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

Turkish witch-hunt against the Gulen movement lacks one thing: Evidence

Fethullah Gulen and his movement are being purged not for terrorism, but for being unwilling to mindlessly follow the new elite ISMAIL SEZGIN Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares that the 15 July coup attempt was orchestrated by the Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Yet, there is little concrete evidence against Gulen. Instead, the government has […]

“Hizmet” movement, the current tensions and self-criticism (Interview with Ihsan Yilmaz)

My fourth criticism is the lack of empathy. We haven’t empathized enough with Kurds, Armenians and Greeks. In 2011, Journalists and Writers Foundation said to the commission of Constitution in the parliament that, besides Turkish, using Kurdish as a language of education should be considered a human right.

Why Is Turkey Targeting Hizmet? Questions about Erdoğan’s Post-Coup Crackdown

In May 2009, I received an award at the International Turkish Olympiad. The event was sponsored and organized by members of the Hizmet movement and most of the performers were students of Hizmet schools abroad. When I, together with a handful of other recipients, mounted the stage to accept our awards, there to shake our hands was the smiling then prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyib Erdoğan.

Understanding of Muslims in US is limited, says scholar

“Part of what we are doing involves interfaith work,” says Turk, and he brings up the role of the Pacifica Institute in California that does similar work in accordance with the teachings of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. “The same values are taught by Gülen,” Turk says, and adds that students from the Gülen-inspired Hizmet movement attend Bayan Claremont as well. “We are educating the next generation of Islamic scholars and community leaders,” Turk says.

CHP deputy calls Erdoğan’s order to bring down Hizmet ‘crime’

The CHP deputy pointed out it does not say the president can threaten or can give instructions to the MGK to bring down an organization.
According to this Monday’s Taraf daily, the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development Party) is planning to put forward a proposal to MGK to consider the Hizmet movement as illegal. Erdoğan hinted that the MGK would take action against “parallel structures.

Hizmet Movement: Partners We Want

A Turkish political, non-governmental, civil society organisation, Hizmet Movement, has made commendable contributions in Nigeria’s socio-economic life. The movement, which began in the late 1960s, particularly focuses on education, charity and dialogue, which it believes are the remedies to ignorance, poverty and disunity.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu sends next party of aid to Syrian refugees

Fethullah Gülen’s photo

Professors in Gaziantep profiled alongside students

GYV praised for response to accusations about Hizmet movement

Abant participants: Turkey needs EU support to improve its democracy

Australian Relief Organisation runs 2017 qurban campaign

Turkish-Americans in Tennessee worry about their homeland

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News