US voices concern about press freedom over Karaca’s arrest

Samanyolu Broadcasting Group (STV) General Manager Hidayet Karaca was arrested on Jan. 19 based on a soap opera script. (Photo: Cihan)
Samanyolu Broadcasting Group (STV) General Manager Hidayet Karaca was arrested on Jan. 19 based on a soap opera script. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: January 19, 2015

The United States has expressed concern about press freedom in Turkey in regards to the Samanyolu TV network’s top executive, Hidayet Karaca, being arrested after a media crackdown on Dec. 14, saying that it is continuing to address these concerns to Turkish authorities.

In a briefing with reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said State Department officials are spending time at meetings conveying their worries to their Turkish counterparts about the freedom of expression and the government’s interventions in the media.

Underlining that the freedom of expression is backsliding in Turkey, Harf said that US official have voiced their concerns on the issue both publicly and in private meetings.

Karaca was detained along with dozens of individuals, including Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, script writers, producers and directors, on Dec.14 during a government-backed operation against independent media outlets. Although Dumanlı was released pending trial, Karaca was arrested and is being held at Silivri Prison.

Journalists Federation chairman: Justice minister preventing visits to Karaca

While the world is continuing to express its concerns over the Dec. 14 detentions, which have been seen as a blow to press freedom in the country, the Turkish government’s pressure against the critical media continues.

The Turkish Journalists Federation (TGF) Chairman Atilla Sertel claimed on Friday that Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ denied his request to visit Karaca at Silivri Prison, along with the requests of a number of journalists, and that the minister provided no legitimate reason for doing so.

“Hidayet Karaca is a member of ours. We applied to the Justice Ministry to visit him. The ministry refused the demand. When we asked for the reason, we were told that Mr. Minister doesn’t find it appropriate,” Sertel said.

Sertel stressed that the federation believes that Karaca, a member of TGF, is innocent and he called on Bozdağ to announce the reason behind his refusal to allow Karaca visitors.

MEK reacts to gov’t rejection of press cards

The Media Ethics Council (MEK) has also criticized a number of steps taken by the government that further restrict media freedoms in the country.

MEK criticized a decision by the Prime Ministry’s Directorate General of Press and Information (BYEGM) to block 94 veteran journalists from acquiring permanent press cards, regardless of their eligibility.

In a statement released on Friday, MEK President Cemalettin Haşimi called the decision a “violation of rights and arbitrary treatment.”

“Not giving press cards to 94 journalists who are entitled to them, through the decision of the Press Card Council, is discrimination. The tragic part of this issue is that this discrimination is being carried out by a press institution,” it is said in its statement. It also highlighted warnings from international institutions about diminishing press freedoms in Turkey.

BYEGM made a highly controversial decision to block a number of journalists — many of whom work for the Zaman, Samanyolu, Cihan, Taraf and Bugün media outlets, which are critical of the government — from acquiring permanent press cards during a meeting held last December. In spite of authorizing the issuance of press cards for 208 new applicants, the directorate declined to award cards to a number of journalists applying to extend the validity of cards already in their possession.

Dumanlı, Zaman Deputy Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Kamış and Cüneyt Özdemir, producer of the “5N 1K” news program, were among those denied permanent press cards. Journalists who have completed 20 years of press service become eligible for permanent press cards, but Dumanlı, Kamış and Özdemir were denied permanent press cards without any reason given.

MEK also condemned a Turkish Airlines (THY) decision not to distribute the Cumhuriyet daily to its passengers, saying the act is “another example of discrimination” when it comes to the Turkish media. MEK said that every kind of attempt to silence the media damages the international image of the country.

“We once more reiterate that we deny every kind of discrimination. We strongly condemn pressure, intimidation and threats [being used] to prevent media freedom,” MEK said.

Another criticism regarding press freedoms in Turkey came from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

In his remarks on a TV program on Thursday evening, Renzi criticized Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s attendance at a march in Paris paying tribute to the victims of terrorist attacks last week.

“There are dilemmas in many countries. For example, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided to detain some journalists in December and to close some press institutions. This is [clearly a] press freedom problem. But you [Davutoğlu] are there to defend press freedom. … I mean this seems absurd,” he reportedly said.

Source: Today's Zaman , January 16, 2015


Related News

AK Party gov’t searches for scapegoat for stalled PKK talks

Having failed to make progress on the settlement process, which was supposed to pave the way for the disarming of Kurdish militants and address long-standing Kurdish demands, the Turkish government has now turned its attention to finding a scapegoat on which to place blame for the stalled talks ahead of national elections slated for June 2015.

Or is it Gülenophobia?

Turkey’s frequently changing agenda has recently been dominated by one issue: An İstanbul prosecutor overseeing an investigation into a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-linked terrorist organization has asked the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office to hear the testimony of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan and has obtained arrest warrants for four other MİT agents. MERVE BÜŞRA […]

Gülen movement’s silent majority

After all, it is not difficult to understand that the reasons pushing so many people so far from home have been a love of service and a love of their own country. During the course of my travels, I also had the chance to meet a few of the teachers dedicated to their service and to teaching in these schools. Most of them had sacrificed some of their own opportunities so that they could simply contribute to the schools at which they are working.

NPR’s Interview with Gulen – He Denies Involvement In Coup Attempt

From his exile compound in the Poconos, the cleric accused by the Turkish government of leading a failed coup attempt last year, Fethullah Gulen, denies any involvement.

Gülen: ‘Shame for military to stage coups but not to finish off the PKK’

Gülen expressed his grief over the deaths of dozens of security members during terrorist attacks in the country’s Southeast last week. He also expressed his disappointment over the Turkish military’s failure to end PKK terrorism over the past 30 years.

Gulen, Moderate Cleric, Vilified In Turkey

The Turkish government’s war on the Gulen movement has shown no signs of ebbing. Ankara is so determined to crack down on this loose network that its top security council framed it as a terrorist group last week.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Kazakh President congratulated ‘Katev’ Foundation on 20th anniversary

Iqbal university to be set up in Lahore

Turkey’s Erdogan attempts to have Gambia close down Turkish schools

Lecture: What Went Wrong in Turkey?

The real wretch

Prof. Tures: Erdogan’s policies threaten Turkey

Learnium International: A school with a difference in Sri Lanka

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News