A verdict is expected in the trial of a German journalist arrested in Turkey on terrorism-related charges. It comes as journalists critical of the government find it increasingly difficult to carry out their work.
Mesale Tolu, who was arrested on terrorism-related charges is confident of being acquitted
Mesale Tolu, who was arrested in Turkey in 2017 on terrorism-related charges and is facing trial, is confident that justice will done when the court hands down its verdict on Monday.
"I expect to be acquitted on both counts," she told DW. "But if the outcome was different, I wouldn't be surprised either," the journalist added. In her opinion, the Turkish judiciary is unpredictable. Her chances of getting acquitted are good because the prosecutor has called for that verdict in his plea and experts believe that the evidence against her is very flimsy.
Detained in Istanbul in 2017
In April 2017, Mesale Tolu was arrested by heavily armed anti-terror units in Istanbul. "I was violently detained before the eyes of my son," she can still recall today. Tolu, who was born in Ulm in southern Germany, spent more than seven months behind bars — five months of those with her two-year-old son. In 2018, she was allowed to leave for Germany.
Tolu had been working as a translator for a left-wing news agency when she was arrested. She and her co-defendants were accused of "membership in a far-left terror organization and spreading terrorism propaganda."
Now, five years on, Tolu finally wants closure. She wants to look ahead and fully focus on her work as a journalist with the German newspaper Schwäbische Zeitung.
34 journalists behind bars
Tolu's is not an isolated case. The Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) says there are currently 34 journalists in Turkish jails, most of whom are accused of either belonging to a terror organization, insulting the president, or spreading terrorism propaganda.
Deniz Yücel, correspondent for German newspaper Die Welt, and Adil Demirci, who, like Tolu, worked for the Etha news agency, spent months in the Silivri high-security prison, near Istanbul, facing similar charges.
German journalist Deniz Yücel was imprisoned for a year in Turkey on charges of spreading "terrorism propaganda"
Erol Önderoglu from Reporters Without Borders has observed a different trend in recent years. Up to three years ago, he thought of Turkey as the biggest jail for journalists in the world. But more recently, he says, the Turkish judiciary has been allowing journalists to go free subject to certain conditions — leaving journalists restrained mentally rather than physically.
He told DW that one should not simply look at the number of journalists behind bars. Önderoglu says other instruments are frequently employed to keep journalists from doing their jobs — including confiscating their passports, regular mandatory visits to the police, suspended jail sentences, and refusing press cards and accreditation to attend events.
Worsening situation after Gezi protests
The situation for journalists in Turkey has dramatically worsened since the Gezi protests in 2013. At the time, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the government's plan to carry out construction on the much-loved Gezi Park in the heart of Istanbul at Taksim Square. Anyone who supported the demonstrations faced the prospect of sanctions, including journalists. Hundreds lost their jobs afterwards. The second big attack on press freedom followed immediately after the attempted coup on July 15, 2016. Since then hundreds of online news platforms and dozens of newspapers and TV stations have been closed down and numerous journalists detained.
In 2013, Gezi Park in Istanbul saw massive protests which snowballed into nationwide anti-government demonstrations
According to EngelliWeb, a project run by the Association for Freedom of Expression that records blocked websites, very little has changed. EngelliWeb told DW that more than 476,000 domains, 150,000 reports and 50,000 tweets had been blocked by the relevant authorities.
Unemployment tops 35%
Unemployment among journalists too has been steadily rising for years. At present, it tops 35%, the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) said at the start of the year.
To mark "Working Journalists Day," which is held each year in Turkey on January 10, TGS once more criticized working conditions for journalists. The union said January 10 had to be regarded as a day of struggle as long as journalists do not receive a fair wage, have to work under inhuman conditions, have their reports censored or a forced into self-censorship, and as long as 34 journalists are behind bars and are refused press cards.
Violence on the rise
Violence against journalists is also continuing to rise. Last year alone, 75 media representatives were attacked, according to the Progressive Journalists Association (CGD). In addition, some 219 journalists appeared before court in 179 trials and were sentenced to a combined total of 48 years and 11 months in jail.
Journalist Can Dündar, who lives in exile in Berlin, also faces the threat of a prison sentence of 27 years and six months were he to return home to Turkey. He was found guilty of alleged espionage and aiding and abetting terror in Istanbul.
Heavy fines are another tool used to silence the media. In 2021 alone, the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed 74 fines on national broadcasters, which have refused to pay allegiance to the governing AK Party. The state supervisory board forced broadcaster Halk TV to pay steep fines on 24 occasions; Tele 1 22 times, Fox TV 16 times, KRTV 8 times and Habertürk 4 times. The combined total amounted to 22 million Turkish Lira, or more than €1.5 million.
Activists read the Cumhurriyet newspaper in 2017 to protest the jailing of its journalists
That is an enormous sum for these broadcasters, who have been crippled by never-ending trials and are barely able to generate any advertising revenue. Businesses fear they could made to pay if they buy advertising from these stations. The proceeds for broadcasting public service and ministerial announcements go, at any rate, into the coffers of media close to the government. At the same time, the owners of those outlets are recipients of major state contracts.
Journalists declared terrorists
Sezgin Tanrikulu, human rights lawyer and a member of parliament for the biggest opposition party CHP, says attacks on the media and freedom of expression have taken on a new dimension in recent years. He says anyone who fails to kowtow to the Turkish government and tries to report independently is declared a terrorist.
The Turkish government, on the other hand, insists that press freedom is experiencing a heyday under the AK Party. To mark "Working Journalists Day," Fahrettin Altun, head of communications for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wrote that the media had benefitted over the last 20 years from development in various areas ranging from democracy to technology.
However, the only Turkish media organizations that have benefitted from Turkey's political and economic development are those who toe the government line — and up to 90% of those are owned by businesses with close ties to the government.
It was always Erdogan's aim, according to Tolu, to create a media loyal to the government. Luckily, she says there are still many independent journalists, though not in the mainstream media. These courageous people, she says, are doing all they can to keep reporting on what is happening in the country.
This article was translated from German.
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