- Commercial interference
Source of the Threat/Violation/Abuse
Who targeted the journalist/media worker?
- Employer/Publisher/Colleague(s)
- Police/State Security
- Government/State Agency/Public Official(s)
- Court/Judicial
- Political Party
- Corporation/Company
- Private Security
- Known Private Individual(s)
- Criminal Organisation
- Another Media
- Other/Unknown
Type of Journalist
What type of journalist/media worker was involved? In the case of bloggers/citizen journalists: were they involved in journalistic activities?
- Journalist
- Broadcaster
- Photographer
- Documentarist
- Cameraperson
- Editor
- Blogger/Citizen Journalist
- Other
Gender
What is the gender of the journalist/media worker involved in the incident?
- Female
- Male
- Nonbinary
- Not Applicable
Support Needed
If known, what could unions or media outlets help the journalist with?
- Legal Aid
- Physical Protection
- Training
- Informational Resources
- Publicity
- Union Intervention
- Solidarity
EU Membership
To which category does the country in which the incident took place belong?
- EU Member States
- Candidate Countries
- Potential Candidates
How do we verify the incidents submitted?
The platform’s methodology complies with the journalistic standards employed by Reuters and AP. Each report is verified by 2-3 trusted and independent sources, which include but are not limited to local and national media outlets, journalists’ unions, police reports and the social media accounts of the individuals directly involved.
When violations are self-reported or clarification is needed, Index staff also verify incidents with the media worker(s) affected by getting first-hand testimony, and/or speak to journalists’ unions.
Our verification process is a multilayered one in which staff work with a team of independent journalists to verify and report incidents submitted to the website. The goal is the most complete narrative of the incident that reflects the objective events.
Who is considered a journalist/media worker?
A media worker is anyone partaking in the gathering, assessing, creating and presenting of news and information.
What countries are monitored?
Mapping Media Freedom monitors a total of 43 countries which include the EU member states, candidates and potential candidates for EU membership, non-EU EEA states and four former Soviet bloc nations.
Albania | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus (Northern Cyprus) | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Kosovo | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Macedonia | Malta | Montenegro | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine (Crimea) | United Kingdom | Vatican
European Union member states
Austria | Belgium | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus (Northern Cyprus) | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | United Kingdom
European Union candidate states
Albania | Macedonia | Montenegro | Serbia | Turkey
European Union potential candidate states
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Kosovo
Non-EU states
Azerbaijan | Belarus | Iceland | Norway | Russia | Switzerland | Ukraine (Crimea) | Vatican[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by Valeria Costa-Kostritsky, Sean Gallagher, Jodie Ginsberg, Joy Hyvarinen and Paula Kennedy with contributions from Mapping Media Freedom correspondents: Adriana Borowicz, Ilcho Cvetanoski, João de Almeida Dias, 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
Illustrations
Alex Green
Design
Matthew Hasteley[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”106454″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”106452″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://ecpmf.eu/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”106451″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”106450″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://europeanjournalists.org/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
