The delegation of writers from PEN International called on the government of Turkey to take “quick and concrete action” to reverse an alarming rise in the number of writers, journalists, translators and publishers who are in prison or on trial in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, PEN International president John Ralston Saul warned that positive political and economic developments are being overshadowed by concerns about the freedom to write in Turkey. “We recognize that Turkey has seen important gains in democratization and civil and political rights in recent years, and we believe the momentum for reform is on-going”, Saul said. “But for our many colleagues currently in prison or on trial — including members of PEN Turkey — processes and promises are no consolation. We are asking the government of Turkey to act now to ensure that no-one is being penalized for practising the right to peaceful freedom of expression, and to release all who may be held in violation of that right”.

Joining Saul were PEN members from Japan, Switzerland, Lebanon, the United States, Norway, Canada, and the United Kingdom, part of a 20-member delegation that he said “conveys the seriousness and urgency of PEN’s concern over the rising tide of trials of their colleagues in Turkey”.

Turkish PEN: Freedom of expression in decline

The PEN delegation also met with Öztürk Türkdoğan, president of the Human Rights Association, who underlined the organisation’s concerns with the deteriorating situation for freedom of expression in Turkey.

At a news conference, delegation member and PEN Turkey president Tarık Günersel spoke movingly about three cases emblematic of the serious situation in Turkey: the human rights lawyer Muharrem Erbey, in pre-trial detention for almost three years; translator Ayşe Berktay, in detention for one year and accused of being the “international advocate” of the banned organisation KCK; and journalist Mustafa Balbay, in prison since 2009, facing charges ranging from membership in an unlawful organisation to attempting to provoke an armed uprising.

All of them, Günersel insisted, have in fact been detained for peaceful expression. These are just three of many cases on PEN’s list, Günersel emphasized, noting that in every case the rights violation extends to family and friends as well, all of whom endure uncertainty and financial hardship and the stigma of being branded terrorists or criminals. “It is unfortunate that at this event the texts we will be reading include the writings of so many of our colleagues from this country”, Saul said at the press conference. “It is our sincere hope that at this time next year we will instead be able to celebrate their release and the end of these draining and damaging legal proceedings”.

Anti-terror law used for intimidation

The majority of these writers, publishers and journalists have been or are being prosecuted under the Anti-Terror Law which defines offences too broadly, is applied inconsistently across jurisdictions and has been used against writers, publishers and journalists who have not supported, plotted, or carried out acts of terrorism or violence.

PEN International recognizes that among the anti-terror cases there may be some that demand judicial scrutiny. However, a lack of clarity surrounding judicial proceedings, the absence of public evidence and the widely varying interpretations of the Anti-Terror Law create the conditions in which security laws may be used to penalize activity that is clearly protected by Turkey’s national laws and by international laws guaranteeing freedom of expression.

Seventy percent of those jailed are of Kurdish origin or are writers, publishers, journalists and intellectuals who support Kurdish political and cultural rights. This includes at least 36 journalists who are in prison in connection with the case against supporters of the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), under which more than 1,000 people are currently on trial.

In addition to the Anti-Terror Law, freedom of expression is suppressed under other laws as well. These include legal prohibitions on obscenity, praising offenders or offences, and incitement to ethnic or religious hatred. While some of these laws predate this government, and convictions under these laws have decreased in recent years, regulations such as Article 301—which criminalizes “denigrating the Turkish Nation, the State of the Turkish Republic and Organs of the State”—remain on the books, creating the potential for continuing abuse. Freedom of expression is also threatened by recent legislation targeting digital media.

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