Erdogan: Imposes censorship in the press and by law one year before the crucial elections

Turkish authorities want to criminalize “misinformationWith a bill that is likely to send journalists to jail for three years, in a new crackdown as elections loom threatening the head of state.

The case is moving fast: after its deposit bill in parliament in late May by lawmakers from the ruling AKP party, was adopted last week by two parliamentary committees and will be submitted to lawmakers shortly.

The bill provides that the “one to three years in prison” shall be punished.dissemination of misleading informationAnd journalists who are found guilty of this crime to be deprived of their journalistic identity.

THE “law on misinformation»Targets social media and websites on the Internet, which will be required to provide the authorities with the personal information of their users, in case of violation.

“Police of truth”: The opposition tried in vain in early June to block the bill, but as the AKP and its allies have a 334-seat majority in the 581-member parliament, the bill is in danger of being rejected.

“The state seeks to create a police of truth, maintaining the vagueness of the limits of misinformation”, as the bill does not define what constitutes misinformation, says Sarfan Ouzunoglou, Professor of Communication at Bilgi University in Istanbul. Agency.

The government, however, did not wait for this new bill to bring freedom of speech under its control in the country: the state of emergency imposed after the failed coup attempt in July 2016 was based on one of the most important persecutions ever. against the media in its modern history Turkeyaccording to supporters of press freedom.

Last week, 16 journalists were imprisoned for “participating in a terrorist organization” in Diyarbakir, in southeastern Turkey, where mainly Kurds live.

A total of 67 journalists are currently imprisoned in Turkey, according to the specialized website P24.

“Dark days”: This law will be added to another, adopted in 2020 and obliges platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to appoint a legal representative in the country. These persons are now subject to sanctions if they do not withdraw certain contents within 48 hours at the request of the Turkish authorities.

“We are living in the darkest days of our country in terms of press freedom,” Nazim Bilgin, president of the Turkish Journalists’ Union, said on Thursday, adding that “the law censorshipIt will be approved by the Parliamentary Committee when Diyarbakir’s colleagues are imprisoned, it is not accidental. “

«Terrorism” and “insult of chairmanIs among the most frequent and recurring accusations against the press, the opposition and human rights groups.

A year before the June 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections, “the government’s goal is to contain fear to prevent journalists, economists and academics from publishing harmful information,” said Yaman Akdeniz. , PhD in Digital Law.

In power since 2003 as prime minister and then as president, o Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed his candidacy in the next presidential election in early June.

“Arbitrary law”: “It is an arbitrary law, I believe that many will be convicted,” Akdeniz said in response to a question from AFP.

“It will be one of the AKP’s most powerful weapons during the election campaign.”

“In Turkey, legal loopholes allow the government to imprison journalists. “Incorporating misinformation into the penal code will be an additional tool,” said Gulnoza Said, of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

More than 20 non-governmental organizations and associations defending freedom of the press, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), wrote an article in early June calling on the Turkish parliament to reject the bill.

“In the hands of the highly politicized Turkish judiciary, this law will become an additional tool for harassing journalists and activists and could lead to widespread self-censorship on the Internet,” the signatories said.