‘Press card’ lawsuit against Turkey’s Communications Directorate

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With his permanent press card not given for over two years now, journalist Aydın Engin has filed a lawsuit against the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, which is chaired by Fahrettin Altun.

Applying to the Ankara Administrative Court via his attorney Tora Pekin, Engin says, "I have been a journalist for 51 years and I have had a permanent press card for 25 years. This is an acquired right. No official institution can take my card back without a reasonable justification."

Engin reminds us that while the Directorate General of Press and Information used to have the authority to give press cards in Turkey, a Presidential Decree issued in July 2018 has passed this authority to the Directorate of Communications.

With an amendment introduced to the Press Card Regulations in December 2018, the old yellow cards have also become useless.

Noting that new cards started to be distributed to journalists following this amendment, Engin underlines that "the failure to give critical journalists their press cards, saying that they are 'under review', shows that the Directorate of Communications is committing a crime against this acquired right."

Engin applied to the Directorate of Communications on September 21, but as he has not received a response from the institution, he has taken the issue to justice and filed a lawsuit against the directorate.

'State's method of hindering journalists'

"Press cards are not tools of show-off for journalists. It is a tool that enables us do our jobs," Engin tells bianet and continues as follows:

"A press card is a business tool that we use to fulfil the requirements of our profession and, for over two years now, the Directorate of Communications has not been giving me this right, which I acquired years ago.

"I have been a journalist for 51 years. I started doing this job seven years before Communications Director Fahrettin Altun was born. And I have had a permanent press card for around 25 years. This is an acquired right. No official institution can take this back without a reasonable justification.

"But the Communications Directorate has denied me this right in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule. And I applied to the Communications Directorate to demand this right, I could not get a response. Unable to receive any response, I have filed a lawsuit.

"Fahrettin Altun says that the number of applications currently in the evaluation process is 894. But what have they been reviewing for two years? We are not even offered an excuse. Our applications remain unanswered. Fahrettin Altun and his men are reviewing whether I and other people like me are journalists or not. This would make a matter in dispute in itself.

"What review are you talking about? A review that takes two years means, 'We have rejected you, we are not giving you your card, but we cannot declare it officially.' This is the government's method of hindering journalists. They are making it difficult for me to do my job."

'We don't bow down to this'

Drawing attention to the "False Facts" press statement of the Directorate of Communications, Aydın Engin says, "At this point, Fahrettin Altun confessed his crime which constituted a misdemeanor."

Sharing details about the statement, Engin says that the statement refers to four reasons for refusing to give the press cards:

"An attitude that undermines professional dignity, i.e. a disgraceful offense. It is right. A person who committed a disgraceful offense must not hold a press card. The second one is not practicing the profession. If he or she does not do journalism, there is no need for a press card.

"The other two are conviction and a suspected connection with a 'terrorist organization.' This is horribly wrong. One does not need to go to a law school for this sentence. Even a high school education is enough to infer that a judgement cannot be given based on a suspicion.

"Who is Fahrettin Altun and his men that they harbor such a suspicion about us and think that they have the right to not give us press cards?"

Underlining that a step needs to be taken about this issue, journalist Aydın Engin says, "And I have done it in accordance with my seniority in the profession. I did it as the elder brother Aydın of journalists, as it were. Because I am 80 now. It was my place to take this step."

Engin concludes, "This punitive act is obviously an attitude aiming to prevent journalists from practicing their profession. It means giving journalists an unlawful and illegal message of 'If you do this and that, we will not recognize you as journalists.' We don't bow down to this."

In his petition to the Ankara Administrative Court, Aydın Engin has requested the stay of execution and revoke of the "act of not giving permanent press cards" and the completion of the act in question by considering the acquired right of the complainant. (HA/SD)