http://www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/113147/435-though-crimes-in-turkey-in-2008
Bia Media Monitoring Report 2008 Summary
435 "Thought Crimes" in Turkey in 2008
In 2008, the political landscape in Turkey became more polarised and the
Kurdish question remained unresolved. Both government and army displayed
intolerance toward criticism of their performance and questioning of rights
violations. Freedom of expression and of the press both took a considerable
step backwards.
In the last year, 82 people were tried under the controversial Article 301,
concerned with the "denigration" of the state and state organs; five people
were convicted.
"Insult" cases on the rise
Twenty-three people stood accused of "inciting hatred and hostility among
people". Seventy-four -among them, four caricaturists and 47 journalists-
were tried for "insulting" others. In total, the compensation claims in
these insult cases amount to 1,885,500 TL (approx. 855,711 euro).
One of the claimants is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has
targeted the Dogan Media Group, publicly saying, "Do not buy these
newspapers." Claims by him and his family have resulted in the convictions
of Perihan Magden ("Radikal" newspaper), Cemal Subasi ("Tempo" magazine)
and Mehmet Cagcag ("Leman" satirical magazine). He is also claiming
compensation from Melih Kaskar ("Milas Onder" newspaper).
It is thus not surprising that Turkey is ranked 102nd out of 173 countries,
according to Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) Freedom of the Press Index.
BİA Media Monitoring Report
The BIA annual media monitoring report provides information on 506 court
cases, in which a total of 854 people from 305 newspapers were affected.
This number shows that social tensions are rising. A total of 435
journalists, writers, publishers, human rights activists, politicians and
children were taken to court in 2008 because of their opinions. In 2007,
this number
stood at 254.
The 113-page annual BIA Media Monitoring Report recorded freedom of
expression violations in chronological order under the following headings:
"Attacks and threats", "Detentions and arrests", "Press freedom and the
freedom of expression in court", "Adjustments and seeking justice",
"European Court of Human Rights", "Reactions to censorship" and "RTÜK
practices".
For the full text of the report summary, see:
http://www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/113147/435-though-crimes-in-turkey-in-2008
For further information contact Nadire Mater at BIANET, Faikpasa Yokusu,
No. 41, Antikhane, Kat: 3, D.8-9, Cukurcuma, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey,
tel: +90 212 251 1503, fax: +90 212 251 1609, e-mail: bia@bianet.org,
Internet: http://www.bianet.org
http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/turkey-fact-finding-report.pdf
TURKEY: New Report Shows Increasing Repression of Freedom of Expression
ARTICLE 19 is pleased to announce the publication of a joint fact-finding mission report on the current state of media freedom in Turkey. In July 2007, ARTICLE 19 co-organised a mission with The Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP), Index on Censorship, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) and the Centre for European Studies, Limerick, Ireland, in response to reports of rapidly increasing violations of the right to freedom of expression in Turkey.
The mission found that despite the reforms of 2003 to 2004, there has been a substantial and rapid regression in freedom of the media. This can mainly be attributed to the slow-down in the EU reform process and the manner in which new legislation is being interpreted and applied by the Turkish State apparatus.
The report underlines that the greater debate on the infamous Article 301 of the new Penal Code against Turkish intellectuals has led to a lack of discussion or awareness of equally controversial and far-reaching Articles 220 (8) and 216 of the Penal Code as well as the new Anti-Terror law. These legislation have been widely used against ordinary, notably Kurdish and pro-Kurdish journalists. Opposition journalists who are either imprisoned or under investigation are all too often dismissed by the State apparatus and larger media groups as working for ‘terrorist newspapers’ or not being ‘proper journalists’. The mission believes that these attacks against opposition media ultimately endanger freedom of the media in Turkey as a whole.
Given that the mission found growing scepticism of both Turkey and the EU’s commitment to the reform process, the mission calls on the Turkish authorities to urgently lift its prohibitive restrictions on Kurdish language broadcasting, and to repeal all aspects of the new Penal Code, new Anti-Terror Law and Police Powers law that are incompatible with international human rights standards. The mission further urges the EU to uphold its commitment to the reform process, by providing practical support to Turkey’s accession bid and by continuing to closely monitor its performance, particularly with regard to freedom of expression.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The report is available at: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/turkey-fact-finding-report.pdf
For more information, please contact Anoush Begoyan, Europe Programme Officer, anoushb@article19.org, +44 20 7278 9292.
ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur440082007
Torture, ill-treatment and killings continue to be met with persistent impunity for the security forces in Turkey, Amnesty International said in a report published today. The investigation and prosecution of serious human rights violations committed by officers of the police and gendarmerie are flawed and compounded by inconsistent decisions by prosecutors and judges. As a result, justice for the victims of human rights violations is delayed or denied.
"The criminal justice system needs reform. It needs to firmly put the protection of the human rights of citizens above that of the perceived interests of state institutions and officials," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International's report, Turkey: The entrenched culture of impunity must end,looks into the factors contributing to the impunity for law enforcement officials, including administrative delays, failings in court procedures and intimidation of human rights defenders and journalists. The report highlights the absence of an independent body which can impartially and effectively investigate human rights violations by state officials and the lack of centralized data collection of human rights violations committed by the security forces.
The report's main findings include:
* Torture and ill-treatment, including during unofficial detention, during and after demonstrations, in prisons and during prisoner transfer;
* Cases of ongoing trials in Turkey where statements allegedly extracted under torture constitute a central part of the evidence but where the court has ruled such evidence admissible.
* The refusal of courts to recognize independent medical evidence in torture or other ill-treatment cases. The courts usually only accept evidence provided by the Forensic Medical Institute, which is institutionally bound to the Ministry of Justice.
* The re-introduction of a controversial provision in the revised Law to Fight Terrorism which fails to make explicit that the use of force should be strictly necessary and proportionate and that the use of lethal force is only permissible when "strictly unavoidable to protect life".
* The lack of progress in investigating fatal shootings by security forces which were not part of an armed clash and which may amount to extrajudicial killings.
In March 2006, anti-government demonstrations in Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey were followed by mass arrests. There were widespread allegations of torture or other ill-treatment in police custody -- on the basis of reports of the legal aid service of the Bar Association it was estimated that 95% of the detainees, some of them children, were tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Thirty-four investigations into allegations of torture or other ill-treatment were reportedly initiated. Over one year later not a single prosecution against any member of the security forces has been opened.
Amnesty International welcomes the Turkish government's declared commitment to a “zero tolerance for torture” policy and to the protection of human rights. The organization has noted that there are fewer reports of torture and ill-treatment in police custody and that the safeguards in the protection of suspects against ill-treatment during their apprehension, detention and interrogation have been improved.
"The government’s commitment to a 'zero tolerance for torture' can never be regarded as a sincere and fully effective policy until real steps are taken to ensure that officials who violate the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment are brought to justice. Zero tolerance for torture and other grave violations must mean that those responsible are thoroughly and independently investigated, prosecuted and convicted," Nicola Duckworth said.
"Nothing short of a fully-implemented policy of 'zero tolerance for impunity' will end the spectre of torture, other ill-treatment, killings and enforced disappearances which still blights Turkey’s human rights record."
Background
Torture was systematically practised in police and gendarmerie detention throughout Turkey until recently. The 1980 coup was accompanied by the detention of one million people many of whom were tortured and died in police custody, were forcibly disappeared or tried in unfair proceedings. The mass violations of human rights in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast and eastern regions of Turkey in the 1990s took the form of enforced disappearances and killings by unknown perpetrators which the state authorities showed no willingness to solve, and the forcible eviction of around one million villagers when villages were evacuated and destroyed by the security forces during the conflict with separatist armed groups. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly found Turkey in violation of its international obligations in cases concerning the right to life; freedom from torture and ill-treatment; and the rights to a fair trial, liberty and security, freedom of expression, an effective remedy, and protection of property.