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Turkey: State of Emergency, State of Arbitrary 2 #TURKEY STAte OF EMERGENCY stAfter alreadyA crackingTE down onOF freedom of informationAR in BIrecent years,TR PresidentA Erdoğanry has taken advantage of the abortive coup d’état and the state of emergency in effect since 20 July to silence many more of his media critics, not only Gülen movement media and journalists but also, to a lesser extent, Kurdish, secularist and left-wing media. RSF, 19 September 2016 d’Etat manqué du 15 juillet 2016, mais aussi des représentants des médias pro-kurdes, laïcs et de gauche TURKEY: STATE OF EMERGENCY, STATE OF ARBITRAry 2 Taksim Square, Istanbul, on the night of 15 July 2016. / Ozan Kose AFP © Foreword Checks and balances swept away THE TURKISH PEOPLE took to the streets to face of a state of emergency on 20 July ushered in an tanks on the night of 15 July 2016, a few hours after unprecedented purge of the Turkish media. a sector of the army, backed by armoured units and First page photos: fighter planes, went on to the streets of Ankara and Claiming to be combatting a threat to “national Soldiers Istanbul as part of a bid to seize power. The putschists security and unity” and blaming the coup attempt and police were soon thwarted. The people had been on alert, on the movement founded by the US-based cleric during the 17 July coup and the media too. But the media paid a high price Fethullah Gülen, the government has issued decrees / police and for their loyalty to democracy, for continuing to cover that undermine the foundations of the rule of law, demonstrators developments during those dark hours on the night opening to the way to arbitrary conduct by officials during the when the country’s future hung in the balance. and police and strengthening the powers of a newspaper The climate of national unity the next morning judicial system that is now more politicized than Özgür fuelled hopes that President Erdoğan and his ever. Taking their old failings to ever-new extremes, Gündem’s closure in government would cease to treat critical media outlets prosecutors and judges have treated any expression Istanbul in as the enemy and would end the persecution of recent of sympathy for the Gülen movement as evidence of August. years. Instead they did the opposite: the proclamation direct complicity in the abortive coup. As well … © AFP REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS SEPTEMBER 2016 TURKEY: STATE OF EMERGENCY, STATE OF ARBITRAry 3 Police blocking access to the newspaper Özgür Gündem in Istanbul in August. … as allegedly pro-Gülen media and journalists, the witchhunt has also targeted representatives of Kurdish, secularist and left-wing media outlets. Gülen – Erdoğan’s former close ally, now biggest foe Persecution of critics had already been growing in recent years in Turkey in what was the clearest sign Calling itself “Hizmet” (Service), the social and religious movement of President Erdoğan’s authoritarian tendencies. founded by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen preaches a moderate version Judicial harassment of journalists, systematic Internet of Islam and encourages education and free enterprise. Sharing values censorship, curbs on pluralism and the increasingly and a desire for revenge on the traditional Kemalist elite, the Gülen concentrated ownership of leading media outlets in movement and Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) joined the hands of the government’s friends had already forces to take over the state apparatus in the 2000s. The movement’s become the norm. As a result, Turkey was ranked generally well-educated ranks provided many of the technocrats and as low as 151st out of 180 countries in the 2016 civil servants who replaced Kemalist officials when they retired or were version of the World Press Freedom Index compiled purged. by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The state of All this had the AKP government’s blessings until differences between emergency removed the few remaining safety nets the two allies emerged and deepened, and finally a fight to the death and brought arbitrary governmental decision-making began in 2013. Thanks to their positions within the administration, to new unprecedented heights: journalists have been officials close to the Gülen movement were able to deal the government jailed without any reason being given, media outlets damaging blows that included leaks of comprising phone recordings, a have been closed with the stroke of pen, and punitive major corruption scandal and revelations about arms deliveries to Syria. measures have been taken without any form of trial. The government blamed these developments on judges, prosecutors and In the past two months, journalists of all political police officers sympathetic to the movement. tendencies have been the victims of countless A series of major purges within the administration ensued. Since 2015, violations of free speech, the right to safety and the the authorities have referred tersely to the movement as either “FETÖ,” right to a fair trial, legal defence and effective legal an acronym for “Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü” (Fethullah Terrorist recourse. Organization) or “PDY,” an acronym for “Paralel Devlet Yapılanması” (Parallel State Structure). The government accuses Gülen of being Erol ÖNDEROĞLU Johann BIHR behind the 15 July coup attempt and is seeking his extradition from the RSF’s representative head of RSF’s United States, where he has lived since 1999. in Turkey Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS SEPTEMBER 2016 TURKEY: STATE OF EMERGENCY, STATE OF ARBITRAry 4 1 Denying due process The state of emergency strips journalists of all legal recourse against such arbitrary measures as denial of access to a lawyer during police custody, prolonged pre-trial detention, the criminalization of dissent and mistreatment of detainees. DR REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS SEPTEMBER 2016 TURKEY: STATE OF EMERGENCY, STATE OF ARBITRAry 5 Previous page IN TURKEY they call it OHAL, which is short for photos: media outlets including Erkan Acar, Büşra Erdal, Olağanüstü Hâl (“state of emergency” in Turkish). The arrests of Ufuk Şanlı, Habib Güler and Bayram Kaya. They The government headed by President Erdoğan and Büşra Erdal, were all charged with “membership of the FETÖ Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım declared a three- Şahin Alpay, organization.” A former Erdoğan supporter and AKP month state of emergency on 20 July. The state of Nazlı Ilıcak and parliamentary representative, Ilıcak was fired from emergency legislation dates back to 1983, when Ali Bulaç. the pro-government daily Sabah (“The Morning”) Gen. Kenan Evren’s military government introduced in December 2013 after writing that government it to replace martial law. Its provisions allow the ministers implicated in corruption should resign authorities to govern by decree, without reference to and face trial. She subsequently became a columnist parliament and without any possibility of a citizen for the opposition daily Özgür Düşünce (“Free appeal to the constitutional court. 101 Thought”). journalists One of its provisions allows the authorities to ban still detained Opinions “the printing and distribution of certain newspapers, 14 September 2016 magazines, brochures, books, leaflets and other Source : P24 that constitute printed material” if they pose a “threat to national (http://platform24.org) security.” From 1983, when it was first introduced, a crime until 2002, when it was finally lifted, the then state The judicial system’s witchhunt is targeting many Abdullah İbrahim Bayram of emergency enabled the authorities to confiscate Katırcıoğlu İbrahim Karayeğen prominent government critics including well-known or ban the distribution of more than 20 publications Abdullah Kılıç İdris Yılmaz journalists like Ilıcak. The scale of the round-ups Abdullah Özyurt İsa Siyi in the southeastern regions with a mainly Kurdish Ahmet Memiş İskender Yunus of journalists is astonishing – 42 arrest warrants population. Many journalists were arrested with Ahmet Metin Tiryaki were issued on 25 July and another 47 were issued Sekizkardeş Kenan Baş complete impunity and foreign journalists were Ahmet Turan Alkan Lalezar two days later. RSF has seen the written records of deported. Ahmet Yavaş Sarıibrahimoğlu interrogations, which confirm that many journalists Alaattin Güner (Lale Kemal) Alaattin Kaya Lokman Erdoğan are being targeted above all for working for media Aside from the provisions that specifically violate Ali Akkuş Mecrum Tokal sympathetic to the Gülen movement. Their work Ali Bulaç Mehmet Ali Ertaş media freedom, journalists are also affected by the Ali Ünal Mehmet Kuru as journalists is equated to membership of the restrictions applying to the general public. The new Arap Turan Mehmet Özdemir movement, and this in turn is equated to complicity in state of emergency’s first decree, issued on 22 July, Atilla Taş Mümtaz'er Türköne the coup attempt. Foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak Murat Aksoy extends the limit on police custody from four to 30 Ayşenur Parıldak Murat Avcıoğlu has claimed that the judicial authorities distinguish days, during which the detainee may be denied access Aytekin Gezici Murat Öztürk between the coup’s promoters and “those who do Aziz İstegün Mustafa Erkan Acar to a lawyer during the first five days. And the courts Bayram Kaya real journalism.” But in practice it is clear that the Mustafa Ünal Bertan Golali now have 30 days to consider a lawyer’s appeal Mutlu Çölgeçen authorities are treating certain opinions as a crime. Cemal Azmi against a client’s preventive detention. Kalyoncu Nizamettin Yılmaz This is completely
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