Journalist Nadire Mater wins 'press card' lawsuit against Presidency Communications Directorate
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IPS Communication Foundation Chair and bianet Project Advisor Nadire Mater has won the lawsuit against the Presidency Communications Directorate for its failure to renew her permanent press card after a regulation change in 2018.
The Ankara 18th Administrative Court ruled on April 30 that the Directorate was unjust.
Renewal of press cardsThe chaos of issuing, not issuing, arbitrarily holding and revoking press cards began after the Communications Directorate was authorized to issue press cards with the 2018 amendment to the Press Card Regulation. The Directorate announced that press cards of 9,115 journalists have been renewed since the amendment. However, press cards of 1,371 journalists haven't been renewed, cards of 1,238 journalists have been revoked in the same period, and the evaluation process about the cards of more than 200 journalists is underway. Meanwhile, the Council of State suspended the execution of many of the regulation articles in a lawsuit filed by the Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD). In response to the verdict, the Communications Directorate made new arrangements in the regulation which would nullify the verdict and the legal framework referred to in the verdict. |
About the Communications Directorate's defense in the case concerning Mater, which cited a "false application" for not renewing the card and "Mater's conviction of a terror crime" for the revocation of the card, the Council said it was "not in compliance with law."
It ruled that the permanent press cards should be given to Mater and the Communications Directorate should cover the expenses.
"Arbitrariness"
The verdict "confirmed the arbitrariness of the Communications Directorate," said Meriç Eyüboğlu, the attorney of Mater, while criticizing the court "ignoring" their requests during the trial process.
"Dozens of lawsuits were filed because press cards were not issued to journalists who are not considered 'favorable.' This case is one of them," she said.
Mater, a 40-year-long journalist and a permanent press card holder, had been kept waiting for 2 years, 5 months and 10 days in the renewal process, the lawyer noted.
"The Communications Directorate explained the reason for the arbitrariness as 'workload' and 'incomplete review.'
"This never-ending review continued in the trial process as well. At one point, they gave up on this reason and said, 'Actually, she had been sentenced for 'terrorism.' We actually hadn't been reviewing it. We had rejected it.' In other words, they said that she lost the conditions for carrying her press card due to this conviction!
"The lawsuit in question is the case filed for the one-day co-editorship-in-chief as part of the campaign for solidarity with Özgür Gündem [newspaper], where all of those who were put on trial received sentences. This case is on appeal. There is no final verdict.
"Moreover, in the Press Card Regulation, it is stipulated that this card will not be given in case of conviction of specific crimes, and the changes in this article were found unlawful and canceled twice.
"Even if there was a final sentence of conviction against Nadire Mater, this justification would still not be in accordance with the law, anyway, since the offense she was convicted of is not listed in the Press Card Regulation.
"Despite such a clear and obvious violation of the law, the Administrative Court rejected the requests for a stay of execution that we made two separate times. Until the last moment, it did not find any illegality.
"Therefore, one and a half years of arbitrariness of the court has been added to the two and a half years of arbitrariness of the Directorate of Communications."
CLICK - A struggle for a permanent press card
CLICK - bianet Project Advisor Nadire Mater's press card revoked without notification
Not the first time
Previously, economist and writer Mustafa Sönmez, journalist Birkan Bulut and late journalist Aydın Engin won lawsuits against the Communications Directorate after not being able to receive their press cards.
Communications Directorate and press cardsPress cards used to be granted by the Prime Ministry's Directorate General of Press and Information, so by the state, in Turkey. After Turkey adopted the Presidential Government System, this authority has been transferred to the Presidency's Communications Directorate. The Press Card Regulation was amended on December 14, 2018, which marked the 14th regulation drafted since 1947. The color of the press cards was changed from yellow to turquoise. Yellow press cards were canceled. The holders of yellow press cards were asked to make an application again. However, hundreds of journalists who had press cards were not given the new press cards. The Communications Directorate canceled or suspended the press cards on various grounds. In the meantime, the Progressive Journalists Association applied to the Council of State in February 2019 and demanded that six articles of the Press Card Regulation in breach of the Constitution and laws be annulled and their execution be halted. The related articles were against freedom of press and expression and overstepped the authorities granted by laws. The Council of State's Plenary Session of Administrative Law Chambers annulled the authority of the Presidency's Communications Directorate to cancel press cards and permanent press cards on such grounds as "acting in such a way to undermine the press professional honor", "acting against national security or public order" and "doing them habitually." The related Council of State ruling noted that the regulation in question would keep journalists under pressure and concerns. It halted the execution of the Press Card Regulation by underlining that the basic principles that also contained the conditions for holding a press card should be arranged in such a way that this right would not be arbitrarily interfered with. Following this decision, a new regulation was published in the Official Gazette on May 20, 2021. Signed by President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, this new regulation was almost the exact same as the one issued in 2018. Professional journalism and labor organizations, namely the Progressive Journalists Association, DİSK Press Union, Journalists' Union of Turkey, Journalists Association and Photojournalists Association of Turkey, took legal action against the Press Card Regulation again. |
(HA/VK)