Turkey: CFWIJ Current Environment Is Stifling for Journalists, Says Ruken Demir’s Counsel as Her Trial Faces Further Delays
Location: Turkey, Izmir
Date: October 5, 2021Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
Journalist Ruken Demir appeared before an İzmir court today (Tuesday) as it took up the terrorism case against her. However, Ruken’s trial was postponed yet again as the Cyber Crime Bureau did not submit its report. The hearing was adjourned till January 12, 2022, without any proceeding.
Ruken is accused of “being a member of an armed terrorist organization”. The case against her is based on interviews she conducted for news reports on hunger strikes in prisons and inmate conditions. Arrested in November 2019, Ruken was released after 115 days of harsh detention, wherein she was subjected to inhumane treatment and police brutality. All seven hearings of the case, including today’s, have adjourned without significant process in the case.
The Coalition For Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) believes that the court’s insistence on receiving the Cyber Crime Bureau’s report, which pertains to digital materials unrelated to Ruken, is a tactic to continue judicial prosecution of the journalist. Her counsel has argued that the awaited report is not relevant to the case at hand.
However, when the Cyber Crime Bureau failed to complete its investigation and submit its report before 19th High Criminal Court despite being directed to do so at today’s hearing, the court postponed the trial for the seventh time.
"They are trying to intimidate us by dragging us to the courts. But they should know that we know our [rights] and will continue to fight back with objective reporting despite such psychological pressures," said Ruken, speaking to CFWIJ.
CFWIJ denounces the charges levelled against Ruken, a reporter at the Mezopotamya Agency, which is critical of the incumbent government. We believe Ruken is being prosecuted because of her critical reporting and demand that she be acquitted of all politically motivated charges. We reiterate that journalism is not a crime.
This is the clear intention behind these trials. The situation where the existing pressure makes it impossible to do journalism. But I still believe Ruken will be acquitted in line with the decisions of the Constitutional Court
Speaking to the CFWIJ, Ruken's lawyer Zafer İncin said the journalist's professional activities and interviews were being painted as terrorism. The charges against her are baseless, he added. Zafer believes that the charges against Ruken will eventually be dropped and she will be acquitted like Jin News reporter Melike Aydın, who was implicated in the same investigation. He added that despite repeated contentions before the court that none of the digital materials in question relate to Ruken, the court has insisted on the bureau’s report. If the report is completed by the next hearing in January, the court may announce its verdict, he hoped.
When asked about the journalist's extended trial process, Zafer stressed on the mala fide intent of the Turkish authorities when pursuing cases against journalists. “Of course, I can easily say that there is no goodwill and that the free press is severely [and frequently] interfered with. Here, I can say that the right of dissident and different-minded people to access the news is also [being] violated.”
Journalists critical of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government can easily find themselves facing baseless charges, said Zafer, adding that the current environment was stifling for journalism. “This is the clear intention behind these trials. The situation where the existing pressure makes it impossible to do journalism. But I still believe Ruken will be acquitted in line with the decisions of the Constitutional Court,” he said, referring to past rulings in similar cases.
Two journalists, Ruken and Melike, were arrested on November 16, 2019 after their homes were raided in simultaneous operations. Ruken was beaten by the police during her detention. She was also subjected to a strip search when she was delivered to the prison. The journalist faced inhumane living conditions and rights violations while in police custody. She was banned from sending and receiving letters. The authorities accused her of leaking information, even from behind the prison walls. Her left eye was also giving her trouble. Despite the prison doctor confirming her health issue, she was not able to transfer to a hospital.
After remaining 115-days behind bars, the journalist was eventually released conditionally with a travel ban on the first hearing held on March 6, 2020.
At previous hearings, the change of the court board and the Cyber Crime Bureau’s were cited as reasons for postponing her trial.
In September, the CFWIJ documented the ongoing court cases against 10 women journalists. Similar patterns could be seen across these cases with trials prolonging due to changes of the court committees or reports pending by government agencies and institutions. We are aware that these tactics are used to intimidate journalists and silence critical voices. We demand the Turkish judiciary and government to respect freedom of the press and abandon such intimidation tactics. Ruken Demir must be acquitted of all politically motivated charges immediately.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
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