The Media Association, whose motto is “Quality media, quality democracy,” issued a statement Thursday and harshly criticized the judiciary while also suggesting ways to eradicate the intense intimidation journalists often face. In the statement, the pro-democracy association asserted that the fact that journalists reporting on investigations and cases concerning alleged coup plots are punished before the suspects themselves is telling about the judiciary’s attitude towards journalism. Currently, there are roughly 5,000 investigations and lawsuits against newspapers and journalists who publish articles about coup plans discovered in the last couple of years. Many professionals have grown weary of testifying to prosecutors and attending hearings in court rather than doing their job. Şamil Tayyar, the Star daily’s Ankara correspondent, decided not to write columns for some time in protest of the kind of intimidation and pressure he faces and against the government and Parliament who, he argues, remain indifferent to such suppression. In three separate cases Tayyar was punished with 50 months in prison, but his sentence was suspended on the condition that he refrain from engaging in the same activities for five years following the verdict.
“It is concerning for freedom of the press and freedom of expression that legal cases are launched and pecuniary punishments and prison sentences are given to thousands of journalists who are doing their job in our country, which still continues the negotiation process with the European Union. Because of the cases opened, the charges made and concerns over possible future repercussion journalists cannot easily perform their professional responsibilities,” the Media Association’s statement read.
Most journalists in Turkey face prison term on charges of violating the secrecy of an investigation and attempting to influence a fair trial based, respectively, on the Turkish Penal Code’s (TCK) articles 285 and 288. The Media Association argued that journalists should not be punished for their efforts to inform the public unless they effectively violate a suspect’s rights or interfere in an ongoing investigation, thus demanding a more equitable interpretation of Article 285. The organization, however, added that the other problematic provision, Article 288, should either be clarified or completely removed from the TCK.
“Besides, the judges should also take that freedom into consideration when exercising their right to interpret the law,” the organization’s statement also said, adding that “the freedom of expression, plurality and transparency are indispensable for a healthy democracy.”
