11 Nov 2016 | Mapping Media Freedom, News and features
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Each week, Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project verifies threats, violations and limitations faced by the media throughout the European Union and neighbouring countries. Here are five recent reports that give us cause for concern.
Turkey’s main internet regulator, Information and Communication Technologies, sent instructions to operators to close VPN services, according to technology news site Webtekno.
The ICT said it was acting within the scope of Article 6, paragraph 2 of law no 5651 in adopting a decision requesting Turkish operators to shut down VPN services.
The decision covers popular encryption services as Tor Project, VPN Master, Hotspot Shield VPN, Psiphon, Zenmate VPN, TunnelBear, Zero VPN, VyprVPN, Private Internet Access VPN, Espress VPN, IPVanish VPN.
According to Webtekno some VPN services are still available such as Open VPN.
“This is clearly detrimental to journalists and the protection of their sources,” Hannah Machlin, project officer for Mapping Media Freedom, said.
Turkey’s internet censorship did not stop with VPNs as the country faced a shutdown of the popular social media sites Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and more. This was the first time in recent years that the Turkish government targeted popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Instagram, according to Turkey Blocks.
The Independent states that it’s unclear whether the social media outage came from an intentional ban, an accident or a cyber attack. Turkey Blocks believes the outage was related to the arrest of political activists for the opposition party the previous night.
Turkey has increasingly utilised internet restrictions to limit media coverage in times of political unrest.
Spanish group Morera and Vallejo, has decided to slash contracts with photographers working for their newspaper, El Correo de Andalucía, according to the Sevilla Press Association (APS).
The three photographers working as “fake” freelancers for the newspaper were on a permanent contract without the benefits of being an employee. New contracts for the photographers worsened their conditions, lowering their pay and lessening the work photographers can put in daily.
APS additionally states that journalists working for El Correo de Andalucía are expected to act as photographers as well, doubling the amount of work they must put in. The newspaper pushed for the merging journalism and photography but journalists are unwilling to steal their coworkers’ jobs.
Four journalists from the Center for Investigative Reporting in Serbia (CINS) have noted that they have been followed and photographed on mobile phones by unknown individuals, NUNs Press reported.
CINS, which is known for reporting on corruption and organised crime in Serbia, believes the stalkers are an attempt to intimidate their journalists. Editor-in-chief Dino Jahic stated that they’re unsure who is behind the harassment, “We are working on dozens of investigations all the time, and each of them could trigger somebody’s anger.”
On its website, CINS wrote that they were determined to continue their investigations despite the intimidation. Their case has been reported to the Ministry of Interior and the public prosecutor’s office in Belgrade.
The online investigative news site Ukrayinska Pravda has reported that Ukrainian authorities wiretapped the outlet’s offices during the summer of 2015.
Editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva-Borovyk said in March of 2016, an unidentified person handed in an envelope with operational reports, activities and topics recently discussed by UP. The site has no evidence that wiretapping has continued since then.
According to Ukrayinska Pravda, the security service of Ukraine was carrying out orders from the president’s administration. Ukrayinska Pravda reported that it was not only its journalists that were targeted, claiming the staff of several other media sites have been tapped. Mapping Media Freedom does not yet know which other organisations.
Journalists have asked the security service of Ukraine, interior minister and chairman of the national police to respond to the information UP has gathered.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Click on the bubbles to view reports or double-click to zoom in on specific regions. The full site can be accessed at https://mappingmediafreedom.org/
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2 Nov 2016 | Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Europe and Central Asia, Statements, Turkey, Turkey Letters
A coalition of 14 leading international press freedom and freedom of expression organisations today condemned as an “extraordinary attack on press freedom” the jailing of top journalists with Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper and the closure of 15 pro-Kurdish media in a letter to leading Turkish officials.
On Monday, October 31, Turkish authorities launched a mass operation against Cumhuriyet, a secular daily considered one of the last opposition media voices in Turkey. Police arrested nearly a dozen journalists, managers and lawyers, including Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu and columnist Kadri Gürsel, a member of the International Press Institute’s global Executive Board.
The coalition said today it was “deeply disturbed” by the attack both against “a highly respected newspaper that remains one of Turkey’s last sources of critical news and information and a representative of a major international human rights organisation”.
The operation against Cumhuriyet followed the closure of 15 pro-Kurdish media outlets on Saturday, which the coalition described as a “further attempt by the Turkish government to control all media coverage of the ongoing operations [in the country’s South East], and prevent independent media from investigating grave human rights abuses there”.
Members of the coalition called on Turkey to immediately release the detained Cumhuriyet journalists, as well as the estimated more than 130 other journalists currently behind bars “for exercising their right to freedom of expression” in the country.
In copies of the letter addressed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, the group made an urgent request to discuss its concerns in person.
Read the text of the letters below in English and Turkish. The letter can also be downloaded as a PDF in English and Turkish.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi 06560 Beştepe-Ankara
Sent via email
02 November 2016
Dear President Erdoğan:
The undersigned members of an international coalition of leading press freedom and freedom of expression groups request an urgent meeting with you following Monday’s operation against the newspaper Cumhuriyet and Saturday’s closure of 15 pro-Kurdish media outlets.
Police on Monday arrested and raided the homes of at least a dozen journalists working for Cumhuriyet. Among those arrested were Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu and columnist Kadri Gürsel. Mr. Gürsel is also a member of the Executive Board of the International Press Institute (IPI) and IPI’s official representative in Turkey.
We are deeply disturbed by this move against not only a highly respected newspaper that remains one of Turkey’s last sources of critical news and information but also a representative of a major international human rights organisation.We are also extremely concerned that those detained are being held without access to legal counsel and without a clear indictment against them.
The closure of 15 pro-Kurdish media outlets, primarily covering the South East of the country, is part of an ongoing campaign to censor the Kurdish minority. It also represents a further attempt by the Turkish government to control all media coverage of the ongoing anti-terror operations in this region, and prevent independent media from investigating grave human rights abuses occurring there.
We condemn these arrests and closures as an extraordinary attack on press freedom, freedom of expression and the journalistic profession – unfortunately merely the latest example of such in Turkey. Our organisations stand in solidarity with Mr. Sabuncu, Mr. Gürsel and their colleagues, as do journalists around the world.
Prosecutors have said that Mr. Sabuncu, Mr. Gürsel and their colleagues are suspected of criminal collaboration with the outlawed Gülenist movement and the PKK. While we understand the need to take appropriate action against those responsible for July’s failed coup attempt, the arrests of Cumhuriyet staff and the sweeping closures of Kurdish media make it clear that Turkey’s current state of emergency is being abused to indiscriminately target any and all who criticise the government.
Indeed, during the first three months of the state of emergency, the Turkish authorities have closed approximately 165 media outlets. Nearly 100 journalists and writers have been arrested and at least 140 journalists are currently in detention, many of whom have no connection to either the Gülenist movement or the PKK.
We would welcome the opportunity to bring our concerns to you directly.
In the meantime, this coalition calls for the immediate release of Murat Sabuncu, Kadri Gürsel, their colleagues at Cumhuriyet and all other journalists jailed for exercising their right to freedom of expression. We also call on lawmakers in Turkey to end the abuse of emergency powers that are being used to suppress legitimate dissent, further crackdown on independent media and undermine what is left of the rule of law.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
The International Press Institute (IPI)
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Article 19
Index on Censorship
The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN)
PEN International
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
IFEX
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
CC: Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag
Foreign embassies and consulates in Ankara and Istanbul
Sayın Cumhurbaşkanı,
Dünyanın önde gelen basın ve ifade özgürlüğü örgütlerinden oluşan uluslararası koalisyonun altta imzası bulunan üyeleri olarak, Cumhuriyet Gazetesi’ne yapılan operasyonun ve Kürtlere yönelik yayınlarıyla bilinen 15 medya kuruluşunun kapatılmasının ardından, acil toplantı talebimizi iletmek üzere bu mektubu yazıyoruz.
Polis, Cumhuriyet Gazetesi’nde çalışan en az bir düzine gazeteciyi, pazartesi günü evlerine baskın düzenleyerek gözaltına almıştır. Gözaltına alınanlar arasında, IPI’ın Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi ve Türkiye’deki resmi temsilcisi Sayın Kadri Gürsel ile IPI üyesi olan Cumhuriyet Genel Yayın Yönetmeni Murat Sabuncu da vardır.
Türkiye’de eleştirel haber ve yorumların yer alabildiği az sayıda kaynaktan biri olan Cumhuriyet’e yönelmekle birlikte, aynı zamanda önde gelen bir uluslararası insan hakları örgütünün temsilcisini de hedef alan bu hamle, bizde derin bir rahatsızlık yaratmıştır.
Özellikle de ülkenin güneydoğusundan haberler veren 15 medya kuruluşunun kapatılması, Kürt azınlığın sansürlenmesi için sürdürülen kampanyanın bir parçasıdır. Bu karar, Türk hükümetinin, bölgede süren terörle mücadele operasyonlarının haberleştirilmesinde tüm medyayı kontrol altına almak yönündeki çabasında yeni bir adımı temsil ediyor.
Bu gözaltı ve kapatma kararlarını, basın ve ifade özgürlüğü ile gazetecilik mesleğine yönelik olağanüstü bir taarruz olarak görüp kınıyoruz –ki bu durum ne yazık ki Türkiye için bir ilk değildir. Dünyanın dört bir yanındaki gazetecileri temsil eden örgütlerimiz, Sayın Gürsel, Sayın Sabuncu ve diğer meslektaşlarımızın yanındadır.
Savcılar, Sayın Gürsel ve Sabuncu’nun yasadışı örgütler olan Gülen hareketi ve PKK ile suç teşkil eden bir işbirliğinde olduğundan şüphelendiklerini söylüyorlar. 15 Temmuz darbe girişiminden sorumlu olanlara karşı uygun bir eylemin yapılması gerektiğine inanmakla birlikte, Cumhuriyet çalışanlarına yönelik gözaltılarla Kürtlere yönelik yayın yapan medya kuruluşlarının kapatılmasının bu kapsama girdiğini düşünmüyoruz. Bu gözaltılar, daha ziyade, Türkiye’deki mevcut OHAL yönetiminin, hükümeti eleştirmeye cüret eden herkese karşı ayrım gözetmeksizin kullanıldığını gösteriyor.
Gerçekten de, OHAL’in ilk üç ayı içinde Türk yetkililer yaklaşık 165 medya kuruluşunu kapatmış, 100 kadar gazeteci ve yazarı tutuklamış, birçoğu Gülen hareketi veya PKK ile hiçbir bağlantısı olmadığı halde en az 140 gazeteciyi gözaltına almıştır.
Endişelerimizi zât-ı âlilerinize doğrudan iletme fırsatını bulursak çok memnun oluruz.
Bu arada, uluslararası basın özgürlüğü koalisyonu olarak Sayın Gürsel, Sayın Sabuncu ve Cumhuriyet’teki diğer meslektaşlarımızla, ifade özgürlüğü hakkını kullandıkları için hapsedilen tüm gazetecilerin derhal salıverilmesi yönünde çağrı yapıyoruz. Türkiye’deki kanun yapıcıları, OHAL yetkilerini meşru muhalefeti susturmaya, özgür medyaya daha fazla baskı yapmaya ve tüm bunlardan arda kaldığı kadarıyla hukuk devletinin altını oymaya son vermeye davet ediyoruz.
Bu acil konudaki dikkatiniz için teşekkür ederiz.
Saygılarımızla,
The International Press Institute (IPI)
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Article 19
Index on Censorship
The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN)
PEN International
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
IFEX
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
31 Oct 2016 | Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements, Turkey, Turkey Statements
Index on Censorship strongly condemns the recent wave of arrests and forced closures of media outlets in Turkey.
Over the last three days, Turkish authorities have utilised their powers under the state of emergency to shut down 15 pro-Kurdish media outlets and detain 13 journalists.
“The Turkish government’s latest attempt to silence journalists is confirming the ongoing crackdown on media freedom and throws light on the deteriorating environment for free speech in the country. Media outlets covering the Kurdish minority have been repeatedly targeted and these decrees indicate the authorities have no plans to let up the pressure,” Index’s senior advocacy officer, Melody Patry, said.
On 29 October the Turkish government adopted cabinet decrees No. 675 and 676 which ordered the shutdown of 10 pro-Kurdish newspapers, two news agencies and three magazines. The newspapers include: Özgür Gündem, Azadiya Welat, Batman Çağdaş, Cizre Postası, Güney Express, İdil Haber, Kızıltepe’nin Sesi, Prestij Haber, Urfanatik and Yüksekova Haber; The two pro-Kurdish news agencies were Dicle News Agency (DİHA) and Jin News Agency; and the three magazines shut down were Tiroji, Özgürlük Dünyası and Evrensel Kültür.
On 31 October 2016, 13 editors and journalists for independent newspaper Cumhuriyet were detained on terror charges in Istanbul. Those detained include Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, board executive and columnist Güray Öz, former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Aydın Engin, columnist Hikmet Çetinkaya, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper’s book supplement Turhan Günay, its publications advisor Kadri Gürsel – who is also the head of the International Press Institute’s Turkey office – and accountant Bülent Yener. Cumhuriyet Foundation’s board members Eser Sevinç, Hakan Kara, Musa Kart, Bülent Utku, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Önder Çelik were also taken into custody.
Detention warrants were also issued for Cumhuriyet Foundation vice president Akın Atalay and board member Nebil Özgentürk, who are both currently out of the country.
Charges against the Cumhuriyet executives include publishing reports that legitimised the coup and management irregularities.
“News of journalists being arrested in Turkey have come in on a nearly daily basis since the start of the state of emergency,” said Hannah Machlin, Index’s project officer for Mapping Media Freedom. “The detentions of Cumhuriyet’s media workers constitute a blatant violation of press freedom that pushes Turkey further away from democratic values.”
Cumhuriyet has continually been harassed by the authorities. The now former editor-in-chief, Can Dundar survived a murder attempt last year and is facing a five-year prison term for “leaking state documents”. Dundar was forced to leave the country following the failed coup and his wife is currently under a travel ban.
With this most recent crackdown, the Platform for Independent Journalism P24 reports that a total of 168 media outlets have been shut down, 99 journalists have been imprisoned and over 2,500 media professionals have lost their jobs since the start of the state of emergency.
19 Oct 2016 | Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Europe and Central Asia, mobile, Statements, Turkey, Turkey Statements
We, the undersigned organisations, recognise that the Turkish government has the right and responsibility to investigate the violent events of the July 2016 coup attempt and to bring all those responsible to justice. We also recognise that the immediate aftermath of the attempted coup is the type of exceptional circumstance in which a government could legitimately invoke a state of emergency but still has to comply with their human rights obligations.
We are however increasingly concerned that the far-reaching, almost unlimited discretionary powers exercised by the Turkish authorities during the first three months of the state of emergency – now extended for a further three months – endanger the general principles of rule of law and human rights safeguards.
We call on the Government of Turkey to revoke the measures under the state of emergency, the application of which, in practice is incompatible with Turkey’s human rights obligations.
During the first three months of the state of emergency, the Turkish authorities have abused emergency provisions to stifle dissent, through the detention of large numbers of individuals, including both real and perceived critics of the government and others. The removal of fair trial protections and crucial safeguards against torture and other ill-treatment exceed permissible, justified derogations and risk violating the absolute prohibition in international law against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In practice, the application of the provisions enable sweeping arrests, where those detained are not presented with credible evidence, preventing them from challenging or seeking redress for human rights violations.
In light of this, the extension of the state of emergency and its associated provisions for a further 90 days, starting from 19 October, is extremely worrying. At the very least, we urge the Government of Turkey to narrow the scope of the emergency measures by revoking provisions that enable human rights violations and are not consistent with Turkey’s obligations under international law.
We also urge Turkey’s international partners, in particular the European Union, the United States and relevant international human rights bodies, to publicly and unequivocally condemn the human rights violations occurring in Turkey in the context of the state of emergency. They should also call on the Turkish government to revoke all emergency provisions that enable human rights violations, and rescind the state of emergency, unless the government is able to demonstrate that the domestic situation continues to threaten the life of the nation.
Removal of safeguards against torture and other ill-treatment
Since the failed coup attempt, the Turkish authorities have remanded into pre-trial detention 34,000 soldiers, officers, policemen, judges, prosecutors, journalists, teachers and others. 70,000 people are under criminal investigation. Numerous provisions in Turkey’s emergency decrees have suspended key safeguards that protect detainees from torture and other ill-treatment in ways that violate Turkey’s international obligations and place detainees at risk. They include:
- Prolonged police detention for terrorism-related offences and organised crime without legal review – extended from four days to 30 days;
- Denial of a detainee’s right to see a lawyer for up to five days and severe restrictions on the right to choose lawyer during police detention;
- Interference with confidential access to a counsel, including monitoring and recording of communications at the request of a prosecutor;
In practice law enforcement officials and agents have undermined those safeguards to an extent exceeding even the permissive leeway granted them under the emergency decrees. A number of non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International, have reported that they have gathered credible evidence that detainees in Turkey were subjected to beatings and torture, including rape.
Abuse of emergency provisions to silence criticism
Provisions of the emergency decrees affect the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and have been used to facilitate the arrest and harassment of journalists, writers and media workers, including:
- Empowering higher levels of administration to shut down any media organization;
- Enabling the government to impose curfews, ban public meetings, gatherings and rallies, and restrict access to private and public spaces;
- Enabling the authorities to cancel or confiscate passports of anyone under investigation. On 1 September, an amendment to the decree extended this power, enabling the authorities to cancel or confiscate the passports of spouses and partners of those under investigation.
Restrictions imposed under the state of emergency go beyond those permissible under international human rights law, including unjustifiable limitations on media freedom and the right to freedom of expression.
During the first two and a half months of the state of emergency, pursuant to the decrees outlined above, authorities closed around 150 media outlets and publishing companies, leaving over 2,300 journalists and media workers without jobs. At least 99 journalists and writers have been arrested, bringing the total number of media workers detained on charges believed to be related to their exercise of the right to freedom of expression to at least 130, as of 19 October 2016. These numbers exclude other journalists who are currently in detention in police holding cells, or have been detained and released without charge during the state of emergency. Emergency provisions have also been used to harass family members of journalists who have fled abroad or gone into hiding, including by cancelling their passports or detaining them in the stead of those accused.
Such measures against journalists and media workers obstruct the right of people in Turkey to receive information about current events and to hold the government to account.
The Government of Turkey should ensure that the state of emergency and the related emergency decrees are not tools to facilitate serious human rights violations and to silence dissent. Meanwhile, Turkey’s international partners should not ignore the serious violations committed in the context of the state of emergency and should urgently call upon Turkey to rescind or amend the emergency provisions that are not consistent with the country’s international human rights obligations.
Signatories:
ARTICLE 19
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
PEN International
Association of European Journalists
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Committee to Protect Journalists
Danish PEN
English PEN
Ethical Journalism Network
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
European Federation of Journalists
Fair Trials
German PEN
Global Editors Network
Index on Censorship
International Media Support
International Press Institute
IREX Europe
My Media
Norwegian PEN
Norwegian Press Association
PEN America
Reporters Without Borders
Swedish PEN
Wales PEN Cymru
