A kiosk in Istanbul on April 17, 2017, exhibiting Turkish newspapers a day after Turkey’s referendum. Turkey at the moment ranks 149 out of 180 nations on the planet press freedom index, with 90% of nationwide media below authorities management, in keeping with worldwide non-profit group Reporters With out Borders.
Yasin Akgul | Afp | Getty Photographs
Seven years in the past, Sevgi Akarcesme reported on a collection of police raids on Turkey’s media business, which left a path of newsrooms being shut down one after the other — till the time for her personal outlet got here.
Akarcesme, then the editor-in-chief for what was once Turkey’s primary English every day, At this time’s Zaman, instructed CNBC on Tuesday that it was evident then that the police would begin coming for her. That prompted her to depart in 2016 to take up a instructing position in the US.
“Turkey has lengthy been hell for journalists. It is one of many largest prisons for journalists on the planet in a approach,” she mentioned.
Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure — which additionally oversees communication companies — didn’t instantly reply to a CNBC request for touch upon the remarks on this article.
Turkey’s Parliament final week ratified a legislation introducing jail phrases for journalists and social media customers who unfold “pretend information,” or disinformation. The time period “pretend information” is usually outlined, extra broadly, as deceptive or fabricated data peddled as reliable information.
The legislation, proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Get together, comes eight months earlier than the nation’s normal election.
The invoice, which nonetheless must be accredited by Erdogan, acknowledged that anybody who spreads false details about Turkey’s safety to “create worry and disturb public order” will face a jail sentence of as much as three years.
“With this new legislation … the objective is to manage social media as a result of typical media is already below Erdogan’s management,” mentioned Akarcesme.
Protesters holding Turkey’s Cumhuriyet every day newspapers throughout an indication earlier than the trial of employees from the nation’s major opposition every day on Sept. 11, 2017 on the Silivri district in Istanbul. The case, which opened in Istanbul in July, concerned 17 present and former writers, cartoonists and executives from Cumhuriyet (“Republic”) who have been tried on “terror” fees.
Ozan Kose | Afp | Getty Photographs
The legislation consists of articles comparable to press card issuances and a process on correcting on-line disinformation. On high of that, sentences may be elevated by as much as half if the disinformation is unfold by means of nameless accounts.
“The haste with which this legislation was handed could point out that the federal government’s goal is to extend strain on journalists and social media customers earlier than the elections,” Turkish Journalists’ Affiliation’s Common Secretary Mustafa Kuleli wrote in an e mail to CNBC.
He added that it’s unclear how prosecutors will mete out punishment in opposition to perpetrators because the crime is outlined in “imprecise and open-ended phrases” and lacks clear authorized definitions.
‘A menace to anyone’
“This legislation doesn’t solely have an effect on journalists, it doesn’t solely have an effect on social media customers. This legislation is a menace to anyone who has the flexibility to talk, or learn and write,” Turkey representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Ozgur Ogret, told CNBC.
He added that the lack of a concrete definition of disinformation will lead to self-censorship — even when it comes to facts.
Supporters of Turkish newspaper Bugun gather outside its headquarters in Istanbul during a protest against the Turkish government’s crackdown on media outlets on Oct. 27, 2015.
Ozan Kose | Afp | Getty Images
“The bill provides a framework for extensive censorship of online information and the criminalization of journalism, which will enable the government to further subdue and control public debate in the lead up to Turkey’s general elections in 2023,” said a coalition of 22 press freedom organizations from around the world.
The statement released by the press freedom groups mentioned that the bill’s “vaguely-formulated definition” of what constitutes disinformation will subject millions of internet users to the risk of criminal sanction.
Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Omer Fatih Sayan tweeted last week that he “regrets to see” that “hate speech, disinformation, manipulation” are rising “like an avalanche” on social media platforms.
“We should set up a cleaner and safer web for our residents, that is our most essential obligation,” he tweeted.
‘The final decade has been brutal’
The invoice is seen as one other step in an already deteriorating atmosphere at no cost speech. Turkey’s media local weather hasn’t improved in over a decade, in keeping with Ogret.
“Turkey’s media local weather immediately has very a lot much less colour … particularly after the 2016 coup try,” he mentioned.
Ever for the reason that army’s tried coup in 2016, 189 media shops have shut down, in keeping with online media tracker Turkey Purge. Revocations of press cards and arrests of members of the press were a common occurrence at the time.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declaring a three-month state of emergency and vowing to hunt down the “terrorist” group behind the 2016 coup attempt during a news conference following the National Security Council and cabinet meetings at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. Following the coup, a newsroom crackdown ensued and a series of trials against journalists were launched.
Adem Altan | Afp | Getty Images
Following the coup, newsroom crackdowns ensued and a series of trials against journalists were launched.
Akarcesme added that in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt, no media outlets challenged the regime’s rhetoric.
“A lot of the variety in the media landscape has been lost in the last five to 10 years,” Ogret said.
Turkey currently ranks 149 out of 180 countries in the global Press Freedom Index, with 90% of national media under government control, according to international non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders.
When the index debuted in 2002, Turkey ranked 107 out of 172 and was categorized as “partly free.”
“There isn’t a time where Turkey did not have journalists imprisoned or outlets harassed, however … the last decade has been brutal for the Turkish media environment,” said Ogret.