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| Turkey’s media faces 'unprecedented crisis', says English PEN | Turkey’s media faces 'unprecedented crisis', says English PEN |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Turkey’s independent media now faces “an unprecedented crisis” due to the erosion of their rights during Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s time in office as prime minister and now president, according to the free speech charity, English PEN. | Turkey’s independent media now faces “an unprecedented crisis” due to the erosion of their rights during Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s time in office as prime minister and now president, according to the free speech charity, English PEN. |
| In a report published on Wednesday, the charity said press freedom in Turkey has suffered an immense and systematic assault under Erdoğan, with journalists and media outlets subjected to imprisonment, intimidation, harassment and assault. | |
| It comes as Cumhuriyet newspaper’s editor-in-chief Can Dündar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gül, who have been charged with revealing state secrets over a report alleging that Erdoğan’s government tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria, are due to start their trial on Friday, which could result in them serving life in prison. | |
| Related: Press freedom in Turkey is 'under siege', says CPJ | Related: Press freedom in Turkey is 'under siege', says CPJ |
| The report, Journalism under Siege, sets out how the basic requirements of news reporting, such as building relationships with sources and interviewing the government’s opponents and critics, can be classed as terrorist or illegal activities and may lead to accusations of planning a coup. | The report, Journalism under Siege, sets out how the basic requirements of news reporting, such as building relationships with sources and interviewing the government’s opponents and critics, can be classed as terrorist or illegal activities and may lead to accusations of planning a coup. |
| “It has become a cliche for arrests to be followed with the claim that the accused are terrorists, not journalists,” the report said. | “It has become a cliche for arrests to be followed with the claim that the accused are terrorists, not journalists,” the report said. |
| Its author, Turkish journalist Ahmet Şik, highlights how journalists critical of Erdoğan or government policies have been fired from newspapers seen as close to the president and even assaulted, while offices of pro-opposition media outlets have been raided in what observers say is a broad campaign to intimidate and silence voices calling for reform. | Its author, Turkish journalist Ahmet Şik, highlights how journalists critical of Erdoğan or government policies have been fired from newspapers seen as close to the president and even assaulted, while offices of pro-opposition media outlets have been raided in what observers say is a broad campaign to intimidate and silence voices calling for reform. |
| Şik said censorship and self-censorship was underpinned by around 30 laws, “particularly the anti-terrorism laws that enable attacks on freedom of speech and the freedom of the media … that should not exist in a democratic society … These [are] laws that I would describe as coming out of fascist instincts.” | |
| He added: “Turkey is … becoming the world’s biggest jail for journalists.” | |
| Censorship and self-censorship are becoming the norm as Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) “now requires total surrender” to its views, Şik writes. Those who do not comply with the government’s position may be subjected to crippling tax fines. | |
| Among the methods used to undermine media freedom highlighted by the report is the takeover of media outlets deemed to oppose the government, such as the country’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, which last month was placed under new management who reversed its critical stance towards Erdoğan. | Among the methods used to undermine media freedom highlighted by the report is the takeover of media outlets deemed to oppose the government, such as the country’s biggest newspaper, Zaman, which last month was placed under new management who reversed its critical stance towards Erdoğan. |
| The government rewards loyalty by awarding lucrative advertising contracts to media organisations that toe the line, while even minor criticism can result in major tax fines, the report noted. For example, the Dogan Group paid a fine of £416m in 2011 for critical coverage, forcing it to sell its most influential newspapers, Vatan and Milliyet, and the popular Star TV, to “crony business groups”. Criticism by the group’s media outlets has now “disappeared entirely”. | |
| Other methods used to curtail media freedom include the firing of critical journalists, the denial of official accreditation to opposition journalists, changes to media ownership, which have led to the dominance of pro-government outlets, and legislation curtailing and criminalising investigative journalism, including anti-terror legislation and regulation of the internet. | Other methods used to curtail media freedom include the firing of critical journalists, the denial of official accreditation to opposition journalists, changes to media ownership, which have led to the dominance of pro-government outlets, and legislation curtailing and criminalising investigative journalism, including anti-terror legislation and regulation of the internet. |
| The crackdown on freedom of expression has extended beyond the mainstream media to social media, the report noted, highlighting how Turkey made more requests to remove or block content on Twitter than any other country in the world in the second half of 2015. | The crackdown on freedom of expression has extended beyond the mainstream media to social media, the report noted, highlighting how Turkey made more requests to remove or block content on Twitter than any other country in the world in the second half of 2015. |
| The report calls on the Turkish government to release the more than 39 journalists and media employees arrested in connection with their professional work. Four of the 39 jailed journalists are serving life sentences. | The report calls on the Turkish government to release the more than 39 journalists and media employees arrested in connection with their professional work. Four of the 39 jailed journalists are serving life sentences. |
| Its also recommends the review and reform of all legislation that unduly limits press freedom in compliance with international human rights standards and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. | Its also recommends the review and reform of all legislation that unduly limits press freedom in compliance with international human rights standards and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. |
| While Erdoğan maintains that the press in Turkey is among the most free in the world, human rights organisations and media monitoring groups have warned that freedom of expression is under ever growing pressure, and has lately been in freefall. Turkey ranks 149th among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. | While Erdoğan maintains that the press in Turkey is among the most free in the world, human rights organisations and media monitoring groups have warned that freedom of expression is under ever growing pressure, and has lately been in freefall. Turkey ranks 149th among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. |
| The report is published jointly by English PEN, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Free Word. Şik is currently writer in residence at the Free Word Centre. | The report is published jointly by English PEN, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Free Word. Şik is currently writer in residence at the Free Word Centre. |