 Mustafa Balbay (R) has been detained for around two years without concrete evidence, the platform members say. |
The Freedom for Journalists Platform will intensify its activities in a show of support for members of the media currently incarcerated in Turkish jails, including those on trial in the Ergenekon case.
“Our platform will increase its activities, especially ahead of Jan. 17, the date of the next hearing for jailed Ergenekon suspects journalists Mustafa Balbay and Tuncay Özkan, symbolic figures for the case,” Atilla Sertel, third-term chairman of the platform, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday.
“We don’t want members of the media to be detained simply because they expressed their thoughts. We will launch a mass campaign to invite all our colleagues to attend the hearing in Silivri to show that they are not alone,” Sertel said.
The platform is preparing to carry out a series of events to display their support for the members of the media who face trouble over freedom of speech issues, including those who are on trial as part of the Ergenekon case, an ongoing investigation into an alleged gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup.
The platform, composed of 24 journalistic organizations that came together on Aug. 25, also plans to erect a freedom of speech monument in a park in Istanbul’s Şişli district before the end of January. There are plans to erect similar monuments in İzmir and Ankara later, according to Sertel.
Members of the media in Turkey do not feel free, Sertel said, adding that the government was greatly responsible for this.
Balbay and Özkan have been detained in prison for around two years without any concrete evidence and their trials, he said, adding that the cases were based on their professional activities, not their alleged actions in Ergenekon.
“There are some [in the government] who want to run an election strategy over the Ergenekon case and claim that democracy has developed in Turkey because of their detention,” Sertel said.
‘Detention period not fair’
“Balbay has been detained for more than two years; such a long arrest period without any concrete evidence is unacceptable and undemocratic. Not only Balbay but his two children and his wife also suffer. We don’t say that they shouldn’t be put on trial. They should face their charges in a court of law, but without detention,” Sertel said.
Instead of marking the World Press Freedom day, on May 3, with statements, the platform will organize a comprehensive congress under the banner “freedom for journalists” in Istanbul for the day. International human rights organizations will be invited.
The platform is also preparing a report to be sent to international media institutions to further explain the platform’s activities and concerns on the situation of freedom of speech in Turkey.
The platform’s legal committee is similarly going through the Turkish penal codes to detail which specific laws and articles should be changed to achieve freedom of expression. The final report will then be submitted to Parliament.
Currently, 50 members of the media, 44 of whom are detained and six are convicted, were in prison as of the end of September 2010, while around 4,000 cases involving journalists are ongoing. More than 100 journalists are facing the threat of imprisonment in the short term, according to the platform.
“Can we talk about freedom of the press and speech under these figures?” asked Ercan İpekçi, president of the Turkish Journalists’ Union, or TGS, a member of the platform.
“Those journalists who are under arrest should be released as [in most cases] there is no conviction,” İpekçi said.
Legal change
“The laws should also change. An Amendment should be made to the Turkish Penal Code; the definition of crime should be changed. The Anti-Terror Law should be abolished. Under current laws, any accusation could easily be leveled at members of the media for making propaganda in favor of any organization,” he said.
İpekçi said the platform’s activities aimed to secure justice and freedom of the press for all members of the media on trial for reporting, regardless of ideology.
Oktay Ekşi, chairman for the Press Council which is also a platform member, said the platform’s founding reason and its activities all aim to promote freedom of speech.
“Our struggle is to achieve freedom of speech in the long run in Turkey in line with the criteria set by the Western democracies. Our activities are not only for those who are on trial as part of the Ergenekon trial but for all,” Ekşi said.
“On the one hand, some say that democracy is developing in Turkey, but on the other hand pressure is felt on the media. Today can we entirely say that the media is free?” he asked.
The European Union likewise criticized the pressure on the Turkish press and expressed concerns over apparent political attacks against the press in its 2010 Progress Report, which said the high number of legal cases against journalists and undue pressure on the media undermined the freedom of the press in practice.
The latest annual freedom of the press index by the international group Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 138th among 175 countries in October.
“Our platform will increase its activities, especially ahead of Jan. 17, the date of the next hearing for jailed Ergenekon suspects journalists Mustafa Balbay and Tuncay Özkan, symbolic figures for the case,” Atilla Sertel, third-term chairman of the platform, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday.
“We don’t want members of the media to be detained simply because they expressed their thoughts. We will launch a mass campaign to invite all our colleagues to attend the hearing in Silivri to show that they are not alone,” Sertel said.
The platform is preparing to carry out a series of events to display their support for the members of the media who face trouble over freedom of speech issues, including those who are on trial as part of the Ergenekon case, an ongoing investigation into an alleged gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup.
The platform, composed of 24 journalistic organizations that came together on Aug. 25, also plans to erect a freedom of speech monument in a park in Istanbul’s Şişli district before the end of January. There are plans to erect similar monuments in İzmir and Ankara later, according to Sertel.
Members of the media in Turkey do not feel free, Sertel said, adding that the government was greatly responsible for this.
Balbay and Özkan have been detained in prison for around two years without any concrete evidence and their trials, he said, adding that the cases were based on their professional activities, not their alleged actions in Ergenekon.
“There are some [in the government] who want to run an election strategy over the Ergenekon case and claim that democracy has developed in Turkey because of their detention,” Sertel said.
‘Detention period not fair’
“Balbay has been detained for more than two years; such a long arrest period without any concrete evidence is unacceptable and undemocratic. Not only Balbay but his two children and his wife also suffer. We don’t say that they shouldn’t be put on trial. They should face their charges in a court of law, but without detention,” Sertel said.
Instead of marking the World Press Freedom day, on May 3, with statements, the platform will organize a comprehensive congress under the banner “freedom for journalists” in Istanbul for the day. International human rights organizations will be invited.
The platform is also preparing a report to be sent to international media institutions to further explain the platform’s activities and concerns on the situation of freedom of speech in Turkey.
The platform’s legal committee is similarly going through the Turkish penal codes to detail which specific laws and articles should be changed to achieve freedom of expression. The final report will then be submitted to Parliament.
Currently, 50 members of the media, 44 of whom are detained and six are convicted, were in prison as of the end of September 2010, while around 4,000 cases involving journalists are ongoing. More than 100 journalists are facing the threat of imprisonment in the short term, according to the platform.
“Can we talk about freedom of the press and speech under these figures?” asked Ercan İpekçi, president of the Turkish Journalists’ Union, or TGS, a member of the platform.
“Those journalists who are under arrest should be released as [in most cases] there is no conviction,” İpekçi said.
Legal change
“The laws should also change. An Amendment should be made to the Turkish Penal Code; the definition of crime should be changed. The Anti-Terror Law should be abolished. Under current laws, any accusation could easily be leveled at members of the media for making propaganda in favor of any organization,” he said.
İpekçi said the platform’s activities aimed to secure justice and freedom of the press for all members of the media on trial for reporting, regardless of ideology.
Oktay Ekşi, chairman for the Press Council which is also a platform member, said the platform’s founding reason and its activities all aim to promote freedom of speech.
“Our struggle is to achieve freedom of speech in the long run in Turkey in line with the criteria set by the Western democracies. Our activities are not only for those who are on trial as part of the Ergenekon trial but for all,” Ekşi said.
“On the one hand, some say that democracy is developing in Turkey, but on the other hand pressure is felt on the media. Today can we entirely say that the media is free?” he asked.
The European Union likewise criticized the pressure on the Turkish press and expressed concerns over apparent political attacks against the press in its 2010 Progress Report, which said the high number of legal cases against journalists and undue pressure on the media undermined the freedom of the press in practice.
The latest annual freedom of the press index by the international group Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 138th among 175 countries in October.
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