“Censorship and Self-Censorship is Ongoing”

Publishers Union of Turkey announced its annual report on Freedom of Publishing. The report stated that despite the several improvements thanks to legal amendments, freedom of publishing didn’t improve due to threats of censorship, self-censorship and judging.

The report (19-page) includes several issues concerning the freedom of publishing within last one year, such as cases and investigations on books, recall orders, lawsuits against writers and cartoons, and censorship, recall, ban and investigations regarding publications, books as criminal evidence, oppressions on press and online-publishing, law amendments and the decisions of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). 

The report cites several findings are indicated as below:

*The closure of Courts with Special Authority and the 5-years limitation on period of detention enabled to be released of various journalists, writers, publishers, translators and intellectuals from prison. However when we evaluate these improvements in detail, the picture is not as promising as expected. Indeed it doesn’t reflect that we had a better year in terms of freedom of publishing in our country. 

Ongoing trials are a threat risk

* Our publishers were not taken into prison; however they weren’t acquitted of their actual cases. As long as publishing unpleasant works is criminalized and the threat “If you do it again, you would pay all of them together” goes on, it’s not possible to say that publishers are free.  

* Number of the imprisoned journalists has dramatically decreased, but the fact that labeling as “terrorist”, threat of unemployment and discrediting, as a return of valuing and making an effort for journalism profession, have not changed yet. The journalist can be sued, arrested and taken into the prison at any time.   

* The threat of smearing and punishing due to our expressions and publications has leaded to a heavier censorship and self-censorship mechanism which extended to every moment of our life. 

Ban to literal sharing of students

* Reading pleasure of children and the literal sharing of teachers and students are also exposed to censorship mechanism. Book Investigation Commissions almost in every school and the school managements that tallied the whole literary work advised to students seem to determined for limiting the relation of students with books based on schoolbooks published by state, increasing the number of students who don’t like reading, exercising power on teachers who would like to get students adopt the reading habit.

* Even though Internet is a gate for breaking the obstacles which we usually feel in our conventional communication space, this space is also exposed to the oppressions of government in a short time. Internet is not a comfortable area of freedom anymore, instead a challenging area of resistance.

* You can access the whole report (in Turkish) via this link.  

* Click here to read the article in Turkish. 

Elif Akgül, BIA News Desk