Headed by the International Press Institute, a delegation comprising of representatives from eight freedom of press organizations visited Turkey between 11-13 September and made a press release about the current climate of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Turkey. The press release was held at the Association of Journalists Press House, which attracted much attention from national and international press, and diplomatic mission representatives. The delegation comprising of European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Delegation to Protect Journalists (CPJ), PEN International, PEN Norway, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) stated that freedom of the press is still in crisis in Turkey. The delegation made contact with civil society organizations, judiciary and government officials during their three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul, and underlined the continuing oppression and restrictions journalists face. The delegation also talked about information they received on the planned legal reforms. 

The delegation made contact with civil society organization representatives and journalists in Istanbul, later to come to Ankara to meet representatives from the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and the Ministry of Justice. Contact was made with the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey and representatives of diplomatic missions; the delegation expressed their disappointment over the last-minute cancellation of their meeting with Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül despite having received confirmation in prior weeks.

Meeting with Ministry of Justice Cancelled 

The delegation expressed they had requested a meeting with the Ministry in July and had received confirmation two weeks ago: “We had questions we wanted to ask Minister of Justice, Gül. If the meeting had taken place, it would have shown us that the government is acting in good faith. We have been following the attempts at reform in Turkey, and we consider this a positive development. But we don’t exactly know what the reform package contains. We wanted to ask the Minister of Justice how the package is going to attempt to tackle the problems faced in freedom of expression and rule of law.” 

Contradictory decisions on individual appeals by journalists are worrying 

The delegation also stated the Constitutional Court should give priority to appeals made by imprisoned journalists and the restrictions imposed on websites, primarily Wikipedia. Delays in addressing said appeals infringe on the constitutional right of the public to access information, and the contradictory decisions on individual appeals by journalists are worrying, expressed the delegation. 

The delegation strongly welcomed a ruling on Thursday evening by the Court of Cassation to overturn convictions for seven defendants in the Cumhuriyet trial, concerning cases of journalists detained because of their work but remain cautiously optimistic despite these positive developments since the crisis in freedom of the press and rule of law continue. “While the decision marks belated but significant justice, it cannot reverse the personal damage done to those defendants as a result of their extended imprisonment” stated the delegation.

The delegation stated that the Legal Reform Strategy Package declared on 30 May 2019 does not grant judicial independence both legally and in practise, and will not be able to provide assurance as long as it fails to stop legal proceedings against journalists. In the press release the delegation said it welcomed the reform package but ever since the ending of the state of emergency in July 2018 the press environment has not developed, and the number of journalists faced with prison or travel restrictions due to political pressure remain the same. The delegation stated that the following period defined by increased control of the judiciary significantly damaged the perception of rule of law and the public’s right to access information:

“As part of any judicial reform strategy, Turkey should urgently revise anti-terror and defamation laws, repeatedly abused to silence critical press. It should take immediate steps to end the arbitrary prosecution of journalists, characterized by baseless indictments, politically driven judgments and severe violations of the right to a fair trial. It should reverse moves that allow disproportionate political interference into the operations of the judiciary, including the April 2017 amendment to Article 159 of the Constitution, which allows for political control over the nomination procedure to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, affecting the independence of the entire judicial system.

The delegation who assessed the foreseen changes in the strategy package called on Turkish authorities, independent civil society organizations and journalists to take part in the process. The delegation also called on the government to make sure the provisions are in alignment with international humanitarian rights. 

RTÜK’s new authorities are very worrying  

The delegation expressed their concerns about the new authorities given to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) especially about online news and content regulation and excessive licensing fees which threaten online platforms significantly. It was also mentioned that the authority of issuing press cards given to Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Directorate of Communication could negatively alter working conditions of national and international media in the country. 

Bilgin “The future of Anatolian journalism is bleak” 

Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin said he was sorry the delegation could not meet the Minister of Justice and added: “There are significant traps for the Anatolian press in the New Strategic Reform Package. If the package is legalized, around 1.200 newspapers in Anatolia will lose half of its official advertisements and hundreds of publishers will have to shut down. The Press Advertisement Agency has been taken over by the government. This institution has worked objectively and impartially for many years, now it will only give official advertisements to pro-government newspapers, and will not to other newspapers. I worked for more than 20 years for the Press Advertisement Agency, I’ve never seen it in such dire circumstances. The future of Anatolian journalism is bleak. Faruk Bildirici, who was chosen as a RTÜK member by CHP, released a statement about RTÜK President Ebubekir Şahin being appointed as the head of the Press Advertisement Agency. RTÜK law states that none of its members can work in any institution or organization affiliated with the media, they are in open transgression of the law. Bildirici applied to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and RTÜK for Şahin’s resignation. We, as the Association of Journalists, are prepared to help these international organizations in their efforts to establish freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Turkey.