BÝA, Turkey
March 17 2006
Free Expression Falls Victim to EU Opponents
Using loosely worded laws that criminalize the denigration of the
Turkish state, conservative secular nationalists – referred to by
some as “the state within the state” – are challenging writings and
public comments on issues they dislike.
CPJ/IFEX
17/03/2006
BÝA (New York) – Nationalists opposed to Turkey’s engagement with
Europe have sought out sympathetic public prosecutors across the
country to file criminal complaints against journalists, writers and
academics who favor EU membership, a new report by the Committee to
Protect Journalists has found.
Using loosely worded laws that criminalize the denigration of the
Turkish state, its identity and its institutions, conservative secular
nationalists – referred to by some as “the state within the state” –
are challenging writings and public comments on issues they dislike,
including the Kurds, the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire, and the security forces, CPJ found in its special report,
“Nationalism and the Press,” released today.
Five journalists were charged in December 2005 under Article 288 of
the penal code with attempting to influence the outcome of judicial
proceedings through their writings. Four of the five were also charged
under the controversial Article 301 of the code with insulting
“Turkishness,” and if convicted could face prison terms from six
months to 10 years.
Senior Editor Robert Mahoney attended the unruly opening of the
journalists’ trial on February 7 in Istanbul where hundreds of riot
police ringed the court room and the judge adjourned the case after
two hours. He interviewed several of the journalists standing trial,
government officials and activists for the report.
Since Turkey’s penal code was overhauled in 2005, cases have been
brought against 29 journalists under Article 301, according to the
local press freedom organization Bia.
For 40 years, Turkey has been forging closer political, economic,
and social ties with Europe, writes Mahoney. But the opening last
October of formal accession negotiations with Brussels has galvanized
those who feel Turkey has gone far enough in reforming itself along
Western lines to pass the EU membership test.
The prosecution of the five journalists is scheduled to reconvene on
April 11.
–Boundary_(ID_1z27Pjr6yaQgJRNVDkz7UQ)–