We Demand Freedom of Expression!
3 May 2023
In 1993, the United Nations adopted a resolution recognizing May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day.
According to the 2023 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Turkey ranks 165 in 180 countries in the world.
In the land we live in, journalists, particularly dissident journalists, have always been under pressure. Many journalists have been murdered and to date their perpetrators have not been identified or apprehended.
The year 2022 was also a year of repression for dissident journalists, especially Kurdish journalists. In June 2022, 18 journalists were taken into custody and 15 were jailed in an operation against the Diyarbakır-based Mesopotamia Agency. The journalists were held in prison for 10 months without any indictment. After 10 months, the indictment was finally drafted.
On 25 April 2023, 4 journalists from the Mesopotamia Agency were detained in a Diyarbakır-based operation in 21 provinces. Beritan Canözer, Abdurrahman Gök, Mehmet Şah Oruç and Remzi Akkaya were detained and sent to prison.
Journalists gathering in Kadıköy to make a protest statement against the detention and arrest of journalists were attacked by the police. During this police attack, Pınar Gayip, Zeynep Kuray, Eylem Nazlı Er, Esra Soybir, Serpil Ünal and Yadigar Aygün were ill-treated, tortured and taken into custody. They were held in custody for 14 hours in rear-handcuffs.
Yes, today is World Press Freedom Day, and today journalists Sedat Yılmaz from Mesopotamia Agency and Dicle Müftüoğlu from Dicle and Fırat Journalists Union are detained. Two journalists were jailed precisely on Press Freedom Day because they are Kurdish and dissident. In the lands we live in, freedom of expression remains a problem. When the red lines of the official ideology, the Kurdish issue, the Armenian genocide or the military presence in Cyprus are questioned, we are always confronted with a state structure that cannot tolerate different opinions. However, in terms of freedom of expression, especially in the last 5 years, we have been experiencing a more challenging process than ever before although the constitution, domestic law and especially the international conventions signed by the Republic of Turkey have important regulations on freedom of expression.
Since rule of law has no bearing in Turkey, there is always a big difference between the written law and practice. We are, thus, experiencing great problems in enjoying freedom of expression.
Not only journalists but also people from many segments of society can be detained and arrested for their social media posts. In order to solve the problems and fundamental issues in the country, first and foremost, freedom of expression must be ensured and the bans on free speech must be lifted. Therefore, as human rights defenders, we once again repeat our calls for freedom of expression on the United Nations World Press Freedom Day.
Human Rights Association