CPJ condemns journalist arrests in Turkey
CPJ condemns journalist arrests in Turkey
The Committee to Protect Journalists has written an open letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan to condemn the arrests of as many as 29 journalists in raids on Tuesday as well as the ongoing media repression that has earned Turkey a reputation as one of the world's worst press freedom violators and done grave damage to the consolidation of Turkish democracy.
In its statement concerning the arrest operations against members of the Kurdish and socialist press, the Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the arrest of journalists saying that; “Your government claims that the operation targets "the press and propaganda" arm of the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), but it provides no evidence supporting this assertion. Authorities maintain that the KCK is the "urban wing" of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, a claim that has been widely disputed.”
Remarking that the number of arrested journalists in Turkey placed Turkey firmly in the company of some of the world's most repressive countries and deeply compromised the AKP government's commitments to democracy and the rule of the law, the letter noted that the list of jailed journalists should be seen as a black mark on the government’s record and a source of shame.
The CPJ letter pointed out that their research was ongoing, and that they intended to send a delegation to Turkey in 2012 to further review the outstanding cases. Expressing their hope that Erdoðan’s government would demonstrate its commitment to the transparent application of the law by cooperating with the CPJ delegation, the organization noted with grave concern that they had never received a response to their July 25 letter sent to justice minister and requesting information about the spate of arrests.
The CPJ added that “Mr. Prime Minister, we urge you to ensure that as a member of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Turkey respect its international obligations, in particular by curbing the use of secret evidence against journalists. Your government's record of what amounts to mass incarceration of journalists and media professionals without due process is doing grave damage to your country's reputation as an emerging democratic power. The threat is compounded by the fact that thousands of criminal cases have been opened against journalists across Turkey.”
The letter ended urging the Turkish government to amend this record, to commit the government to a transparent and open legal process, and to ensure that no journalists in Turkey are ever jailed for the expression of dissenting ideas.
In its statement concerning the arrest operations against members of the Kurdish and socialist press, the Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the arrest of journalists saying that; “Your government claims that the operation targets "the press and propaganda" arm of the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), but it provides no evidence supporting this assertion. Authorities maintain that the KCK is the "urban wing" of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, a claim that has been widely disputed.”
Remarking that the number of arrested journalists in Turkey placed Turkey firmly in the company of some of the world's most repressive countries and deeply compromised the AKP government's commitments to democracy and the rule of the law, the letter noted that the list of jailed journalists should be seen as a black mark on the government’s record and a source of shame.
The CPJ letter pointed out that their research was ongoing, and that they intended to send a delegation to Turkey in 2012 to further review the outstanding cases. Expressing their hope that Erdoðan’s government would demonstrate its commitment to the transparent application of the law by cooperating with the CPJ delegation, the organization noted with grave concern that they had never received a response to their July 25 letter sent to justice minister and requesting information about the spate of arrests.
The CPJ added that “Mr. Prime Minister, we urge you to ensure that as a member of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Turkey respect its international obligations, in particular by curbing the use of secret evidence against journalists. Your government's record of what amounts to mass incarceration of journalists and media professionals without due process is doing grave damage to your country's reputation as an emerging democratic power. The threat is compounded by the fact that thousands of criminal cases have been opened against journalists across Turkey.”
The letter ended urging the Turkish government to amend this record, to commit the government to a transparent and open legal process, and to ensure that no journalists in Turkey are ever jailed for the expression of dissenting ideas.
