Mustafa Sönmez wins ‘press card’ lawsuit against Communications Directorate

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Mustafa Sönmez has won the legal struggle against the Presidency's Communications Directorate, which has not renewed his press card.

Handing down its ruling, the Ankara 12th Administrative Court has ruled that the Communications Directorate, which left Sönmez's applications inconclusive, shall give him his "permanent press card".

Speaking about the ruling, Sönmez has said, "We had some polemics with Communications Director Fahrettin Altun. He blocked me on Twitter. But he should not be using his state authority to punish me. No matter what happens, there will be a law, a judiciary, a court to turn to."

Sönmez has stated, "The government does not say, 'You are dissidents, I am teaching you a lesson.' But we know that this is what happens."

Noting that he has been criticizing the Communications Directorate since the very beginning, Sönmez has stressed that journalists must defend their rights to the end: "It was with this belief that I applied to the court and the trial has ended in my favor, as I was expecting."

"A press card is something that we deserve with our labor. No one is in a position to cancel this, no one has the right to do this. Everyone facing such injustice must do it. They must defend their rights by referring to this court ruling as a legal precedent," Sönmez has added further.

Önderoğlu: This discriminatory practice must end

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Representative to Turkey Erol Önderoğlu has also commented on the issue.

Erol Önderoğlu has underlined that "from a narrow perspective of security and ideology, all ends are pursued to isolate critical journalists from the media sphere, even if they hold permanent press cards."

He has referred to journalists such as Aydın Engin and Kazım Güleçyüz, who have not been given their press cards.

According to Önderoğlu, "the ruling of the Ankara Administrative Court not only shows that the attitude of professional journalism organizations is rightful, but it also reveals that there is an attempt to deprive journalists of press cards by resorting to various procedures."

Önderoğlu has said, "If a journalist holding a permanent press card makes an application to renew his card as he has lost it and if you treat him as if he was making an application for the first time, people will - of course - doubt your goodwill. We hope that, after Sönmez, other journalists will be granted their rights in the lawsuits that they filed and this discriminatory practice of the Communications Directorate will come to an end."

Directorate didn't take his application into account

Sönmez has been holding a permanent press card for 32 years. After he lost his card, he applied to the Communications Directorate in November 2019. Not given his press card again, Sönmez made another application to the Directorate in July 2020. However, due to the first application dated November 2019, the Directorate did not accept the second one.

In answering Sönmez, the Communications Directorate said, "The press card application of the related person is currently under evaluation and when the process of evaluation ends, he will be informed."

In response to this, Mustafa Sönmez applied to the Administrative Court and said that his application was about his press card that he had lost, underlining that the Directorate was not authorized to make an evaluation in this case. Noting that he was kept waiting without any justification, Sönmez argued that the Directorate acted against the law and related regulation.

'Trust in the state mustn't be undermined'

Examining the application of Mustafa Sönmez, the administrative court has referred to the Press Card Regulation and put a special emphasis on the "rule of law" and "the principle of legal security." It has emphasized that the related principles "entail that legal norms are foreseeable, individuals trust the state in their all actions and proceedings and the state, in its legal regulations, avoid any methods that could undermine this sense of trust."

Elaborating further on the importance of the principle of legal security, the court has indicated in its ruling that the principles of 'legal certainty and legal security' prevent the administration from acting arbitrarily.

Directorate will pay the court expenses

Finding the Communications Directorate's failure to respond to Mustafa Sönmez's application unjust, the administrative court has concluded that this failure has harmed the principles of justice, equity and protection of acquired rights. The court has also concluded that the related act does not comply with the principle of legal security, legal certainty and consistency.

The court has ruled that the Communications Directorate shall give Mustafa Sönmez his press card and that the court expenses shall be paid by the defendant, namely the Presidency's Communications Directorate. (HA/SD)