‘Turkey uses terrorism legislation to gag, jail journalists’

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The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has documented 12 cases of journalists currently prosecuted in Turkey as per the Anti-Terror Law (TMK) and shared its observations regarding the cases in a press release titled "Turkey using terrorism legislation to gag and jail journalists."

Giving information about the cases of journalists Alican Uludağ, Olcay Büyükbaş Akça, Duygu Güvenç, Canan Coşkun, Ali Açar ve Can Uğur, Abdurrahman Gök, Hazal Ocak, İpek Özbey, Vedat Arık and Can Dündar, the RSF has underlined that the related terrorism legislation "prohibits questioning the security forces" and warned that "manipulation of Turkey's judicial system is undermining press freedom."

"Reporters who cover public interest stories in Turkey increasingly risk imprisonment," the RSF has stressed, explaining it as follows: "Those who investigate the government's actions with regard to Islamic State, the arms it has sent to Syria, or abuses by the security forces are systematically accused of 'espionage,' 'terrorist propaganda,' 'defaming' the judicial system or the security forces or even 'attacking an anti-terrorism agent'."

The RSF has reiterated that the "journalists who want to report the news are under constant threat of being jailed."

News on 'hidden file in Ankara Massacre case'

The RSF has first referred to the trial of Cumhuriyet Newspaper's Managing Editor Responsible for Legal Affairs Olcay Büyüktaş Akça and former Ankara correspondent Alican Uludağ, who were acquitted at their final hearing at the İstanbul 32nd Heavy Penal Court yesterday (June 15).

"In the trial [...], two veteran journalists – former Cumhuriyet reporter Alican Uludağ and current editor-in-chief Olcay Büyükbaş Akça – are being prosecuted for investigative reporting that suggested that 'negligence' by the security forces was to blame for the failure to prevent the two bomb attacks at Ankara's central railway station on 10 October 2015 that left 107 dead."

The RSF has noted that they were "facing up to 3 years in prison for 'exposing anti-terrorist officers to the threat of terrorist organisations' because they reported that the security forces had stopped following an Islamic State unit that was looking for material with which to make the bombs that ended up being used in the Ankara attacks, and because they named the shop that the terrorists visiting shortly before the bombings."

Systematic appeals against acquittals

Moving on to another lawsuit against Alican Uludağ, the organization has commented, "Denial of the rule of law in Turkey has increased to the point that journalists can derive no relief when they are acquitted because the prosecution invariably appeals against their acquittal and goes out of its way to ensure that the higher court convicts them."

As indicated by the RSF, the related situation has "already happened to Uludağ and another former Cumhuriyet reporter, Duygu Güvenç."

"In October 2020, they were acquitted of 'defaming the judicial system' for describing US priest Andrew Bronson's release in October 2019 after negotiations with the United States as 'political.' But the prosecution immediately appealed, demanding prison sentences."

In the trial where both journalists have been acquitted, the appeal hearing is to be held in the coming months.

'Berkin Elvan' lawsuit against journalists

The RSF has also referred to the case where journalists Canan Coşkun, Can Uğur and Ali Açar are facing prison sentence on the grounds that they allegedly disclosed the identity of the police officer who shot Berkin Elvan in Okmeydanı, İstanbul during Gezi in 2013.

"At a hearing in Istanbul on 8 June that an RSF representative attended, the prosecution asked the court to jail them for three years. The next hearing is set for 7 October, when the court could issue a verdict."

Court case against Abdurahman Gök

As recalled by the RSF, "the targets also include Abdurrahman Gök, a photoreporter for the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) facing possible sentences totalling 27 years in prison on charges linked to his journalism."

"One of his photos resulted in police officers being charged with involvement in the death of a youth, Kemal Kurkut, during the Kurdish New Year festivities in March 2017. Accused of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and of PKK 'propaganda,' Gök is due to appear in court again in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on 30 September'."

Journalists on trial !due to Fahrettin Altun'

Documenting the trials of journalists in Turkey, the RSF has also addressed the cases where journalists face charges over a news report about Fahrettin Altun, the Presidency's Communications Director.

"The law protecting 'anti-terrorism agents' is proving to be particularly useful in ensuring impunity for government allies," the RSF has stressed, recalling that "four Cumhuriyet journalists – Hazal Ocak, İpek Özbey, Vedat Arık and editor Akça – are facing possible three-year jail terms" after they reported that Altun had built an illegal annex to his home on the Bosphorus.

Underlining that the journalists are facing charges "over a story that has nothing to do with terrorism," the RSF has also announced that the trial is due to be held in İstanbul on June 24, 2021.

Lastly, it has also referred to Can Dündar under the sub-title "pursued into exile", saying, "The government meanwhile refuses to abandon its attempts to exact judicial vengeance" on Can Dündar.

Turkey is ranked 153rd out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 World Press Freedom Index. (HA/SD)