Concluding official visit to Turkey, OSCE Media Freedom Representative calls on authorities to urgently reverse the course of media freedom violations
ISTANBUL, 14 June 2019 - Concluding his four-day official visit to Turkey, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called on the Turkish authorities to urgently address and reverse current media freedom violations and pressure that journalists face.
During his visit, Désir met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Faruk Kaymakçı, Deputy Justice Minister Cengiz Öner, and the Head of the Parliament Human Rights Committee Hakan Çavuşoğlu. The Representative also met with journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society and media organisations.
In his meetings with the authorities, Désir pointed to the many obstacles to media freedom in Turkey, including the dire situation related to journalists in prison, safety and impunity for attacks against journalists, media-related laws and the new judicial reform strategy.
The Representative further stressed that reforming the existing legislation that allows for criminalization of journalistic work is a matter of urgency. A wide array of laws are being used to restrict media freedom and imprison journalists who simply express dissenting voices. Moreover, he pointed to several presidential decrees, issued during the state of emergency, that have become permanent measures and could negatively impact freedom of expression and freedom of the media. He raised the problem of the numerous procedures adopted by a "peace judge" in arrests of journalists and internet censorship, and the difficulties to obtain remedies against abuses.
“I am aware of the Reform Action Group meetings and I hope that the Judicial Reform Strategy will contribute to bringing the legislation and judicial policy in line with international standards regarding freedom of expression. For media freedom, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the full respect of the independence of the judiciary and to revise several provisions of the Criminal Code, the Internet law and the Anti-terror law affecting the work of the media,” said Désir.
The Representative offered his Office’s legal support to bring this legislation in line with OSCE commitments and international standards on freedom of expression, noting with concern that access to a significant number of websites, including Wikipedia, is blocked in Turkey.
During his meeting with the authorities, Désir strongly denounced the practice of detaining journalists for their work and the abuse of pre-trial detention. He also reiterated that journalism should not be equated with terrorism. He recalled several trials and individual cases, including those of former Cumhuriyet employees Kadri Gürsel, Pelin Ünker, Erol Önderoğlu, Özgür Gündem, the Zaman and Altan brothers and Nazli Ilicak’s trials, regarding which his Office intervened in the past. He stressed that all journalists need to be released from prison and free to exercise their profession.
“I am appalled by the high number of journalists currently behind bars and prosecuted in Turkey. This doesn’t only hinder the work of media professionals but also prevents the citizens of Turkey from enjoying access to various opinions and to information from pluralistic sources. These practices have a chilling effect and can create self-censorship. It is remarkable that so many courageous independent journalists are continuing their work. It is of the utmost importance that all imprisoned journalists are released and that all charges against them are dropped,” Désir added.
As for safety and the fight against impunity, Désir praised the engagement of the Turkish authorities in the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year in Istanbul. "Immediate attention is also needed to resolve all other attacks against journalists in Turkey. I am closely following the ongoing investigations into the recent and alarming physical attacks against journalists Sabahattin Önkibar, Hakan Denizli, Ergin Çevik, İdris Özyol and Yavuz Selim Demirağ,” Désir said, recalling the importance of the Decision on Safety of Journalists adopted by all OSCE participating States last December in Milan.
During his visit, the Representative met with some very courageous and prominent journalists and media freedom defenders, including Erol Önderoğlu from RSF, Kadri Gürsel, Pelin Ünker, Fatih Polat, Sibel Hürtaş, Faruk Bildirici, Çiğdem Toker, Alican Uludağ, Erdal Güven, Işin Eliçin, Andrew Finkel, Gürkan Özturan, Gonca Tokyol from various media and platforms Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, Evrensel, Arti TV, Diken, Medyascope, bianet, dokuz8haber, T24, P24, Press House of Ankara, as well as lawyers Yaman Akdeniz, Kerem Altiparmak and Veysel Ok.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.