The state of press freedom in Turkey: 18 journalists sentenced to prison in 3 months

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Working for press freedom under the roof of P24 Platform for Independent Journalism, Expression Interrupted has published its last quarterly Freedom of Expression and the Press Agenda report.

The Freedom of Expression and the Press Agenda report, based on data obtained from trial and media monitoring work carried out by Expression Interrupted, covers October-November-December 2021.

The report has shown that despite the rulings of the Council of State and Constitutional Court that could be deemed "positive developments" regarding press freedom in the reporting period, the pressure on the press continued unabated due to ongoing trials, political and administrative pressures and penalties imposed on media outlets by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) and Press Advertisement Institution (BİK).

Two judgments by the Council of State that stopped the executions of the Press Card Regulation, which made it harder for journalists to obtain press cards under a set of amendments introduced last year; and the 27 April 2021 circular by the General Directorate of Security, which prohibited audiovisual recording during public demonstrations; as well as a "pilot judgment" by the Constitutional Court, which could set a precedent concerning access blocking decisions, are recognized in the report as achievements against the judicial pressure on press freedom.

The report has also noted the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment which held that Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which criminalizes "insulting the President," violated freedom of expression.

However, the report has stressed that it is unclear to what extent these judgments will help redress oppressive practices.

18 journalists given 24.5 years in prison

According to the report, the number of journalists in prison continued to decline in the last quarter of 2021, albeit at a slower pace. According to Expression Interrupted data, in this three-month period, one journalist was released upon completing their sentence.

By the end of the year, there were 58 journalists in prison.

Trials against journalists continued unabated. In the last quarter of 2021, journalists stood trial in 98 court cases.

A total of 203 journalists, seven of whom were from foreign countries, were put on trial in these cases. This means that on average, around 70 journalists were tried in more than 30 cases each month.

Eighteen journalists were handed down a combined prison term of 24 years, 5 months and 9 days and a judicial fine of 22,660 Turkish Lira (TRY) while 36 journalists were acquitted in the cases that were concluded during the reporting period. In the same period, 10 new cases were filed against 17 journalists while new investigations were launched against 16 journalists.

Thirteen journalists were taken into custody either during news coverage or within the scope of investigations against them.

Journalists seeking their rights

A number of cases filed by journalists who suffered rights violations also continued during the reporting period.

A compensation case filed by academic and journalist Mehmet Altan against judges who refused to implement the Constitutional Court and ECtHR judgments calling for his release was heard by the Supreme Court of Appeals while a case filed by Yeniçağ columnist Yavuz Selim Demirağ against the perpetrators of a physical attack he suffered in front of his house in 2019 got underway in Ankara about 2.5 years after the attack. After the first hearing, the court agreed to send the case to a high criminal court.

Another case against three police officers who attempted to violently detain journalist Beyza Kural during news coverage in 2015 continued in the absence of the officers on trial. While journalist Müyesser Yıldız won a compensation case she had filed against Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, another case filed by Adnan Bilen due to violations he suffered during his detention was rejected by the court.

In the last three months of 2021, there were 20 incidents of attacks, obstructions and/or threats against journalists in various provinces of Turkey. In 13 of these incidents the perpetrator was either a police officer or a soldier while at least five attacks or threats were carried out by civilians.

RTÜK penalties in 2021

During the reporting period, no new public advertisement penalties were imposed by the BİK on newspapers. However, the penalties on Evrensel and Yeni Asya newspapers, which had been in effect since September 2019 and January 2020, respectively, continued.

RTÜK, on the other hand, continued imposing administrative fines on TV networks for broadcasts critical of the government. The fine imposed on Halk TV in a single RTÜK meeting amounted to TL 215,619.

Fines imposed by RTÜK in 2021 led to more criticism of politicization and censorship against the Council, which is required by the law to function as an impartial media regulatory body.

According to figures RTÜK member İlhan Taşcı announced at the end of the year, the Council issued a total of 71 fines for various news programs from January 1 to December 24, 2021. All penalties were imposed on networks such as Halk TV, Tele 1 and FOX TV, which are billed as opposition networks. No pro-government networks were fined.

(HA/SD)