13 free expression organizations warn of violations in opinions submitted in journalists applications before the ECtHR

Leading freedom of expression organizations have submitted third-party interventions in ten Turkish journalists cases, including those of imprisoned journalists Ahmet and Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

In addition to Altan brothers and Alpay, the free expression organizations submitted separate interventions in cases of Cumhuriyet journalists, Murat Aksoy, Ali Bulaç, Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak, Ahmet Şık, Deniz Yücel, and Atilla Taş.

“The arbitrary and unwarranted use of the criminal law to target journalists and other media for the ulterior purpose of punishing and preventing dissemination of critical opinions amounts to a violation of Article 18 of the Convention in relation to the rights unduly restricted,” the organizations say in their submissions.

The separate interventions include submissions from the Media Legal Defence Initiative, PEN International, ARTICLE 19, the Association of European Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the European Federation of Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Press Institute, the International Senior Lawyers Project and Reporters without Borders.

Submissions in the journalists’ cases can be reached through the following links:

Ahmet and Mehmet Altan

Şahin Alpay

Cumhuriyet journalists

Ahmet Şık

Nazlı Ilıcak

Murat Aksoy

Ali Bulaç

Deniz Yücel