It is quite clear in fact that the view adopted by the European Court of Human Rights, which is that criticism directed at politicians can be much tougher than that directed at non-political individuals due to the role shouldered by politicians in the public arena, is a view completely foreign to the prime minister and his reactionary stance.
Due to the position and power they hold, prime ministers must be extremely cautious when it comes to taking legal action against those who direct criticism at them. This particular prime minister’s predilection for filing personal legal cases against journalists who anger him is somewhat akin to a professional boxer picking fights with passers-by who annoy him: It is a disproportionate use of power. After all, it is obvious that a case filed by the prime minister does not proceed in the same manner as that of a case filed by an ordinary citizen. What’s more, his behavior in all this sets a new standard of norms for those individuals out there who also hold public positions. After all, no one in the nation can really expect a judge or prosecutor to be any more tolerant on issues of freedom of expression than the prime minister himself. Looked at from all these perspectives, the prime minister has not been able to provide the nation with a good example of being a strong leader on freedom of expression.
I do believe that Erdoğan’s case against writer Ahmet Altan is actually a critical turning point in all of this. Perhaps up until now, Erdoğan has been able to legitimize his use of legal methods such as these by thinking that the real power lay outside his hands, and in other chambers of the state. This stance was summarized by the general idea that, while he might be prime minister, there were still those trying to topple him from within the ranks of a secret, deep state. This thought in itself must have comforted him while he pursued his odd habit of disciplining journalists by filing legal cases against them. But as for the case against Altan, I don’t think there will be any such comforting or mitigating thoughts on hand for the prime minister. To use terminology straight out of the European Court of Human Rights, what Ahmet Altan did was criticize the prime minister in a “sharp manner.” And it is quite clear that these criticisms were aimed at the prime minister with the real goal of directing his attention towards real (i.e., not populist) problems that urgently await solutions in Turkey.
From the angle of the struggle for democracy, Altan is a symbolic name in Turkey. The legal case and accusations launched by the prime minister may well have a negative influence on other cases that Altan is currently facing, and may even lead to punishments that might well have been postponed indefinitely in other cases being applied immediately. By filing a legal case against Altan, Erdoğan has placed himself firmly in the same league as those who earlier filed a case against him. And this is unfortunate, as a leader who claims to have played a decisive role in shaping the 21st century should not appear in that light. In addition to all of this, there is also the dimension of conscience at hand here. If in fact Altan is convicted on the basis of this case filed by Erdoğan, and if this conviction influences other cases against Altan, I do believe it means that Erdoğan will be erased from the hearts of the true democrats of this nation.
I call on the prime minister to retract his legal case against writer Ahmet Altan. Rather than abandon Altan to the same system that oppressed him for some time in 1999, the prime minister needs to use his power and energy to help see that the cogs in this system work correctly, finally.
