l m i k press unfreedom in Turkey a documentary by THOMAS SIDERIS - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

l m i k press unfreedom in Turkey

a documentary by THOMAS SIDERIS

Press freedom in Turkey is a timeless issue with imprisonments and murders of journalists. But in recent years the situation has worsened dramatically. The government, controlled by President OVERVIEW OVERVIEW Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, aggressively used the penal code , criminal defamation legislation , and the country’s antiterrorism law to punish critical reporting, and journalists faced growing violence, harassment, and intimidation from both state and nonstate actors during the year.

I started the film at June 2016. The political situation in Turkey smelt gunpowder. The Why Why AKP's government was chasing the ghost of Fethullah Gülen everywhere. At the same “ilmik?” “ilmik?” time, the democracy in this country, which leans with one foot in the East and the other in the West, looked more like a ghost than a political system.

Dozens of journalists were interrogated by prosecutors and unconfirmed number of journalists were already in high security prisons, Why Why having exceeded the detention limit. The Pesident of Turkish Press Council, Pinar Turenc, confided “ilmik?” “ilmik?” me that 7000 journalist their jobs the last two years. The Turkish goverments is putting a noose on press freedom, speech free, human rights and, finally, on democracy.

MY MY PERSONAL PERSONAL VIEW VIEW I am a journalist, member of International Federation of Journalism. Journalism is not a crime. The oppression on the Turkish press is getting worse every day. Those who are protecting the freedom of press and trying to do their jobs are being made to pay a heavy price. The journalists who report from conflict zones are subject to threats and abuse; their lives are constantly in danger.

MY PERSONAL VIEW MY PERSONAL VIEW Reporters, editors and writers are under investigation, they are sued for defamation… Many of them are jailed pending trial and are imprisoned because of the reports they do or share on social media. Those working for the press are labeled as enemies through accusations such as being spies, doing propaganda for terror organizations. Foreign journalists who are reporting about Turkey are also being targeted in the same way.

MY PERSONAL VIEW MY PERSONAL VIEW Journalism, maybe for the first time in the history of Turkey, is being oppressed and criminalized in a way that also includes the international press. The journalists are forced to situations in which they can not do their work anymore and then fired. They often work under the pressure of censorship, they are stigmatized according to which news they give or which organization they work for.

MY PERSONAL VIEW MY PERSONAL VIEW The facts are restricted by media blackouts. Those publications and broadcasts that are ‘’undesirable” are considered criminal. Many media outlets are under the threat of being closed down. In spite of all these pressures, the journalists, from Istanbul to Diyarbakır, continue to stand guard in front of prisons, in the courthouse gardens, at editorial departments, thus showing their solidarity with their oppressed colleagues. Protecting freedom of press means protecting the public’s right to information.

MY PERSONAL VIEW MY PERSONAL VIEW In a society where the right to information is restricted, one cannot speak of democracy. I will work with all my might to be the voice of those whose credibilities have been damaged, who have been imprisoned, who are being silenced just because of their profession or because they have supported the freedom of press. I am journalist and I cry out: Journalism is not a crime!

MY PEOPLE MY PEOPLE With Arzu Yildiz in Ankara. With Erkan Akkus in Istanbul.

MY PEOPLE MY PEOPLE My soul hurts. My mind travels to them. 12 of the 19 journalists who speak in “ilmik” are currently in prison.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME

A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME A FEW WORDS ABOUT ME I am journalist and writer. I have graduated from the University of Athens, Political Science and Public Administration Faculty. I am specialized in mass media. I have completed postgraduate studies at the Aegean University and I have specialized in Human Geography. I have written 23 books (literature, historical and social recearches etc) and 5 theatrical plays. I have finished 2 documentaries. My last documentary with title "Shadow on the soul" won the 1st award in Greek Film Festival in London (in this film I was writer, researcher and narrator). For my book and short documentary about famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis with title "Nikos Kazantzakis, wayfarer and traveler" I won the prize "Αmbassador of European culture” for the year 2008.

ΑΝ IMPORTANT MOMENT ΑΝ IMPORTANT MOMENT I signed with Hasan Haci the penultimate article which uploaded on the website of the newspaper TODAY'S ZAMAN just before the intervention of police forces in FEZA MEDIA GROUP building.

WHY I NEED YOU WHY I NEED YOU With Pinar Turenc, President of Turkish Press Council. My documentary is a private production. For my country, Greece, Turkey is a "conventional enemy". No professional producer wants to take the cost for this production, even though it relates to infringement issues of democracy in a neighboring country. Ι need your help to fix and end my documentary. By this time though I had the full support of the Asya organization.

PREPARETION OF PREPARETION OF DOCUMENTARY DOCUMENTARY The documentary will have a total during of 100-140 minutes. The total budget relates to: 1. Payments journalistic team, sound engineers, cameramen. 2. Market legitimate audiovisual files from news agencies and television stations. 3. Travels to Turkey and Europe (England and Germany) to have interviews with the protagonists of the dramatic situations. 4. Editing (up to 800 hours). 5. Translating and subtitling in three languages (English, Greek, Turkish). 6. Final film processing.

THE TEAMS OF “ILMIK” THE TEAMS OF “ILMIK” The 1st group is based in Turkey, but for safe reasons, I can't reveal their names. The second group is based in Greece. This group consists of: 1. Takis Bardakos, director of photography 2. Dimitrios Sidiropoulos, montage preparation 3. Gerasimos Antipas, sound engineer 4. Toni Briedel, scientific advisor 5. Kostas Melas, professor, scientific advisor 6. Ersi Vatou, journalist, speaker 7. Hasan Haci, journalist, translator The third group is based in West Europe.

PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY Constitutional guarantees of press freedom and freedom of expression are only partially upheld in practice. They are undermined by provisions in the penal code, the criminal procedure code, and the harsh, broadly worded antiterrorism law that essentially leave punishment of normal journalistic activity to the discretion of prosecutors and judges. Constitutional protections are also subverted by hostile public rhetoric against critical journalists and outlets from Erdoğan and other government officials, which is often echoed in the progovernment press.

PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY A 2004 press law replaced prison sentences with fines for violations of its provisions, but elements of the penal code and several other restrictive laws have led to the imprisonment of dozens of journalists and writers in recent years. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), there were 14 reporters behind bars in Turkey as of December 1, 2015. Figures compiled by the independent Turkish press agency Bianet were higher, showing 31 journalists in prison at the end of the year.

PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY Article 301 significantly curbed its application in practice. Very few of those prosecuted under Article 301 receive convictions, but the trials are time-consuming and expensive, and the law exerts a chilling effect on speech. Article 216 of the penal code, which bans incitement of hatred or violence based on ethnicity, class, or religion and carries a prison term of up to three years, has also been used against journalists and other commentators.

PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY Turkey’s antiterrorism law, officially called the Law on the Fight against Terrorism, and related provisions in the penal code rely on broad language and vague definitions, allowing room for application against a wide range of activities. Other articles as well as the antiterrorism law penalize “making terrorist propaganda” and the publication of the statements of illegal groups.

PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY PRESS UNFREEDOM IN TURKEY The Fourth Judicial Reform package, passed in 2013, slightly alleviated the antiterrorism law’s limitations on publishing such statements, clarifying that publication would only be a crime if the statement constituted coercion, violence, or genuine threats. Nevertheless, both the law and related sections of the penal code remain highly restrictive, and have been widely criticized by media and human rights groups. The European Court of Human Rights has found in multiple rulings that specific provisions of the antiterrorism law amount to censorship and violations of free expression.