M4D Report: One out of every six journalists on trial in Turkey
Click to read the article in Turkish
Implemented by the Association of Journalists (Gazeteciler Cemiyeti), the Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media Project has published its Media Monitoring Report on Turkey for 2020.
Covering several issues and monitoring press freedom, the report offers an insight into the state of journalists trying to practice their profession amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as arrested journalists.
According to the association's media monitoring report, "2020 was no different than the past 5 years in terms of journalists being condemned to prisons or being forced to attend one trial after the other."
Based on the data of the Association of Journalists' "Press for Freedom Project", following the coup attempt of 2016, the number of journalists behind bars was 158; while this figure has been steadily decreasing, as of the end of 2020, there has not been a significant decrease in the numbers of journalists being detained or taken to court.
Press for Freedom Project has contended there are at least 72 journalists behind bars in the country as of the end of 2020.
As for the unique aspects of this year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a sharp decline in determining factors of media production such as newspaper sales, the ratio of advertising and advertisement revenues to inflation, and media worker figures.
Meanwhile, the Law on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, the new internet regulation, and regulations regarding severance pay and depreciation continued to negatively impact professional sustainability and freedom of the press, according to the report.
The report has also shown that that one out of every two journalists were threatened, one out of every four journalists were subjected to physical violence and one out of every five journalists were put on trial in 2020 while one out of every six journalists are still on trial.
The report summarizes 2020 under 10 headings:
Covid-19 and the press:
The effects of the pandemic manifested financially at first. Newspaper sales decreased by 30 percent in March following the pandemic arriving in Turkey. While certain measures from the Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) such as allowing outlets to publish on alternate days, and local administrations providing incentives had a positive impact on the local press, they remained insufficient as the effects of the pandemic increased.
The Ministry of Health issuing statements that caused much confusion, and journalists without accreditation not being able to access data were other noteworthy issues of the year. In addition to this, news bureaus not taking the necessary precautions against the pandemic and press workers facing rights losses were other issues pertaining to the pandemic.
According to information gathered from various sources, at least 22 journalists have lost their lives in Turkey due to the pandemic.
Press-cards:
In January, the Directorate of Communications cancelled the press-cards of 894 journalists. Although this decision was quickly revoked under the guise of the cancelled press-cards being "under evaluation" it has been observed that many journalists are yet to receive their press-cards.
In addition to the Directorate of Communications not answering any questions regarding this subject, press organizations stated that as of the end of 2020 more than 620 journalists have not been issued a press-card. As courts have started to contend that owning a press card is the only proof of being a journalist it appears that this issue will continue to grow in significance.
The Law on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures:
Through this law, many people serving their sentences in prison were granted amnesty while those who were imprisoned on grounds of "terrorism" charges remain behind bars. Meanwhile, newspapers that were not authorized to receive official advertisements/announcements were barred from entering prisons.
Press Advertising Authority (BİK) and Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK):
Official advertisement/announcement bans, administrative fines and broadcast bans issued by these institutions significantly impacted newspapers, television channels, and even at times online news platforms. Fines issued by both institutions caused significant controversy due to their arbitrariness and double standards. Opposition news organizations such as Evrensel, BirGün, Tele 1, Halk TV, Fox TV etc. were fined millions of liras.
Freedom of expression and of the press trials:
Can Dündar, Müyesser Yıldız, Ayşegül Doğan, Ahmet Altan and many others... Although these journalists are known for having different political views, they have one thing in common: they tried to produce news without being pro-government.
What these four journalists have in common can be cited as the main reason behind legal proceedings targeting journalists in 2020. Hundreds of opposition journalists stood trial on grounds of insulting the President, inciting hatred and enmity among the public etc.
Meanwhile, Selahattin Demirtaş, Osman Kavala, Enis Berberoğlu were declared as "public enemies" by the government, and were the subjects of judgements issued by the Constitutional Court and the ECtHR; both of which made many to question the existence of democracy in Turkey.
Freedom of accessing information regarding the President, his party and his relatives:
Regarding this past year, it is safe to say the President has been mostly linked with defamation suits in terms of the media.
Meanwhile, AKP ministers, members of parliament, bureaucrats, the President's son and his wife become topics of discussion in terms of access restrictions imposed on news regarding said people.
Journalists and newspapers that wrote about the wealth, expenditures, professional capabilities of the aforementioned people were taken to court while their news was subject to access restrictions.
CHP Mersin Deputy Ali Mahir Başarır announced in December that between 2014-2019 the President had taken a total of 63 thousand 31 people to court alleging defamation. Out of these cases, 3,831 people received fines.
Targeting, threats, insults and violence:
Prominent incidents of oppressive practices targeting journalists this year were Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu insulting journalist Saygı Öztürk by calling him "dishonourable", journalist Barış Pehlivan being subjected to physical violence while being detained, and Fox TV being directly targeted by the President. These three incidents are but a few of hundreds of similar cases.
New internet regulation:
The new regulation, which is claimed to be even more liberal than such regulations in countries like Germany and France, was enacted in the speed of light, and was quickly followed by millions of liras in fines being issued to large social media platforms that do not have representatives in Turkey. Meanwhile, the regulation enabled content to be removed from the internet forever on grounds of "the right to be forgotten".
Depreciation shares:
Although the Constitutional Court had ruled that the right depreciation shares should be amended to include online journalists within its scope, it was enacted in parliament in its original form excluding them.
While considered to be a positive development due to granting journalists compensation for depreciation, it is still considered controversial for not including online journalists.
The law is expected to be brought to the Constitutional Court once again with a request for its cancellation before long.
Censorship and self-censorship:
While censorship is an ever-present problem, and can be observed in many different forms throughout 2020, an interesting example of it occurred regarding Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, when mainstream media did not broadcast Albayrak's resignation for 27 hours.
In addition, Olay TV, founded by Cavit Çağlar, despite there not being an official account, was shut down only 26 days after its founding due to pressure from the government10; a truly one-of-a-kind incident.
CLICK - Our jaw has dropped in the face of this media freedom!
(HA/SD)