Turkey is celebrating Human Rights Day this year in an environment where 21 journalists are behind bars, reflecting concerns over the growing use of imprisonment as a tool to punish media workers, according to a report from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
Human Rights Day is observed by the international community every year on December 10. It commemorates the day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The milestone document proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being — regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Recent reports and statistics regarding violations of human rights in Turkey reveal that the country is far from fulfilling its obligation to protect people’s rights, which are detailed in the declaration.
The “Freedom of Expression and Journalism Cases Trial Monitoring Program Report” released by the MLSA in November stated that journalists comprised 19.7 percent of the 1,856 people tried in 281 freedom of expression cases between September 1, 2023, and July 20, 2024. They ranked as the third-largest group after activists (46.3 percent) and students (20.25 percent).
The most common charges against the defendants are “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organization,” “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations,” with 43 cases each. These were followed by “insulting a public official” and “insulting the president,” with 33 and 32 cases, respectively.
Journalists were frequently targeted for their reporting and commentary, with the report indicating that 64.2 percent of the 187 individuals charged with membership in a terrorist organization were media workers. They also faced significant rates of charges of “insulting the president” (38.1 percent) and “insulting a public official” (37.6 percent).
According to the report, violations of the right to a fair trial were identified in 68.4 percent of observed hearings. Issues included delays in trial starts, interruptions of defense statements, denial of defendants’ opportunities to speak and inadequate courtroom conditions.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government is regularly accused of muzzling freedom of expression and cracking down on people who express criticism of his government on social media.
Thousands of people face investigation, are prosecuted and may be sentenced to prison in Turkey for expressing views disliked by the government on social media platforms.
Rights groups routinely accuse Turkey of undermining media freedom by arresting journalists and shutting down critical media outlets, especially since President Erdoğan survived a failed coup in July 2016.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Turkey 158th out of 180 countries in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index.