05 Oct 17 | News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Ahmet Altan is one of over 150 journalists who is in detention in Turkey. Altan stands accused of “attempting to overthrow the government” and “attempting to eradicate the parliament” and they face three counts of life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Altan, who testified on 19 September through the judicial teleconferencing system from Silivri Prison, mainly addressed the presiding judge. The next hearing in his case will take place on 13 November.
The belief that makes people gather around a religion is rooted in their trust in the honesty of God.
God cannot tell lies.
Lying would deprive God of his divinity.
In ancient times, even a pagan tribe that worshipped a pear tree believed in the tree’s honesty; that it would bear the promised fruit at the promised time.
Ever since people were created they have gathered around authority, worshipped it and entrusted themselves to it.
People who don’t trust each other, who divide into groups, tribes, and clans, can only come together around an authority which they trust to be honest.
In the same way that a person needs an honest authority in order to become religious, there is need for an honest authority in order for millions of people to become a nation and establish a state.
The honest authority which enables the millions to turn into a nation and establish a state is not one of politicians, soldiers, executives, or political parties.
That honest authority, that great source of trust, resides in the judges.
The magical link that turns millions of dispersed pearls into a necklace is the honesty of those judges.
Without judges, there cannot be a nation. Without judges, there cannot be a state.
What makes a nation and what makes a state is its judges.
In the same way that removing the oxygen atom from a water molecule turns the very source of life into one of death, removing the judges from the state turns it into an armed gang.
If there are no judges then there is no state.
When you remove the oxygen atom from a water molecule it no longer qualifies as water. Similarly, when you remove the judges from the state, the state no longer qualifies as a state.
What distinguishes a state from an armed gang is the presence of judges.
Well, then what makes this ever so vitally important judge a judge?
It is not his or her diploma, his or her cloak, his or her podium.
What makes a judge a judge is their possession of an almost godly honesty and the people’s undoubting belief in that honesty.
In the same way that there cannot be a lying God there cannot be a lying judge.
A judge would lose their qualification as judge the moment they were to lie in court.
If a state were to allow a judge who no longer qualifies as a judge to continue, that state would no longer qualify as a state.
A judge demolishes the state as they demolish their qualification as a judge by lying in court.
A year ago, Mehmet Altan and I were arrested on the charges of “giving subliminal messages to the putschists.”
Later on, this ridiculous allegation disappeared and we were sent to prison on the charges of staging the coup on 15 July and attempting to overthrow the government with weapons.
We are said to have staged an armed coup d’état.
This is the crime we are charged with.
This is a case in which the absurdity of the allegation overwhelms even the gravity of the charges.
Now, I’ll say something loud and clear to this court, to this country and to those around the world who have taken an interest in this trial:
Show us even a single piece of concrete evidence of the strange allegations against us, and I will not defend myself anymore. Even if I am sentenced to the gravest penalty I will not appeal the ruling.
I am saying this loud and clear.
Show me a single piece of evidence and I will waive my right to appeal.
I will submit to spending the rest of my life in a prison cell.
During this past year, which we spent in prison, a judge ruled each month for the continuation of our imprisonment by claiming that “there was solid evidence” against us.
In the previous hearing, you, too, said there was “concrete evidence” against us.
Now, for you to be able to preserve your integrity and your qualification as a judge and for the state to be able to preserve its qualification as a state, you need to show us what those pieces of “solid evidence” are.
Since you declared with such ease that there was solid evidence, that evidence needs to be in our case files.
Come on, show that solid evidence to us and to the rest of the world – the evidence which proves that we staged a coup on 15 July.
You won’t be able to show it.
Both you and I know that there is no such evidence.
Because these allegations are utter lies.
Go ahead, disprove what I have been saying, pull out that piece of evidence and show it to us.
There are some difficult aspects to arresting people on nonsensical allegations, Your Honour, and now you are confronted with those difficulties.
Either you will end this nonsense by saying “there is no solid evidence” or you will show us some “solid evidence.”
Or, you will insist on saying “there is solid evidence” while there is no solid evidence and thus lose your integrity and your qualification as a judge?
And with you, the state will lose its qualification as a state.
Thereby we will cease to be defendants.
We will become hostages of the judges, who have lied and therefore lost their qualification as judges, and to an armed gang, which has lost its qualification as a state.
Because in a real state with real judges there can be no allegation without evidence, there can be no trial without evidence, there can be no arrest without evidence.
Because a state, if it is to be a state, needs evidence to put a person on trial.
Only armed despots lock people away without evidence.
If you continue trying and incarcerating us without evidence you will demolish the judiciary and the state.
You will be committing a serious crime.
Turkey will turn into a jungle of thuggery and despotism, where the guilty try the innocent.
Now, you need to decide whether you are an honest judge or a criminal.
If you accept an indictment that makes such absurd allegations and declare “there is solid evidence” while there isn’t even a single piece of evidence, you’ll discover life’s capriciousness and will put yourself on trial while thinking you are trying us.
I wait for your decision.
As an aged writer, one much more experienced than you are, my advice to you is to save yourself, save your profession, and save your state.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1507033820060-8b45a65c-3de0-8″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
22 Sep 17 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements, Syria, Turkey, Turkey Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Syrian journalists Orouba Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat were found murdered in Istanbul. (Facebook)
The bodies of Syrian journalists Orouba Barakat and her daughter Halla Barakat were discovered in their apartment in Istanbul late Thursday 22 September, 2017.
Friends who failed to reach Halla Barakat by phone called the police, who had a locksmith open the apartment located on Yangaç Street in the Üsküdar neighbourhood.
According to police reports, the Barakats were strangled and then stabbed. The perpetrators also poured detergent powder on the bodies to minimise the smell of the decomposing bodies.
“The brutal killing of Orouba and Halla is a tragedy for press freedom.” Hannah Machlin, project manager, Mapping Media Freedom, said. “As we mourn the loss of two brave journalists, we call on the authorities to swiftly investigate and identify those responsible for this heinous crime.”
Orouba Barakat was a journalist, filmmaker and activist who was an outspoken critic of the Assad regime and a staunch supporter of the revolution. She had exposed countless atrocities of the Assad regime in prisons.
Her daughter Halla (22) was a reporter for Alekhbarya TV, news editor for the Orient and former editor at Turkish state channel TRT world.
Both Barakat and her daughter had been reportedly receiving threats from groups associated with the Bashar Assad government.
Orouba Barakat was forced to spend most of her life in exile. She fled her native Syria in the 1980s. She resided in the UAE before moving to Istanbul.
The police are still investigating the murder. The date of the murder is not yet known.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_custom_heading text=”Media freedom is under threat worldwide. Journalists are threatened, jailed and even killed simply for doing their job.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fcampaigns%2Fpress-regulation%2F|||”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship monitors media freedom in Turkey and 41 other European area nations.
As of 22/9/2017, there were 525 verified violations of press freedom associated with Turkey in the Mapping Media Freedom database.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship campaigns against laws that stifle journalists’ work. We also publish an award-winning magazine featuring work by and about censored journalists. Support our work today.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1506088588004-59d922a2-300c-5″ taxonomies=”55″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
21 Sep 17 | Mapping Media Freedom, Media Freedom, media freedom featured, News and features, Turkey, Turkey Uncensored
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
People gather in solidarity outside Zaman newspaper in Istanbul in March 2016
When the 15 July 2016 putschists attempted a coup in Turkey, no one could foresee that the journalists, columnists and staff of opposition newspapers and TV channels would be the target of such a massive detention and arrest campaign by the authorities.
However, days after the coup was halted, a large number of reporters, authors and staff of Zaman Daily, which is linked to the Gülen movement, led by the USA-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, were accused of orchestrating the failed coup. The arrests began immediately.
Journalists Ali Bulaç, Şahin Alpay, Mümtaz’er Türköne, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Mustafa Ünal and others were put in jail based on their articles, written on 17 December 2013. After the paper reported on a corruption scandal, in which then-key government members were involved, the prosecution claimed these writers were “part of an organised attempt against the government”. Based on their articles, the prosecution forged a link between the coup attempt and the journalists. “Attempting to abolish the Constitution, and membership to a terrorist group” are very common charges levelled against dissident journalists and intellectuals. In brief, the main motivation of such cases, a fashion among the judiciary, is to make these people look like “putschists”.
The 64-page indictment, which was prepared 300 days after the arrests, an unlawful detention period, consisted of only the titles of the articles, which were the only evidence provided to support the accusations. Not a single word of the content from the articles was used.
Four-hundred-and-twenty days on from the arrests, some of the journalists finally appeared before the court and made their defence. They stand trial at a courtroom close to notorious Silivri Prison where they are also being held. Despite objections from all the journalists, the court ruled at the end of the two-day hearing to continue their detention.
Bulaç, a vigorous advocate of Islamist ideology within Turkey, took to the floor to give his defence. Following a brief introduction, he talked about his frustration with the Gülen movement. He said he believes in his that elements of the movement were involved in the attempted coup.
Bulaç highlighted that he was subjected to ill-treatment during the police interrogation, including being mocked. He stated that such humiliation continued while in prison. He made clear in his defence that the religious group, which was once known for its services for people, evolved into “FETÖ”, a term coined by Turkey’s AKP government, meaning “a terrorist group supporting Fethullah Gülen”.
The most striking part of his defence was when Bulaç said he regretted writing for Zaman. He then asked the politicians who once supported the movement and later on separated: “You tell the public that they were deceived by the movement. But I was also deceived. So what makes a difference between you and me?”
Having expressed his objections to the evidence against him, Bulaç reiterated that none of his actions could be considered to be terrorist acts.
“Did I give the orders to stage a coup? Did I take part in pre-coup meetings? Did I bomb those innocent people who were killed on that night by jet fighters? Did I launder money on behalf of the group? Did I illegally transfer money abroad? Did I had relation with the police and military officers who actively took part in the process? No, none. So how can I be labelled as the member of the organization?” Bulaç asked.
Another well-known Zaman journalist, Alpay, is 73-years-old with multiple health conditions, including high blood pressure, prostate and heart conditions, loss of hearing and difficulty in breathing, among others. As a result, he has required medical treatment while in prison.
All defendants in the case face three times aggravated life sentences plus 15 years in jail. Alpay questions how his articles could merit such an extreme prison term. He argues that the evidence against him is nonsense.
As to why he wrote for Zaman rather than other media outlets, Alpay said the daily was the only one which opened its doors to him and that it pursued a policy of reaching out to all parts of the society by inviting various authors with different political backgrounds.
“The movement was a vigorous supporter of Turkey’s European Union membership bid. However, I was disappointed with the movement after I realised it had a dark side. I am extremely regretful for writing for Zaman,” Alpay added.
Alpay believes he will be acquitted of all charges against him and asked the panel of judges to release him pending trial so that he could spend the rest of his life with his children and grandchildren.
The story of İbrahim Karayeğen, who was the night editor of Zaman, is a little different from the other defendants. After he was detained in July 2016, his relatives hadn’t heard from him for eight days and the lawyer representing him said that Karayeğen faced torture. His lawyer was later arrested and sent to prison.
In his court defence, Karayeğen said that he was beaten by prison guards in the corners of the Silivri Prison where no surveillance camera exist. He shouted “justice doesn’t exist” during one of these assaults. He was held in a solitary confinement for six-and-a-half months.
Although he didn’t write a single article for the daily, the prosecution charged him with writing articles supporting the coup attempt. Karayeğen underscored that he didn’t write columns for Zaman during his working life in the daily. Explaining that he had no authority to determine the daily’s editorial policy, Karayeğen asked for his release. But his hopes also faded as the court decided for the opposite.
The next hearing is on 8 December, where a decision will be made whether Alpay’s health is an obstacle to his being held in prison. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1505985230960-9d055fa4-4d52-5″ taxonomies=”4335, 8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
14 Sep 17 | Mapping Media Freedom, News and features, Turkey
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The trial of Cumhuriyet journalists and executives resumed on 11 September. The Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court issued an interim ruling to keep five defendants in prison.
These are: editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, president of the Cumhuriyet Executive Board and lawyer Akın Atalay, columnist and publications advisor Kadri Gürsel, reporter Ahmet Şık, accountant Emre İper and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu — a teacher unrelated to Cumhuriyet who is on trial on the basis of tweets he made — will remain under arrest.
The interim decision was in keeping with the prosecutor’s request for the continued imprisonment of the suspects on the grounds that the suspects might “obscure evidence” and are a “flight risk”.
“The charges holding Cumhuryiet journalists in prison a political attempt to silence one of Turkey’s oldest independent media outlets,” said Hannah Machlin, project manager for Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project. “The decision to keep the five staff members behind bars is shameful yet indicative of Erdogan’s regime disregard for fundamental human rights.”
Emre İper, an accountant for Cumhuriyet who was arrested on 19 April on charges of using ByLock — an encrypted messages app allegedly used by the Fethullah Gülen network, the groups the Turkish authorities say was behind last year’s coup attempt — delivered his defence statement for the first time. Rejecting the allegation that he used ByLock, İper denies both that he used ByLock and that he is a member of a terrorist organisation.
“I would rather be held for an entire lifetime without any questioning than be held on FETÖ charges for just a single day,” he said. FETÖ — an acronym for Fetullahist Terrorist Organiation– is the name used for the Fethullah Gülen network by Turkish authorities. “I would like my acquittal from this shameful accusation,” he added.
Witnesses whose statements were included in the indictment delivered testimony in the trial. The session, which began at 10.30am, lasted until late in the evening.
Witnesses included İbrahim Yıldız, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper, its current news coordinator Aykut Küçükkaya, former Cumhuriyet Foundation board member Nevzat Tüfekçioğlu, Cumhuriyet reporter Miyase İlknur, Cumhuriyet columnist Şükran Soner, Cumhuriyet Foundation’s former accountant and executive Mustafa Pamukoğlu and former Cumhuriyet Foundation executive İnan Kıraç.
Most did not testify against the defendants, saying that they had voiced criticism of how the foundation was managed but did not agree with the terror charges levelled at the defendants.
Journalist Kadri Gürsel, who spoke at the hearing, said his defence statement was ignored by the authorities, asserting that his right to a fair trial had been violated.
He also denied claims that he had talked to people who used ByLock. He said most of these accusations stemmed from calls or SMS messages received from ByLock users, whose calls had gone unanswered.
Phone records also show, Gürsel said, that the last ByLock user who called him had phoned him six-and-a-half months prior to his employment at Cumhuriyet.
“I think I might be the only person under arrest in these media trials who was locked up for having been contacted by people who used ByLock,” he said. “The reason why I am being tried here is not because ByLock users contact me; it is because I am a critical journalist. I am being tried for my thoughts and journalistic activities. My only hope is for a fair trial.”
“I have a clean conscience regardless of what decision comes out of this trial,” Gürsel added.
Murat Sabuncu said he had spent ten-and-a-half of the 12 months he served as editor-in-chief in prison. He said the expert witness of the prosecution had never worked as a journalist and whose age was the same as the number of years he worked as a journalist.
“This trial will go down in the history of free speech as a dark stain,” he said. “We will continue to defend free speech for all journalists in Turkey, even if we spend more time in prison.”
Cumhuriyet reporter Ahmet Şık said: “I was arrested on charges of spreading propaganda for FETÖ, Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and later my case was merged with this trial. The public likely thought it was being taken for a fool because of the FETÖ allegation and so this charge was dropped and I was officially charged with spreading propaganda for the PKK and the DHKP-C.”
Akın Atalay, who also spoke in the trial, said the case was a clear “picture of the democratic level Turkey was taken to.”
The trial was adjourned until 25 September. The next hearing will be heard at the Çağlayan Courtroom in central Istanbul. The presiding judge said remaining witnesses will be heard in the next trial, after which the court will be able to make a “sounder decision.”[/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:1505391157742-86c58a19-9172-3″ taxonomies=”8607″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
