Violations of rights in Turkey's media: Two journalists stood trial a day in July

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) 26th term MP Barış Yarkadaş, who was also a former journalist himself, regularly releases monthly reports on violations of rights in Turkey's media.

Sharing his July 2020 report with the public today (July 31), Barış Yarkadaş has referred to the Sacrifice Feast, which started today and will be celebrated till August 3, and said, "This feast is a bit bittersweet for journalists because dozens of their colleagues are in prison."

Devoting the report to his colleagues who have to work on the feast as well, Yarkadaş has underlined that the pressures targeting journalists in Turkey systematically continued in July as well. "In July, an average of two journalists stood before the judge everyday," he has noted.

What happened in July?

Yarkadaş has summarized July 2020 in terms of rights violations faced by journalists in Turkey as follows:

• 60 journalists stood before the judge, one journalist was detained.
• Two TV channels were blacked out for five days each.
• Two journalists faced an investigation.
• One newspaper was not admitted into prison.
• Public ads of one newspaper were cut for five days.
• A criminal complaint was filed against one journalist.
• Two artists faced a lawsuit and prison sentence.
• One journalist was subjected to an armed attack.
• One journalist was sentenced 2 years, 9 months, 22 days in prison.
• One journalist faced a suit for damages.
• Two journalists were attacked by a group.
• One arrested journalist was kept waiting in the detention room of a hospital.

Investigations, bans, fines...

Yarkadaş has also listed the violations of rights faced by journalists on a day to day basis. Some of these violations and their days are as follows:

July 1, 2020: The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) blacked out broadcasters Halk TV and TELE 1 for five days each.

July 1, 2020: The Directorate of the Gaziantep Type L Closed Psion decided to not allow daily Evrensel into prisons by alleging that it was not one of the newspapers who had the right to receive public ads.

July 2, 2020: T24 news website Editor-in-Chief Doğan Akın was acquitted of "knowingly and willingly aiding the organization as a non-member."

July 3, 2020: Reporting on the protests of bar associations in front of the Parliament, Artı TV Ankara representative Sibel Hürtaş was detained.

July 4, 2020: The Press Advertisement Institution (BİK) cut public ads of daily Evrensel over a news story entitled "CHP's Özel slams Altun over unpermitted construction" published on the newspaper on April 16.

July 4, 2020: The Parliamentary Speaker's Office filed a criminal complaint against columnist Yılmaz Özdil on charges of "publicly degrading the Parliament" and "inciting the public to enmity and hatred."

July 6, 2020: Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun filed a suit for damages of 250 thousand Turkish Lira (TRY) against daily Cumhuriyet over a news report entitled "There is illegal construction at the Bosphorus" about his house in Kuzguncuk, İstanbul.

July 7, 2020: A lawsuit was filed against actors Metin Akpınar and Müjdat Gezen on charge of "insulting the President." They are now facing four to eight years in prison each.

July 13, 2020: Arrested in Silivri Prison, journalist Murat Ağırel announced that he was kept waiting at the detention room of the prison hospital for 5.5 hours.

July 14, 2020: An investigation was launched against Nurcan Kaya, a columnist for Artı Gerçek news website, charging her with "propagandizing for the organization."

July 14, 2020: An investigation was launched against journalist Can Özçelik from daily Sözcü over his news story "the FETÖ exchange."

July 16, 2020: Journalist Gökhan Balcı was subjected to an armed attack while he was leaving his house in Çekmeköy, İstanbul in morning hours.

July 16, 2020: While journalist Deniz Yücel was acquitted of "inciting the public to enmity and hatred," he was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison for "propagandizing for the organization." A criminal complaint was filed against Yücel on charge of "insulting the President" and as per the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

July 17, 2020: Mezopotamya Agency reporter Ayşe Sürme and Jinnews reporter Öznur Değer were battered by a group during news follow-up.

July 22, 2020: Journalist Rojhat Doğru faced a 41-page indictment charging him with "membership of a terrorist organization" for having sent 2,000 Turkish Lira (TRY) to an arrestee.

July 24, 2020: Upon the application of the Muş Provincial Directorate of Family, Labor and Social Services, a broadcast and publication ban was imposed on the news regarding Fatma Altınmakas, a woman who was sexually assaulted by the brother of the man whom she was married to and was killed by the man that she was married to.

July 24, 2020: The Ankara 8th Penal Judgeship of Peace imposed an access block on four news about Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak published on daily Sözcü, T24, Odatv and Toplumsal Haber news websites on the ground that they "violated his personal rights."

July 25, 2020: The access block on sendika.org is still in effect despite a Constitutional Court ruling dated March 2020. Making a statement about the issue, sendika org has said that it has been 136 days since the Constitution Court ruling of right violation. (TP/SD)