'Situation for journalists remains dire in Turkey'

Photo: Stefan Simanowitz/Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish

Running Amnesty International's Free Turkey Media campaign, Stefan Simanowitz has written an article about the state of journalism in Turkey.

Turkey is among the world's biggest jailers of journalists for the fifth year in a row, and was ranked 153 out of 180 countries in the newly published World Press Freedom Index, noted Simanowitz.

Despite campaigns for press freedom, the situation for journalists in Turkey remains dire, he wrote.

"Since the failed coup attempt in July 2016, at least 180 media outlets have been shut down in Turkey and scores of journalists have been jailed on baseless 'terrorism offences' -many charged as a result of posts they have shared on Twitter, cartoons they have drawn or opinions they expressed.

"COVID-19 has brought additional fears for journalists behind bars. Last week, Turkey entered its second lockdown but overcrowding and unsanitary facilities has been a concern long before the pandemic that already posed a serious health threat to Turkey's prison population."

Pre-trial detentions

"According to international human rights law and standards, pre-trial detention must be an exceptional measure only to be applied if other alternatives are not suitable to prevent a substantial risk of flight, harm to others or interference with the evidence or the investigation. Whereas deprivation of liberty should only occur as a last resort, it is applied routinely and punitively in Turkey. Its impact is devastating to the media scene in the country.

"Despite the elevated risks, brave journalists across Turkey continue to do their job in a climate of fear as the authorities attempt to curtail all independent journalism and silence critical voices.

"'Working under the constant threat of arrest and conviction makes life extremely difficult but journalism is our profession. We have to carry it out,' says Çağdaş Kaplan, editor of the online news portal Gazete Karınca. 'There is a plainly visible truth in Turkey, but there is also an attempt to hide it from society. Somebody has to speak about it, and that's what we are trying to do.'

"'For journalists, Turkey has become a dungeon,' says journalist Hakkı Boltan. His organisation - the Free Journalists Association – was ironically shut down in November 2016.

Indeed, those who used to observe court cases from the press gallery, now watch them from the dock."

"Biden has taken a much harder line"

"But there is hope.

"The new Biden administration in the USA has taken a much harder line on human rights in Turkey.

"A month ago, the USA called Turkey out over a series of 'significant human rights issues', ranging from allegations of arbitrary killings and torture to the jailing of tens of thousands of critical voices, including political opponents, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders.

"There are also signs that human rights are making their way back on to the agenda in moves to reset EU-Turkey relations.

"Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and stated that 'Turkey must respect international human rights rules and standards'.

"Is this diplomatic pressure – together with the support and solidarity of journalists and campaigners around the world – starting to have an impact?

"It is too early to say, but last month, Ahmet Altan – the prominent author and former newspaper editor who was serving a ten and a half years sentence on ridiculous charges – was released following the decision by the top appeals court to quash his conviction." (EKN/VK)