In the first quarter of 2022, a total of 173 journalists appeared before courts in 101 cases. 20 journalists were sentenced to a life imprisonment, 65 years 7 months and 27 days in prison. 1 journalist killed

The fifth of our regular Freedom of Expression and the Press Agenda reports has been published. Covering the first quarter of 2022, the report is based on data obtained from our trial monitoring work and open-source research conducted by the Expression Interrupted platform and compiles the major developments in the field of press freedom and freedom of expression in the reporting period.

The full report can be viewed here. 

The report states that despite the decline in the number of journalists in prison, the juridical pressure on the press continued unabated due to ongoing trials and investigations. According to the data in the report, the number of journalists in prison, which was 58 at the beginning of the year, decreased to 56 as of the end of March. In this three-month period, three journalists were released upon completing their sentence, while one journalist’s sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and then he was sent in prison.

Trials against journalists, on the other hand, continued unabated. In the first quarter of 2022, journalists stood trial in 101 court cases. A total of 173 journalists, five of whom were foreign nationals, were prosecuted in these cases. Sixteen journalists were handed down a combined prison term of 65 years, 7 months and 27 days, a life imprisonment and a compensation of TL 42,500 and a judicial fine of TL 7,080, while 17 journalists were acquitted in the trials that were concluded during the reporting period.

As in previous periods, terrorism charges took the lead in the trials, followed by “insulting a public official” and “insulting the president” charges.

In the same period, eight new trials were brought against seven journalists. 16 journalists were detained, including three who were taken into custody while covering news. New criminal investigations were launched against 11 journalists.

Attacks: A journalist killed

During the reporting period, one local editor was killed in the attacks targeting journalists.  Güngör Arslan, the publisher and chief editor of the local news portal Ses Kocaeli died as a result of an armed attack. 10 persons were subsequently detained in an investigation that was launched into the attack. At least five journalists, one of those were abroad, were victims of physical attacks.

In the cases filed by the journalist who were subject to violence and rights violations, the concerns of the impunity came to the forefront: While the defendants in a trial over the 2021 attack against Levent Gültekin were convicted but not sent to prison, there has been no progress in the case of assault against Yavuz Selim Demirağ, which took place three years ago, due to the jurisdictional conflict between the courts. In the case of police violation against the former Bianet reporter Beyza Kural when she was covering a protest in 2015, the defense statement of one of the defendant police officers could only be taken before the fourth hearing of the trial in Diyarbakır, where the defendant officer currently resides.

2 journalists convicted for “insulting the president” despite ECtHR judgement

The pressure on freedom of expression and the press has also adversely impacted the Turkey- EU relations. After refusing to implement the legally binding judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Kavala case, Turkey went down in the history of the Council of Europe as the second country against which the infringement process was initiated.

The report also notes the fact that trials against journalists on the charge of “insulting the president” continue even though the European Court’s judgment condemning such prosecutions (Vedat Şorli v. Turkey case) became final in the first months of 2022. At least 12 journalists were put on trial for “insulting the president” in the reporting period, while two of them, Sedef Kabaş and Sultan Eylem Keleş, were convicted of this charge.

Additionally, a regional court of appeals upheld conviction of Cem Şimşek, the former responsible managing editor of Evrensel, for “insulting the president.” Dokuz8 news portal’s Editor-in-Chief Gökhan Biçici was the only journalist acquitted of the same charge during the reporting period. 

During the reporting period, the Constitutional Court’s judgment that a public advertisement ban issued by the Press Advertising Agency (BİK) against Cumhuriyet newspaper violated freedom of expression and the press, as well as another judgment against pre-trial detention of journalist Cemil Uğur were recorded as progressive decisions. Similarly, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of Evrensel newspaper, handed down by a lower court over a news report.

RTÜK and BİK penalties: TL 2,7 million fine from RTÜK

BİK’s decisions suspending Evrensel and Yeni Asya newspapers’ right to publish public ads, in effect since September 2019 and January 2020, respectively, continued in the reporting period. Yeni Asya announced in February that it was cutting back on the number of pages to eight in its print edition due to its ongoing deprivation of the advertising revenue and increasing costs of printing.

In the reporting period, 12 people were appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the vacant positions in the BİK General Assembly. The appointees included President of the Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTÜK) Ebubekir Şahin and Saadet Oruç, a chief advisor to the president.

In the same period, RTÜK has increasingly attempted to interfere with the editorial policies of media organizations apparently to bring them more into line with the political priorities of the government, in addition to continuing to impose administrative fines and broadcast suspension orders on TV networks critical of the government.

RTÜK imposed a severe fine and a broadcasting ban on Tele1 TV over Sedef Kabaş’s remakrs, which led to the journalist’s arrest. RTÜK imposed a similar penalty on Halk TV over journalist Ayşenur Aslan’s comments on Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), which already sparked criminal complaints filed by politicians of the ruling party AKP and allies MHP and the BBP. RTÜK also warned TV channels against “speculative statements” regarding the rising food prices and not to play Sezen Aksu’s song, called “Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak” (It’s Wonderful to Live), that sparked condemnations and threats from government officials.

In the three-month reporting period, RTÜK issued fines on Tele 1 TV, FOX TV, Halk TV and KRT, which amounted to a total of TL 2 million 776 thousand 480 for their critical broadcast content.