President Erdoğan launched a message for January 10, Working Journalists’ Day. The message claimed that their 16-year political power has “made the press more libertarian.” However, numbers disprove Erdoğan’s claims.
According to the data of the International Press Institute (IPI), at least 211 journalists and media executives were detained, arrested or prosecuted during the period after the coup attempt. The journalists were sentenced to a total of 492 years, 11 months and eight days of imprisonment due to charges such as “slander,” “insult” and terrorist organization membership/propaganda; heavy life sentences were issued against five journalists due to “violating the Constitution.” Hundreds of websites were banned to access; Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) penalized TV channels with fines for millions of TLs. On the other hand, Erdoğan targets artists, academics and rights advocates and journalists at every opportunity. These names face judicial investigations a short time after Erdoğan’s statements.
Official authorities, however, especially Erdoğan, continue to defend that there is no one in Turkey arrested or convicted due to their press activities. The Ministry of Justice replied to the question posed on arrested journalists by Republican People’s Party (CHP) Ankara MP Murat Emir and stated that there is no such type of offense in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) that would be described as “a thought or expression crime,” and that there is no convict or arrest in the penitentiary institutions due to any press activity.
10.01.2019
evrensel.net