Turkey: Life sentences for journalists

Turkey: Life sentences for journalists are “unprecedented assault on free speech”, say UN and OSCE experts

GENEVA (16 February 2018) – Life sentences imposed on six journalists today by a court in Turkey are an unparalleled attack on freedom of expression and on the media, two international experts on media freedom have said in a joint statement.

“These harsh sentences are an unacceptable and unprecedented assault on freedom of expression and on the media in Turkey,” said David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Harlem Désir, the Representative on Media Freedom for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

“These prison terms represent an unparalleled level of suppression of dissenting voices in Turkey.

“We call on Turkey to reverse the decision and release the journalists. Imprisonment for journalism not only silences the journalists, but it also deprives Turkish citizens of their right to access pluralistic views on issues that can directly affect their lives.”

Journalists Nazlı Ilıcak, Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Fevzi Yazici, Yakup Simsek and Sukru Tugrul Ozsengul received life sentences at the hearing in Istanbul, after being found guilty of taking part in the unsuccessful coup attempt in 2016. They received additional 15-year terms for allegedly committing crimes on behalf of the Gülen movement, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

“The court decision condemning journalists to life in prison for their work, without presenting substantial proof of their involvement in the coup attempt or ensuring a fair trial, critically threatens journalism and with it the remnants of freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey,” said Mr. Kaye.

Mr. Désir said: “The magnitude of these punishments, and the fact that the court failed to implement a Constitutional Court ruling ordering Mr Altan’s release, raise fundamental questions about the ability of the judiciary to uphold the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression.”

The Constitutional Court ruling, made on 11 January, ordered that Mr. Altan and another journalist, Mr. Sahin Alpay, should be freed from pre-trial detention on the grounds that their detention was disproportionate and infringed their rights to liberty, freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

The two experts described this binding ruling as a landmark decision that could positively affect other trials of journalists. However, lower courts have refused to implement it, saying the Constitutional Court had exceeded its authority.

Mr. Kaye has previously submitted a third party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights on the cases of 10 Turkish journalists, including Mr. Alpay and three of the defendants jailed today.

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