OSCE: Excessive penalties threaten journalism in Turkey


Date posted: December 11, 2013

VIENNA

Dunja Mijatovic, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media, has said excessive penalties against journalists may threaten investigative journalism and freedom of speech in Turkey.

In a written statement sent to the Cihan news agency, Mijatovic spoke against an investigation targeting Taraf journalist Mehmet Baransu for reporting on a confidential National Security Council (MGK) document that mentioned a planned crackdown on faith-based groups in Turkey. According to the OSCE representative, it is “alarming” to see that the journalist faces the risk of being sentenced to dozens of years in jail for publishing confidential state documents.

Starting last month, the Taraf daily published several confidential documents suggesting that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) profiled individuals linked to some religious and faith-based groups. The party admitted the authenticity of the documents but argued that no action was taken to implement the policy prescriptions indicated therein.

Last week, however, the Prime Ministry, MİT and the National Security Council (MGK) filed a joint criminal complaint against the daily and Baransu for revealing confidential state documents. The complaint immediately turned into an investigation against the journalist. Baransu now faces charges of acquiring confidential documents crucial to state security, unveiling information that is forbidden to announce and political and military espionage. He may face a prison term of up to 43 years for the charges.

Mijatovic said he is closely following developments related to the investigation against Baransu. “It is very important that journalists be able to freely perform their profession and their right to keep news sources protected by the law,” she added.

The profiling document, published by Taraf on Nov. 28, shows that the MGK advised the government in 2004 to adopt legal measures that would impose harsh penalties on some religious and faith-based groups, in particular the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The two-page MGK document was signed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then-Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, then-President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Cabinet members as well as military commanders of the time. The document urges the Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry and MİT to closely monitor and report on the activities of the Hizmet movement at home and abroad. It further advises the government to instruct the Interior Ministry and Ministry of Education to investigate and monitor schools affiliated with the Gülen movement.

The OSCE statement follows an earlier message by the European Union, which said public authorities should not interfere with freedom of expression in the media, against the background of Turkish government pressure on the media through criminal and civil lawsuits. “The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without the interference of public authorities,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, told the Cihan news agency on Tuesday.

Source: Today's Zaman , December 11, 2013

Tags: | | |


Related News

Turkey crackdown: deep unease in Fethullah Gulen’s home village

“They were a family of thinkers,” said a dairy farmer in the village who asked not to be named as he feared repercussions from the authorities. “They were good people. They came from nowhere, they had no water, nothing,” he says, pointing out the Gulen family’s former home, made from clay and rocks.

3,623 Aggravated Life Sentences Sought In Turkey For Scholar Fethullah Gülen

Turkish prosecutors, part of a judiciary strongly under the influence of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have demanded 3,623 aggravated life sentences for Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US.

Gülen’s lawyer warns about possible doctored tapes

Lawyer Nurullah Albayrak in a written statement referred to lies and defamation about Gülen in the media which have become widespread and said Gülen’s phone calls have been illegally wiretapped. “These calls are reported in the media without taking any ethical principles into consideration,” he said, adding that it is very likely there will be edited phone calls as part of a black propaganda campaign against Gülen.

Ministerial bureaucrats being purged over their alleged affiliations with Hizmet

Radikal said the only criteria in these purges is the “parallel state,” a term the government uses to define those bureaucrats known to favor the Hizmet movement, which is a grassroots movement based on voluntary participation to spread interfaith dialogue and tolerance with a particular emphasis on education.

Fethullah Gulen’s books draw large interest in Sweden

The Stockholm-based intercultural dialog center Dialogslussen was among the participant of book fair that took place in Gothenburg. The institution’s stall partnered with Tughra Books and Blue Dome Press attracted a large number of enthusiasts. Books on Sufism and those by Fethullah Gulen as well have been among the best sellers at our stalls.”

New Level of Witch Hunt: Relatives are Targeted in Turkey

On July 26, Turkish police stormed the house of Muhammet Cakir, a lawyer wanted for arrest on coup charges. Failing to find the lawyer at home, they detained his 86-year-old mother to force her son to surrender. She has been kept as hostage since.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Gov’t ban on charity Kimse Yok Mu hits orphans

Gülen’s relatives dismayed over smear campaign against Islamic scholar

‘Gülen movement challenges culture of competition’

Fethullah Gülen’s book translated into Belarusian

‘The Gulen movement is one of the very few that has managed to live what it preaches.’

The Commissioner for Political Affairs opened the 14th International Festival of Language and Culture

Gulen-linked teacher claims asylum in Moldova to escape Erdogan’s long arm

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News