Turkey's media purge after the failed July 2016 coup d'état

Turkey's media purge
Date From July 16th, 2016
Location Turkey
Type Shutdown of media and journalists arrests
Theme Freedom of Press
Cause Alleged pro-coupists
Organised by Erdogan's government
Arrest(s) 117 journalists
Convicted 35 journalists
Charges Membership in a terror group
Publication bans 131 media outlets

Turkey's media purge after the failed coup d'état on July 15, 2016 resulted in the shutdown of at least 131 media outlets[1] and the arrest of 117 journalists[2] – at least 35 of whom have been indicted for "membership in a terror group".[3]

In the wake of the attempted putsch, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government closed down media companies linked to exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen and his Hizmet Movement. Turkey's General Directorate for Press, Broadcasting, and Information also revoked at least 620 journalists' accreditations.

As a result of the crackdown, 2,308 media workers and journalists have lost their job.[4] Turkey's media purge has also occurred online: regulators blocked at least 30 news-related websites.[1] Websites not linked to Gülen's movement, such as Wikileaks and the Turkish satirical weekly Leman, are among those blocked inside Turkey. In addition 48 online news stories from outlets including The Independent have been censored.[5] Three stories were about corruptions allegations involving the president's son Bilal Erdogan.[6]

Chronology of Purge

On Thursday July 21, six days after the failed coup d’état, Turkey’s parliament approved a bill declaring a state of emergency allowing the government to rule by decree for three months.[7] On the same day, Erdogan announced that the European Convention on Human Rights had been suspended.

Under the Turkish constitution, during a state of emergency, the government can overturn the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, as long as it respects international laws.[7] However, the 15th article of the Turkish Constitution states that the ECHR cannot be suspended.[8]

In this context, President Erdogan initiated a purge of media and journalists suspected of sympathy with Gulen's Hizmet movement. On July 27th, Erdogan published a decree in Turkey’s official gazette, ordering the shutdown of three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio channels, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishing houses (see list below).[1]

By the force of the state of emergency, “all goods, assets, rights, documents and papers [belonging to those media outlets] will be transferred, free of charge, to Turkish treasury with no appeal to be made”.[9] Also, 89 arrest warrants were issued for journalists who were alleged plotters in the failed attempt to overthrow the government.[10]

During the same week, 17 journalists were charged with membership in Gülen’s movement, which the government considers a terrorist group.[10] On August 5, this number increased to 36 journalists indicted for the same charge.[11] The Turkish government justified the arrests for security reasons and said the journalists were being investigated and prosecuted for participating in criminal activities.[12] On August 27, the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24), a press freedom group, said the number of journalists arrested since the coup was 108.[13]

Reactions

Press freedom groups have condemned the crackdown. The Turkish representative for Reporters Without Borders called the arrests “a witch hunt against journalists".[14] David Kaye, the UN special rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression said that “the attempted coup cannot justify such a broad attack against almost all voices, not just critical ones but analytic and journalistic."[15]

“The disregard for any assurance of due process is flagrant and only contributes to the extreme levels of insecurity affecting all those working to inform people of the ongoing crisis in the country,”[15] said Dunja Mijatović, the media freedom representative of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s representative on media freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalist’s program coordinator for central Asia, Nina Ognianova, said that the “scale of this rout of the media is staggering.” She added: “The government is exploiting a failed coup to silence the critical press when Turkey most needs pluralistic media.”[16]

The Turkey director at Human Rights Watch, Emma Sinclair-Webb, added to the criticism “In the absence of any evidence of their role or participation in the violent attempt to overthrow the government, we strongly condemn this accelerated assault on the media, which further undermines Turkey’s democratic credentials”, she said.[10]

Appendices

Names of the 50 journalists or media workers indicted between July 18 and September 22[17]

(Most are charged for membership to Gulen’s movement, some for being pro-PKK)

131 media outlets shutdown on Erdogan’s July 27 decree

Source:[1]

News Agencies

TV Channels

Radio Stations

Newspapers (local)

Newspapers (national)

Magazines

Publishing Houses and Distribution Companies[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 24 - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  2. ↑ "Journalists in State of Emergency – 17". platform24.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  3. ↑ "Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 28 - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  4. ↑ Letsch, Constanze (2016-09-11). "Brothers critical of Turkish government arrested after TV programme". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  5. ↑ "Erişime Engellenen URL'ler « Erişime Engellenen Siteler". engelliweb.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  6. ↑ "Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 31 - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  7. 1 2 London, Kareem Shaheen Owen Bowcott in (2016-07-21). "Turkey MPs approve state of emergency bill allowing rule by decree". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  8. ↑ "The Constitution - All About Turkey". www.allaboutturkey.com. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  9. ↑ Greenslade, Roy (2016-07-29). "Press freedom groups condemn Turkish media crackdown". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  10. 1 2 3 Johnston, Chris; Forsdike, Josy (2016-07-30). "17 Turkish journalists charged with terror group membership". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  11. ↑ "Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of July 31 - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  12. ↑ Letsch, Constanze (2016-08-29). "Stop the press: Turkey's crackdown on its media goes into overdrive". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  13. ↑ "I'm a journalist on the run from Erdoğan – I have no idea what I've done". The Guardian. 2016-09-02. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  14. ↑ Letsch, Constanze (2016-07-25). "Turkey issues warrants for 42 journalists in relation to failed coup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  15. 1 2 "Freedom of expression: UN and OSCE experts deplore crackdown on journalists and media outlets in Turkey". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  16. ↑ "Turkey shutters more than 100 media outlets as purge continues - Committee to Protect Journalists". cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  17. ↑ "Blog: Turkey - Committee to Protect Journalists". www.cpj.org. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  18. ↑ Flood, Alison (2016-08-03). "Free speech groups condemn Turkey's closure of 29 publishers after failed coup". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
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