Türkiye'de basın özgürlüğü....Press freedom in Turkey

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Freedom House:
Journalists' Arrests Signal Growing Press Freedom Backslide in Turkey
Washington;.March 14, 2011

The ongoing harassment and detention of journalists in Turkey, including a number who have been held for two years without trial, represents an alarming threat to press freedom. Freedom House calls on Turkish leaders to reverse this trend by instituting policies to protect media independence and releasing from detention journalists held in cases where charges have not been brought or serious evidence has not been produced.
A recent campaign by Turkish authorities has resulted in the arrest of thirteen journalists on charges of conspiring with the so-called Ergenekon plot to overthrow the Justice and Development (AK) Party government. The arrests in turn triggered widespread protests against the growing crackdown on press freedom in the country. In all, some 50 journalists are currently in prison, one of the highest numbers of imprisoned journalists in the world. Turkish police claim the most recent arrests came as a result of information discovered during a search last month of the homes of four journalists associated with the opposition oriented television station, OdaTV. The journalists arrested all worked for outlets critical of the AK-led government. Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, publically admitted the endangerment of civil liberties, claiming the actions are "casting a shadow over the level that Turkey has reached and the image that is lauded by everyone." At the same time, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the arrests.
Freedom House singled out for particular attention the cases of Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik, two of the country's leading investigative reporters, both of whom were recently arrested.




"The harassment of media outlets and journalists who oppose government policies is a clear attempt to silence critical voices and to restrict media diversity," said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, managing editor of Freedom House's Freedom of the Press index. "Other journalists targeted as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation—such as Mustafa Balbay—have been detained for more than two years without charge. These continuing detentions are a clear violation of the journalists' rights and those detained should either be charged and tried, or released. Indeed, the entire Ergenekon prosecution, with its open-endedness and absence of transparency, raises serious questions about the state of Turkish democracy. Furthermore, this escalating war against media independence is seriously at odds with Turkey's self-proclaimed image as a model Muslim democracy."
In addition to the mounting number of arrests, Freedom House noted with concern that over 4,000 lawsuits are pending against journalists on a range of justifications.
Freedom House currently rates Turkey as only Partly Free in Freedom of the Press 2010, its annual index of global media independence. Media remain constrained by a restrictive legal environment and draconian laws, the imprisonment and prosecution of journalists, and a hostile attitude towards opposition media outlets on the part of the government. Turkey's rate of imprisoning journalists is one of the highest in the world.
Turkey is also ranked Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2011, the most recent edition of Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, and in its internet freedom index, Freedom on the Net.

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