BIA, Turkey
Nov 2 2008

State’s Security Hijacks The Freedom Of Expression

11 individuals, 77 of them journalists, were tried in 73 different
cases for their opinions and reporting rights violations by the
state. 36 of them were tried under article 301. Crimes against
journalists go unpunished and military based censorship is increasing.

Bia news center – Ä°stanbul
02-11-2008
Erol Ã-NDEROÄ?LU – hukuk@bianet.org

BIA Freedom of Expression Desk has published its `Media Observation
Report’ for the period of July-August-September. The Desk has been
informing the public regularly about the rights violations regarding
the media, the reporters and the freedom of expression since 2000. In
addition to the international freedom of expression institutions such
as IFEX, RSF, CPJ, Article XIX, the Media Observation Reports has
become an important source for the European Commission and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe AGÄ°T as
well.

To the arrangements that limit the freedom of communication was added
No. 5651 Law on Internet Crimes, after the Law on Struggle against
Terror, the Turkish Penal Code and the Law for Protection of
Atatürk.

The global vide sharing site youtube.com has been banned for six
months now for having videos insulting to the memory of
Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. The internet site of
dailymotion was banned for one month. Geocities.com has been banned
for eight months. The internet site of gundemonline.com was banned by
a court order, too.

Internet censorship is widespread, the judiciary is following Oktar’s
lead Creationist Adnan Oktar’s `insult to one’s personality’
complaints led the courts to ban the internet sites egitim-sen.org.tr
(of the education and scientific workers union), turandursun.com (of
Turan Dursun) and anarsist.org. The internet users are raising their
voices against closing of the whole sites because of one particular
content.

BIA Media Observation Desk’s July-August-September 2008 Media
Monitoring Report determined that 116 people, 77 of whom journalists,
are being prosecuted for expressing their opinions, reporting rights
violations by the state or condemning such violations in 76 different
cases.

According to the 32 page report, daily Yeni Å?afak was attacked,
Turan AktaÅ?, reporter for daily Taraf, was manhandled by the
police and the internet sites antenna.org and ortakpayda.org were
hacked.

A reader of daily Birgün’s, Tutku Türkol, was taken into
custody and harassed. Journalists Mustafa Balbay and Ufuk
Büyükçelebi were taken into custody in connection
with the Ergenekon investigation.

Writer Murat CoÅ?kun received prison sentence of one year and
fifteen days for committing the crime of `provoking hostility among
people’ with his book titled `Acının Dili Kadın’
(Woman, Language of Pain), published by Peri Publishing in January
2002 with. He is still in prison. Local journalist Hacı
BoÄ?atekin of Gerger, who was in prison for 109 days after
arrested for his critical publications against the local prosecutor,
Kurdish politician Mahmut Alınak, who was arrested for
proposing Musa Anter’s name for a street in the city of Tunceli, and
unionist Meryem Ã-zsöÄ?üt, who was arrested for
taking part in Kevser Mızrak’s commemoration, were released.

Attacks against the journalists go unpunished, Dink’s murder trial is
in its second year

Discussing the cases of the 220 people, the report presents the
violations under the following headings: `Attacks and threats’,
`Custodies and arrests’, `Cases and attempts’, `Arrangements and
seeking of rights’, `European Court of Human Rights’, `Reactions to
censorship’, and `RTÃ`K implementations’.

The developments in Dink’s case shows that these kind of political
murders cannot be solved only through judicial means, without the
support of the political will.

The police officers who broke the arm of Ali Deniz Uslu, reporter of
daily Cumhuriyet, and beat Esra Açıkgöz did not
appear before court. In BeytüÅ?Å?ebap in the
eastern Turkey, DHA reporter Emin Bal was convicted of insult after he
filing a complaint against the police officers who manhandled him.

Censorship of every type for the sake of `security’
Not used to be questioned about its operations, the General Staff
takes the questions about DaÄ?lıca and
Aktütün ambushes as matters of strategy.

Military Prosecutor’s Office asked daily Taraf to turn in the
documents used for the article titled `DaÄ?lıca Ambush
Was Known’. The court banned the internet site gundemonline.com and
suspended the newspaper Alternatif for one month for publishing
statements by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

Hayat TV’s broadcasting was cut by the Türksat authorities
following a warning by the Security Branch of the Ministry of Interior
on the grounds that it was aiding the pro-Kurdish Roj TV. The
`mistake’ was fixed three weeks later.

Gökçer TahincioÄ?lu and Kemal
GöktaÅ?, who had made a news report about the power of
tapping the telephones the Police Department, the National
Intelligence Organization and the Gendarmerie were given, are on trial
for `publishing confidential documents’ and `making the judge a
target’.

The Prime Minister targets the media and the humor
Targeting president of the DoÄ?an Media Group Aydın
DoÄ?an and unable to control himself, Prime Minister
ErdoÄ?an attacked the International Press Institute (IPI) and
the World Association of Press Councils (WAPC) for their statements
defending the press freedom.

Upon Prime Minister’s complaint, Malih KaÅ?kar of the newspaper
Milas Ã-nder (Milas Leader) was sentenced to prison for telling a
joke in his article. Likewise, weekly comic magazine Leman is sued for
damages for making fun of Prime Minister’s sentence that `We did not
take the science of the West, but its immorality.’

36 people are on trial for article 301
While the cases filed under article 301 are sent to the Ministry of
Justice for `permission to prosecute’, that the article remains in
effect leads to new cases. The Great Union Party (BBP) administrators
filed a complaint against journalist Ahmet Altan and Adnan Demir,
daily Taraf’s manager in-charge, for recognizing `the Armenian
Genocide’. Retired inspector Niyazi Uslay’s criticizing the military
received conviction.

In the last three months, 15 journalists and 36 individuals have been
prosecuted under article 301 in 18 cases. The Ministry of Justice
granted permission for the prosecution of Temel Demirer under article
301 for stating that Hrant Dink was murdered `for recognizing the
genocide.’ 22 individuals in 15 cases were being prosecuted under
article 301 in the same period of the last year.

Five cases were filed against thirteen people for `influencing the
court’ with their articles, reports and statements. Two of these cases
resulted in acquittal. The six journalists from Batman who criticized
the operation that resulted in the death of Mizgin Ã-zbek are
facing imprisonment.

Bülent Ersoy, Perihan MaÄ?den, Gökhan
Gençay, Ä°brahim Ã?eÅ?mecioÄ?lu,
Birgül Ã-zbarıÅ? and Yasin YetiÅ?gen are
on trial for defending conscientious objection and being antiwar.

Eight are accused in `hate’ cases
Eight people are on trial for the charge of `provoking hatred and
agitation’ in five cases. DÄ°HA reporters Oktay Candemir and
Ercan Ã-ksüz are on trial for their interview titled
`Witness of the Zilan Massacre talked’. Twelve people were prosecuted
for the same crime last year.

Threat of 75 year imprisonment and half a million euro in damages for
`insult’
In three months, 36 individuals, 28 of them journalists, were
prosecuted in 23 cases for the charge of insult. They faced 75 years
of imprisonment and payment of about half a million euro in damages.

Muhittin Zenit, intelligence officer on duty in Trabzon before the
murder of Hrant Dink, sued bianet.org for 12.500 euro and NTV for
45.000 euro. Feyzullah Aslan of the Police Department is asking from
writer Fikret Otyam and journalist Ä°dris Ã-zyol 10.000 euro.

Commemorating Deniz GezmiÅ? is a `crime’
Commemorating Deniz gezmiÅ?, Mahir Ã?ayan and
Ä°brahim Kaypakkaya is still a crime after 35 years: Sibel
Bulut, daily Atılım’s manager in-charge, will be tried
for `praising the crime and the criminal.’ Ten individuals, two of
them journalists, were tried in seven cases in accordance with article
215 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The Kurdish problem is banned as a news topic
Istanbul’s 10th High Criminal Court has fined daily Hurriyet’s
reporter Sebati Karakurt and managers Hasan Kılıç
and Necdet Tatlıcan fifty thousand euro for the interview
conducted with the PKK four years age, which was construed as
`publishing the comments of the terrorist organization’ and `doing
propaganda work for the PKK’.

Journalist Cengiz Kapmaz received a ten month prison sentence for his
interview with Orhan DoÄ?an, which was construed as `doing
propaganda work for the PKK.’

Kurdish politicians Orhan MiroÄ?lu was sentenced to
auto-censorship of five years for speaking Kurdish while he was an
independent deputy candidate for the Parliament.

The only good news¦
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Turkey to paying
6500 euro in damages in three cases. In the same period last year,
14500 euro was paid to 32 individuals.(EÃ-/EK/TB)