OSCE Media Freedom Representative appalled by return to prison of former Cumhuriyet journalists in Turkey, calls for their immediate release
VIENNA, 26 April 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called for the release of the former journalists of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, after they were returned to prison yesterday.
“I am appalled by this decision which is a terrible setback and confirms the continuous harassment against Cumhuriyet journalists in Turkey. This is particularly disturbing after several Cumhuriyet journalists were released from detention in the past months and the trial demonstrated that the accusation of terrorism against the journalists was groundless. This criminal prosecution against media professionals for holding independent or critical views leads to the weakening of media freedom and grave restriction of freedom of expression in the country,” Désir said.
Cumhuriyet’s cartoonist, Musa Kart, and other former employees of the newspaper, including Önder Çelik, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Hakan Karasınır, Güray Öz and Emre İper, were sent back to prison to serve the remainder of their jail sentences, having already spent some time in pre-trial detention. Their prison sentences are between three and four years.
According to media reports, prominent journalist Kadri Gürsel and lawyer Bülent Utku are not among the journalists returned to jail.
“I once again urge the Turkish authorities to stop treating journalism as a criminal activity and journalists as terrorists. These prison sentences against former Cumhuriyet journalists need to be immediately overturned and the journalists released from jail,” Désir stressed.
The Representative expressed his readiness to assist Turkey in revising and changing parts of its legislation, especially the anti-terror law that is widely used to imprison journalists in the country.
The Representative’s previous statement on the Cumhuriyet trial are available at: https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/411830; https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/378883; https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/375619; https://www.osce.org/fom/219021