Richard Howitt MEP: European Parliament targets Turkey’s record on free expression

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Index on Censorship’s project to map media violations in the European Union and candidate countries has recorded 74 incidents in Turkey since May 2014.

Richard Howitt MEP is foreign affairs spokesperson for both the Labour Party and the Socialist and Democrat Group in the European Parliament and is a member of its joint parliamentary committee with the Turkish Parliament

As millions mourn the shooting of journalists in France, the European Parliament convening this week in Strasbourg today extended the fight for freedom of expression to legal threats, harassment and character assassination against free journalism in Turkey.

Indeed last weekend’s scenes reminded me of the hundreds of thousands who went on to the streets after the Turkish writer Hrant Dink was shot in 2007 and my deep regret that, despite the work of a foundation established by his widow, the situation in Turkey appears to have got worse not better in the intervening years.

A resolution voted for by MEPs was provoked by dawn police raids on newspapers and television stations in December that led to the arrest of 31 people, mainly journalists, on charges of terrorism – which carry some of the gravest sentences under the Turkish penal code.

Two of the leading journalists arrested openly admit sympathies for the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen ,whose followers withdrew support from the country’s governing AKP party and whose so-called ‘movement’ does indeed deserve greater scrutiny.

Nevertheless reports suggest no evidence was presented of actual criminal intent against those arrested, with the crackdown fitting a pattern of legal harassment, smears and threats against those who provide political opposition to the government or who critically report on corruption allegations against it.

Our resolution also condemns the recent arrest of a Dutch journalist, demonstrating how foreign journalists are not exempt from attack.

Correspondents of The Economist, Der Spiegel and the New York Times in Turkey have all been threatened, with one CNN correspondent forced to flee the country after being accused of espionage.

Previous attempts to ban social media are also being revived in the country this week, in an apparent attempt to suppress reports Turkey’s intelligence organisation may have been implicated in the supply of arms to ISIS fighters in Syria.

As someone who is proud to call himself a friend of Turkey, and a keen proponent for the country’s accession to the EU, it is with a heavy heart I sign up to such criticisms.

However in negotiations I had to argue against opponents of the country seeking to use this latest incident to introduce wording that would have imposed immediate financial penalties against Turkey or put up new barriers in the membership negotiations.

I did so because politicians as well as journalists must not allow ourselves to be trapped in to self-censorship. On these arrests, it was our duty to speak out.

I am saddened explanations that the release of all but four of the journalists given to me and to my fellow MEPs by the Turkish representative in Strasbourg this week seemed wantonly to ignore the climate of fear and self-censorship which remains inflicted on the country’s press as a result.

It is the blatant denials that undermine trust and confidence with those of us who want to support reform efforts in the country, and which one very senior EU official told me had led to “desperation” in the telephone calls between Brussels and Ankara which followed the arrests.

Meanwhile, former prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, now elected as the country’s president, reacted characteristically by telling a news conference: “Nowhere in Europe or in other countries is there a media that is as free as the press in Turkey.”

The sober truth is that Turkey ranks 154 out of 180 in press freedom according to the Reporters Without Borders index last year.

The annual survey by the Committee to Protect Journalists, published only last month, showed Turkey amongst the top ten countries in the world for imprisoning journalists, ranking alongside Azerbaijan, Iran and China.

However, Erdogan’s protestations must be put in to a context where he also rebuffed European criticisms of the arrests saying the EU should “mind its own business”, and last week when he was prepared to partly attribute the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack to “Western hypocrisy”.

Today’s European Parliament vote ascribes that hypocrisy instead to the government in Ankara.

I wonder whether the Turkish press will fairly report even this?

This article was posted on 15 January 2015 at indexoncensorship.org

Azerbaijan: Journalist Arzu Geybulla threatened

Arzu Geybulla

Arzu Geybulla

Journalist Arzu Geybulla has received a growing number of threats on social media following an interview with Azerbaijani news site modern.az.

Geybulla has been subject to ongoing intimidation because of her work at Istanbul-based Armenian paper, Agos. The interview has led to Geybulla being accused of treason by the Azerbaijani media.

Despite calls from the European Parliament in September, Azerbaijan has still failed to release prominent political prisoners Leyla and Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev and Hasan Huseynli.

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, said: “Azerbaijan portrays itself internationally as a country that values human rights and respects the freedom of its citizens to express themselves. In reality, anyone who seeks to speak or act freely in Azerbaijan is targeted, imprisoned and harassed. The international community needs to take a far tougher stance on Azerbaijan to help defend individuals like Arzu and the defenceless individuals to which her work gives voice.”

Geybulla wrote for Index on Censorship about her thoughts on free expression in Azerbaijan on July 30, the day Leyla Yunus was detained.

Leyla and her husband have now been imprisoned for 73 days. Javarov has been in prison for 70 days since August 2, and  Aliyev has been detained for 64 days, since August 8. Huseynli, who has been detained for 195 days since March 30, is serving a six year sentence.

Take action to support Arzu Geybulla, Leyla and Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev and Hasan Huseynli.

Post on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit or share with your friends. Let @PresidentAZ know you ware watching.

Please send appeals immediately:

— Condemning the campaign of intimidation directed at Arzu Geybullayeva for her legitimate work as a journalist at Agos;
— Calling on the Turkish and Azerbaijani authorities to investigate any threats of violence against her and to ensure her safety;
— Reminding them that they have the obligation to safeguard Geybullayeva’s right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which they are both state parties.

Appeals to:

Mr Ramil Usubov
Minister of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Azerbaijan
7 Husu Haliyev Street
Baku, Azerbaijan
AZ1001
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PresidentAZ

Mr Efkan Ala
Minister of Interior for the Republic of Turkey
T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı
Bakanlıklar
Ankara, Turkey
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Twitter: @efkanala

If possible, please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for Azerbaijan and Turkey in your country. Let us know of any actions you have taken and responses you receive.

This article was posted on 10 October 2014 at indexoncensorship.org