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  • Turkish PM warned that terror law changes could impose censorship of

    PRIME MINISTER WARNED THAT TERROR LAW CHANGES COULD IMPOSE CENSORSHIP OF KURDISH ISSUES

    Int'l Freedom of Expression eXpress (IFEX), Canada
    July 11 2006

    Reporters Without Borders has written to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
    Erdogan voicing concern about amendments to the anti-terrorism law
    that have just been passed by parliament. The organisation roundly
    condemns articles providing for prison sentences for the
    dissemination of statements and propaganda by "terrorist
    organisations," fearing they could lead to arbitrary prosecutions of
    journalists covering issues related to these organisations.

    The amendments are sufficiently vague that any member of a news media
    organization producing a contested report or article could be
    prosecuted, especially as several journalists are already charged
    with collaborating with the successor to the outlawed Kurdistan
    Workers Party (PKK) and face stiff sentences for covering military
    operations or pro-Kurdish demonstrations.

    Paris, 6 July 2006

    Dear Prime Minister,

    Reporters Without Borders, an organisation that defends press freedom
    worldwide, would like to share with you its concern about the
    situation of free expression in Turkey, a country currently holding
    negotiations with a view to joining the European Union. We are
    worried about amendments to the 1991 Law on the Fight against
    Terrorism (Act 3713) that were passed by parliament on 29 June, as
    they introduce new restrictions on press freedom and above all target
    the pro-Kurdish media, whose very existence you are threatening.

    Article 6, paragraph 2 of this law now provides for a three-year
    prison sentence for "any dissemination of statements and communiques
    by terrorist organisations." The owners and editors of news
    organisations risk a heavy fine.

    Article 7, paragraph 2 of the law says that: "Whoever makes
    propaganda for a terrorist organisation will be sentenced to five
    years in prison. If the crime is committed by means of the press, the
    penalty may be increased by half. Owners and editors will also be
    sentenced to a heavy fine."

    Reporters Without Borders would very much like the term "terrorist
    organisation" to be precisely defined in order to avoid any abuse of
    this provision for the purpose of arbitrary arrest or imprisonment.

    For example, an official list of organisations considered to be
    terrorists could help avoid misunderstandings.

    Parliament also added a new article (article 8, paragraph b)
    providing for "chain liability," under which, for example, a
    newspaper report with no byline could result in a prosecution being
    brought against the editor in charge, the editor-in-chief, the
    newspaper's owner, the printer and even the translator if it was
    translated from another language. The amendment says "persons
    responsible for a programme" or "persons responsible for an issue of
    a publication" can be prosecuted and sentenced to heavy fines.

    Parliament introduced this extremely dangerous concept with the aim
    of extending the range of editors, executives and others liable for
    prosecution. The entire chain of command becomes potentially guilty.

    The persistent legal obstacles to free expression in Turkey have been
    highlighted by Reporters Without Borders in the past. The government,
    the armed forces, militant nationalists and any state institution can
    abuse the law to target journalists commenting on sensitive or
    controversial issues or episodes in Turkish history such as the
    Armenian genocide, the withdrawal of the Turkish armed forces from
    Cyprus or the Kurdish question.

    The fight against terrorism is, of course, necessary and legitimate,
    but Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the possible
    intention of these new amendments. We think they are especially
    targeted at pro-Kurdish journalists who are often accused of
    terrorist collaboration with the outlawed Kurdish separatist
    organisation PKK/Kongra-Gel.

    We could cite the case of Rustu Demirkaya, a reporter with the
    pro-Kurdish news agency DIHA, who has been held in Tunceli prison, in
    eastern Turkey, since 14 June on a charge of "collaborating with the
    PKK/Kongra-Gel." A former PKK activist reportedly accused him of
    supplying PKK members with a laptop computer and 10 blank CD-ROMs and
    of tipping them off about an ongoing military operation. He could be
    sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

    The police handling the investigation have not produced any concrete
    evidence in support for the allegations made by the former PKK
    member. It is completely unacceptable that Demirkaya should have to
    remain in prison while the investigation continues.

    We could also cite the case of Evrim Dengiz and Nesrin Yazar, two
    young women working for DIHA who were stopped by anti-terrorist
    police on 15 February in Mersin as they returned from covering a
    demonstration marking the seventh anniversary of the arrest of the
    PKK/Kongra-Gel leader Abdullah Ocalan. We have been told that the
    police took them some distance away from their car, which they then
    proceeded to search and claimed to have found two home-made petrol
    bombs inside.

    Dengiz and Yazar were accused of making the bombs for the
    demonstration. The judge in charge of the case has classified it on
    security grounds. The Mersin prosecutor has requested life
    imprisonment for a "threat against state unity and territorial
    integrity" under article 302-1 of the criminal code. Their lawyer,
    Bedri Kuran, who has not been allowed to see the prosecution case
    file because it has been classified, says the search violated legal
    procedure because it should have been carried out in a judge's
    presence. He also says there is no forensic report on the petrol
    bombs.

    Prime Minister, we cannot help being troubled by the speed with which
    journalists are placed in pretrial custody in Turkey even when the
    evidence against them is very slim. Free expression and press freedom
    are inviolable democratic principles that must be respected.

    We urge you, Prime Minister, to ask parliament to revise the
    amendments to the Law on the Fight against Terrorism so that they
    meet international standards.

    We trust you will give this matter your careful consideration.

    Respectfully,

    Robert Menard
    Secretary-General
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