Turkey's ruling alliance further clamps down on press as its support falls below critical threshold

The arrested journalists.

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In a fresh attempt to bring the independent media under control, the ruling AKP-MHP alliance on May 28 put forward a new "disinformation bill" amending the Press Law and several other laws.

The parliament's Justice Committee on Wednesday passed the bill that introduces prison sentences of up to three years for "spreading disinformation."

Journalists have expressed concerns that due to the ambiguity of the bill, it may serve as an excuse for silencing any critical voice.

"This is in itself an attack on press freedom," Can Güleryüzlü, head of the Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD), told bianet.

"The article in question will cause many journalists to be put on trial," he said, adding, "This is not only about journalists. It will be inevitable to sanction the people who share their reactions and views about various events."

As soon as they are ratified, the legal arrangements in question will become one of the most important weapons of the AKP ahead of the 2023 elections, Prof. Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor, said on Twitter. "The new arrangements will create a 'climate of fear.' I may be investigated even for writing this."

Opposition MPs in the Justice Committee also pointed to the upcoming elections in their annotations. Deputies of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said the bill is against the Constitution while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputies said the purpose of the bill is to suppress the opposition.

With no longer than one year remaining until the elections, public support for the AKP has dropped below 30 percent while the MHP may struggle to surpass the 7 percent election threshold, according to multiple pollsters. 

Arrest of Kurdish journalists

On June 8, the police raided several homes and offices of news outlets in the predominantly Kurdish populated province of Diyarbakır. Twenty-two people, including 20 journalists, were detained.

After eight days in detention, a judgeship on Thursday ruled for the arrest of 16 journalists on "terrorist propaganda" charges, citing their news reports and social media posts as evidence.

During their interrogation, the questions they were asked included what they meant by "Kurdish question" and whether they had received instructions, an attorney of the journalists told bianet.

The arrests triggered a backlash from journalists and international organizations.

Dicle Müftüoğlu, the co-chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), recalled the bomb attacks on Kurdish media outlets and forced diappearances of Kurdish journalists in the 1990s during a demonstration in front of the Diyarbakır Courthouse on Wednesday.

"You cannot silence the free press, which you could not silence with bombings, disappearances in detention and murders," she said.

Thirty-six media outlets and journalism groups, including bianet, and 837 media workers also released a joint statement entitled "You cannot silence the free press."

They called on all journalists and opposition parties to oppose the detention of Kurdish journalists, noting that it coincided with the disinformation law. 

"While these policies of oppression and intimidation are familiar to the free press tradition, we will not get used to these operations and policies of intimidation," they said.

Read more:

• Journalism despite knowing that you will be arrested

• Detained journalists warn about "fabricatio of evidence"

LGBTI+s' picnic in İstanbul University canceled after threats by Islamic groups Groups chanting "Allahu Akbar" and "Beyazıt is ours and will remain ours" gathered in front of the university campus and threatened the LGBTI+s, after which they canceled the event due to security concerns.

Freedom of expression

◙ Journalist İnci Hekimoğlu detained in dawn raid after being targeted by far-right politician Because of her tweets from 2014 and 2015, the journalist is investigated for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization." She would go to the police station had she been summoned, she said after her release. 

◙ Founder of independent inflation research group faces disciplinary inquiry Yeditepe University has launched an inquiry against Prof. Veysel Ulusoy for speaking to the press without permission. The inquiry concerns an interview Ulusoy gave to a media outlet about the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), which he founded and chairs. According to ENAG, the annual inflation rate was over 160 percent last month, whereas it was 73 percent according to the official figures. 

◙ Netflix Turkey deems series about two LGBTI+ people "harmful" The series "Heartstopper" was presented to the audience in the +13 category on Netflix on April 22. Later, it was classified as +18. Other dramas on Netflix Turkey about children, family, and love with heterosexual heroes, are under the category of +13 and are described as "suitable for family and children." 

Street artist given deferred prison sentence for insulting president The artist nicknamed "İzinsiz" (Unpermitted) had altered a painting on a billboard, drawing a figure hanging from the crescent and star, which symbolizes the flag of Turkey. His lawyers said the artist was sentenced because of his messages. 

Law and human rights

◙ Locals attack refugee waste workers, set depots on fire in İstanbul's Ataşehir After claims on social media that the child was killed by waste workers from Afghanistan, locals in Yenisahra neighborhood set fire to a waste depot. "They attacked while people from my family were sleeping. We have been trying not to die here for four days," said the owner of the depot that was set on fire. 

◙ Groom and guests arrested for wearing yellow, red, and green colors at the wedding of a Kurdish couple During the police interrogation, the detainees were accused of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization." 

◙ Former PM Davutoğlu to testify in Tahir Elçi murder case The then-chair of the Diyarbakır Bar Association was killed while speaking to reporters in November 2015. 

◙ Kavala: "Leader" or "mentor"? The imprisoned businessperson made a statement about the court's detailed ruling in the Gezi Park trial. "In the first indictment, I was accused of being the leader of the Gezi protests. In the justified ruling, it was claimed that I was a mentor to the protesters. It is unknown for which crime I gave advice to them," he said. The other Gezi prisoners also said there was no concrete evidence in the detailed ruling. 

◙ Canan Kaftancıoğlu formally loses CHP membership The party's İstanbul head was sentenced to over 4 years in prison. Yet, the party defied the Court of Cassation ruling, implying that Kaftancıoğlu will be the de facto leader of its İstanbul organization. 

◙ Body of PKK member sent to his family in a storage box The militant was killed during clashes in Diyarbakır in September. "Despite only four people from the family went to receive the body, 20 unmarked police cars, 2 armored vehicles, and 3 police buses were following us," said his mother. 

Lake in western Turkey dries up after a decade of "wrong agricultural policies" Lake Marmara, an alluvial barrier lake with a size of 6,000 hectares and a bird sanctuary in Gölmarmara, Manisa, in western Turkey, lost 98 percent of its surface area in the past decade due to bad agricultural and water policies. 

Foreign policy and conflict

◙ Syria's parliament says Turkey's planned offensive 'illegitimate' Since late May, Turkey has expressed its intention to launch a new military offensive into the Kurdish-controlled regions in Syria's north in an attempt to establish what it calls "safe zones" along the border. What Turkey describes as "safe zones" is nothing but occupation and aggression, said Syria's lawmakers. Alexander Lavrentiev, Russia's special envoy for Syria, said such an offensive by Turkey would be "unreasonable." 

◙ Senior ISIS leader captured near Turkey-Syria border The US-led coalition announced that it had apprehended a person who was "assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group's top leaders in Syria." The operation took place in l Humaira, a village controlled by the Syrian National Army (SNA), a group backed by Turkey. 

◙ Turkey may delay Sweden, Finland's NATO accession for a year, says AKP deputy "Turkey is the second-largest army in NATO and has been providing the drones that help Ukraine defend itself. We deserve greater respect," said MP Kılıç. Finland's PM previously said the situation could freeze if a solution is not found before the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. Meanwhile, the NATO chief welcomed the steps that Sweden and Finland took to address Turkey's concerns. 

(VK)