Perspectives wanted the following: “An analysis on the Freedom of Speech Barometer and the number of detained within the last three months under the anti-terrorism code and the reasons for detention“. I can only answer the second part of the question in one way: “How can I know why?” I also think only the Ministry of Justice can accurately answer this question as the data are not accessible to the public. Never be blinded by the rather good “Law on the Right to Information”, enacted upon pressure by the EU. Since I worked for an initiative to facilitate the use this law to society, I have been a close witness to the practices that have rendered it inoperative.
The Advisory Board on the Right to Information (BEDK), to which you can file complaints when the questions asked based on this law are answered in a non-informative manner, was initially operative. But this institution has been brought into line too quickly. In response to the question on the number of mines available in Turkey asked by the initiative “A Mine-free Turkey”, the General Staff answered “We have enough mines.” Upon protests, BEDK stated that this answer was in line with the “condition to contain information”. We are again faced with the question of “what to do with the salt when it begins to stink”.
As an initiative against Crimes of Thought that strives to form mechanisms to follow up on violations of freedom of speech, we co-operated for many years with organizations such as the Human Rights Association (IHD), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed (Mazlumder), the Joint Platform for Human Rights (IHOP), the Union of Publishers, the International Federation of P.E.N Clubs (PEN) Center in Turkey and Bianet. Unless you find it too tiring, please visit the website at www.antenna-tr.org, select the databank “ÇeTeLe” (Track Record) and have a look at it.
To fill this databank, we not only monitored the media but tried to co-operate closely with newspapers, magazines, and political organizations that were in trouble. However, the majority of individuals, lawyers, and large-scale newspapers abstained from helping us, saying “We don’t want to get in further trouble”. In spite of this, there still was a significant collaboration among the above-mentioned organizations.
At times when Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code was harshest, the most common question both from within and outside of the country was: “How many people are in prison based on this article?” We thought ÇeTeLe gave most accurate answers. However, from the annual statement of the Ministry of Justice we understood that the number of lawsuits we had recorded did not even correspond to 15 percent of the real figure.
To sum up: The Ministry of Justice, the only institution that knows the correct answer to this question, announces this information, which should be open for access at its website by anyone at any time, only once a year in a complicated report. In effect, it tries to obfuscate the facts rather than disclosing them.
Still, I wanted my allotted space to be full, so:
From Bianet Media Monitoring Report:
(April, May and June, 2012)
As of July, 95 journalists and 35 distributors are in prison within the scope of the Anti-Terrorism Code and Turkish Penal Code. 62 out of 95 journalists and all the 35 distributors are from the Kurdish media.
They are blamed for creating a “media environment for the illegal organization” because the usual journalistic activities such as “writing books”, “journalism that criticizes the party in power” and “working for the Kurdish media” are defined as crimes.
Among the ascribed crimes are also “committing crimes on behalf of the organization while not being a member of the organization” and/or “helping the organization knowingly and willingly while not being part of the hierarchical structure within the organization”. Some journalists are tried on the accusations of setting up an armed or unarmed organization, administrating and managing it and becoming a member of it, and some of them have already been condemned.
Only four journalists are being tried in criminal cases filed against them directly on account of the news they issued, reviews and books they wrote: Managing editors of the newspaper Azadiya Welat: Vedat Kurflun, Ruken Ergün and Ozan Kılınç as well as Bedri Adanır, publisher of the Aram Publications and director of the newspaper, Hawar.
The Barometer of Freedom of Speech
increasingly indicates a storm
The main factor underlying this situation is the shift of the Erdogan government to the right to attract the votes of the MHP. This line has become more pronounced since Idris Sahin became Minister of Interior Affairs. It hit its peak when a proven torturer was made the vice head of the Anti-Terrorism Branch of Istanbul. Acts such as reconciliation, acceptance of a mistake and its correction are perceived as weaknesses in our “male” government mentality. Therefore, this state will probably continue until the entire structure collapses. This is akin to the way in which the courts still bring the KCK cases to a standstill based on the forced interpretation that.