Paying the Price: Freedom of Expression in Turkey
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PAYING PRICET H E FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN TURKEY HELSINKI WATCH INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM TO PUBLISH COMMITTEE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS PAYING THE PRICE: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN TURKEY Helsinki Watch International Freedom to Publish Committee of the Association of American Publishers -rh±s on© 7K6N-QA6-ZN7B Copyrighted material This report is based largely on information gathered by Lois Whitman, an attorney y<u^ ooosiilttiit to tlio HdinlB Walcb f^v"ii"'tfo(D^ tad Ummmi - Fronodc, an edkor widi Readet^ VigeA <?p 4pfwftil Booki Md a —fH?tT of the International Freedom to FiMiah Cmmnittftc of the Aiaodrfoa of American FublisheWidBiiiig a fiwt-fiadiiigiiiittiofltoTW^ October 1968. It was written by Loii Whitman and Tom RraaodL © 1989 by the U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN Cover design by Deborah Tliamas U.S. HELSINKI WATCH COMMITTEE The U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee it a nangovenamntal oiganiKioB founded in 1979 to promote doamstic and mtematioiial mmpHanflft widi the human rights provisioiis of the 1975 Helsinki aooocds. Hie Chairman of Hel- sinki Watoh is Robert U Bernsteh^ Vke Oiairaian, Alice R HenUn; Ekoi- tive Director, Jeri Laber, Research Director, Catherine A. FitqMitrick; Program Coordinator, Janet Fleischman; Consultant, Lois Whitman. INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM TO PUBUSH COMMITTEE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBUSHERS The International Freedom to Publish Committee of the Association of American Publishers works to publicize abuses of freedom of eicpression and to defend the rights of iHiMishera and aathom thfoiigliort the woiM. man is Roland Algrant Copyrighted material Table of Contents TNTRODIJCrnON 1 FRREDDMOFTHEPRRSS 11 Freedom of the Press in Turkey Today 11 Legal Frsmiework 12 The 1982 Constitution 12 The Press Law 14 The Penal Code 14 The Law to Protect Minors from Harmful Publications 16 Other Laws that Restrict Press Freedom 17 Confiscations 19 Journalists in Prison 22 novp.mmp.nf Harassment of the Mainstream Press 25 Milliyet 25 Cumhuriyet 27 2000'eDogru 30 Toplumsal Dirilis 36 Toplumsal Kurtulus 37 Ahece 40 Yeni Cozum 41 Union of vSocialist Publications 43 Actions Against Other Journals 46 Economic Pressures on Newspapers and Journals 48 Reports of Other Actions against Journalists 50 The Law to Protect Minors 54 Criticism by the International Press Institute 55 The Government's Response to Criticism 56 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION TN TELEVISION AND RADIO ... 59 Legal Framework 59 Television and Radio in Turkey Today 60 FREEDOM OF EXPRF.SSION IN ROOK PI JBIJSHING 67 Legal Framework 67 Publishing in Turkey Today 67 Banned Books 70 Confiscation on Pol itical Grounds 72 Confiscation on Grounds of Obscenity or Threatening Public Morals 73 Books Banned in Schools 76 The Effect on the Publishing Industry 77 The Chill Factor 81 The Turkish Writers^ I Inion M The Government's Response 86 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE ARTS 87 Legal Framework 87 A Law that Permits Banning of Film, Video and Music 88 The Law to Protect Minors 88 Free Expression in Film Today 89 Film Censorship Board 89 The Asya Film Company 92 Other Cases of Film Censorship 95 Censorship of Music 98 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 105 Legal Framework 105 General Requirements 108 Turkish Associations Since the Military Coup of 1980 108 Officially Permitted Associations 109 Human Rights Associationsl09 Associations of Families of Convicts and detaineesll3 Turkish Writers' lJnionll5 Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear Warll6 Turkish-Greek Friendship AssociationllV Women's Organization for Democracy117 Prohibited Associations 118 Unofficial Organizations 119 Turkish PEN Chih 119 THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES AND WESTERN EUROPE 121 The United States and Turkey 121 Western Europe and Turkey 123 RECOMMENDATIONS 127 APPENDIX A: Selected Articles from the Penal Code 129 APPENDIX B: List of Journalists in Prison 135 APPENDIX C: List of Publications Confiscated and Banned by the Turkish Government 137 APPENDIX D: Books Confiscated from SQL and ONUR Publishing Houses by the Ankara Press Prosecutor on February 18, 1988 213 Frequently Used Abbreviations ANAP MotheriandPaity DISK ConiBdeiatioa oCRevotalkiiiaiy Trade Uiui DSP Denocntic Left Fttly DYP Correct Way Party HRA Human Rights Association PKK Kurdish Workers* Party SHP Social Democratic Peoples' Party TPA Turkish Peace Asaodation Note: This report reflects developments in Turkey through March 15,1989. PAYING TH£ PRICE: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN TURKEY INTRODUCTION Turkey is a country of paradoxes," Dogu Perincek, the editor of the lite oon are now freer to break Uteoi than at cmfiangoreimwntm 1981 Yon hare tbe freedom t^ butoo^ifyoiAe wOliiig to pay the price for it" Many editors, writers and journalists are indeed paying the price fot what they have written-in harassment, criminal charges, detention, torture, tri- als and sometimes imprisonment. On our trip to Turkey in October 1988 we talked with many brave Turks wfao^ every day, put themselves at risk for speak- ing their minds. This report is die lereath report on hnnuBi itgliU in Tuikqr issued by Helsinki Watch stnoe 1982. It does not cower aD amiecti of hunum rights in Turkey, but rather concentrates on freedom of ciprciHBon--in die press, radio and televirion, publishing, fihn, nniaic and in freedom of amociation. ft largely on a frnt-finding mis^on to Turkey undertaken in October 1968 by Hd- sinki Watch and the International Freedom to Publish Committee of the As- sociation of American Publishers. Turkey has changed enormously since the first Helsinki Watch trip in mid-1983. At that time the country was still under martial law, and had been so smce the mifitaiy oonp of 1980. The military had not yet turned tlie goveriuuent back to civilians -no clectioos had been hekismce the coop. Independent or- ganizations had ddier been banned or taken over by the nuiitaiy. The press operated under militaiy contralt printuig only dioiB Hones approved by the military. Pnbfie criticim of dbo mHitafy coup and of ffw nifitary goverameat was almost non-existent; anyone brave enough to attempt sudi criticism ran a heavy risk of arrest, torture and a long prison sentence. Many thousands of Turks were in prison for political statements or actions. 1 Copyrighted material The Turkey of today if a different country ~ it is a parlianientaiy democracy with a multi-party gyrtem, alThnu^ not itt political partiei ne per- mitted to take part. National dectioos lune beat lieid tvvioB. MMal Urn hm ended, and a state of emetgciM^ ateoo^m aofiilheas^^ dish separatists continiie to wi^ gnerrilh ivaififf^ sorship ofthe press, and goverament policies and actions are openijr critidfed. But within this structure of democracy, terrible problems still exist. Al- though the Turkish government in 1988 signed and ratified both the United Na- tions and European conventions to prevent torture, Turkish citizens continue to be tortured in the same police stations as before, using the same kinds of im- plements and methods of torture. If the number of people being tortured bai declined, that is because fewer peopte are bdqg detained on political diaigBi» not because the rate of torture has decreased. Aocordiug to idiaUe reports^ at least seventeen people died during torture m 1967 at the hands ofpolioe or tte military, and at least five more <fied under torture in the first half of 1968. Lawyers representing defendants in political cases told us that well over 90 per- cent of poUtical defendants are tortured today. And many thousands of political prisoners remain in prison— some convicted of political crimes, and some in detention, still awaiting the con- clusions of their trials. Conditions in Turkish prisons are so Hfy^ii^^hyt mnr^. than 2,000 prisoners took part in hunger strikes in 1988. As for freedom of expression, the positive side can be seen in the proliferation ctfjournals that openly criticize the government and try to expand the areas in which free tpceda is permitted. The negtfhie side Is the confisca- tion ofniany issues of these j ournab and the manydiargn brought agnnst their editors and authors — some ofwhidi end m torture and unprisonment. At least 41 Turkish journalists and editors are now in prison, serving time for what they have written or published. Some have received absurdly long sentences—in one case, 1,086 years, later reduced to about 700 years on appeal. (None, however, will serve more than 36 years, the maximum time permitted by Turkish law.) Accordingto an April 20, 1968 article in Cum/iunyer, an influential Turkish daily newspaper, m the five ycats since the end of military rule in 1963^ 2»127 jour- nalists have been tried in 1^436 cases. 2 Copyrighled material Iatliet«oy6ansiiioetlieiieeid)rjoiiiiial»a^ begn poUiiliiiv, 28 CMCS have bectt tx^^ fnifitig the prendent,* VBakean^ fiatinwl feeliiigv»" "makii^ anli-'nBldih propaganda," msullBig religion, the military, or the memory ofKemal AMuk, founder of the Republic. So far, nine of the 28 cases have been brought to trial In three, a "not guilty" verdict was returned. In the six others, the journal, an editor and sometimes the writer of an article have been found guilty. In one case, a prison sentence was converted to a monetary fine. But in five cases, Fatma Yazici, the magazine's "responsible editor" (the person who, according to the Turkish Press Law, bean legal rc^winibihty for the ooBtents of the publicft- tion). has been seatenoed lo nrison tcrwMt nwiaAna from 12 fWKFtfcf to nawan and three flsoodis. The qnieal prooeiB hat been coaqilet^ two of these, seBtences totaling 28 oMMths were upheld. One of these cases m- ¥olved "insnltiDg the president" by printing an aitide about two apartuieati bought by Turkey's President Kenan Evren for two daughters at unusually low prices; the magazine printed copies of the deeds of sale. The other involved "being disrespectful of religion and the Prophet Mohammed." The longest sentence that Ms.