The country's highest judicial authority has cancelled the clause in the law that allowed the media to be shut down

Turkey's Supreme Court says government closure of media unconstitutional

photo_camera PHOTO/PRESIDENCY OF TURKEY via AP - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media

The country presided over by Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been embroiled in numerous scandals related to freedom of expression and the arbitrary closure of certain media outlets in Turkey. While he denied any kind of coercion and continued to close down media organisations, the Turkish Supreme Court, the country's highest judicial authority, after an exhaustive study of the procedures carried out by the executive, has ruled that the mechanism the government had in place until now to close down the media on the instructions of the different ministries is an "unconstitutional clause" that has now been cancelled by the court. 

"The presence of the said clause within the articles of the law made it a rule to impose restrictions on freedom of speech and press by closing down private radio and television institutions, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and distribution houses," the Supreme Court said. What had been an open secret is finally having its legal consequences, which, while defending once and for all the freedom that Turkey has been curtailing for years, may not have been as swift as Turkish society had demanded. The court added that "a democratic society is based on pluralism, tolerance and openness. Restricting this right in a democratic society depends only on the existence of compelling reasons", a fact that has long been conspicuous by its absence within Turkey's borders. 

According to the 'Press Freedom 2020' report by the opposition Republican People's Party, the media situation has worsened in the past year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even taking into account that all the news related to the virus created a lot of mistrust due to the immense amount of fake news and disinformation articles that were and still are circulating in the networks, the past 2020 was a worse year in terms of repression against media and journalists by the Erdogan government. The crackdown was much harsher and as many as "97 journalists resigned during 2020 due to the censorship imposed on newspapers, while other journalists were unable to find a press or media outlet to work for," the report states. 

Fotografía de archivo, manifestantes sostienen carteles en los que se lee "El periodismo es el seguro de la democracia" y "Si se detiene al periodista, no se sabrá nada de las noticias" en Estambul el 9 de septiembre de 2020

The numbers are frightening and demonstrate a freedom of expression that ceased to be present in Ankara years ago. There have been 361 lawsuits filed against journalists in 2020 and 86 of them have been arrested. What would have been unthinkable in a democratic country was, until now, a common practice in Turkey to curb criticism of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government from various quarters. Among the most criticised aspects of the media that were quickly shut down by ministerial instructions was the economic situation the country is going through, which continues to weigh down the country's financial situation. 

Although an important step has been taken in the defence of freedom of expression, the reality is that efforts to achieve it must not cease. According to a Reporters Without Borders report published just two months ago, up to 90% of the media are already controlled by the Erdogan government. In other words, although the indiscriminate closure of media outlets that opposed the single doctrine imposed by the Turkish government has ended, very few have survived and are no longer under the government's strict control.  The French press organisation revealed at the time that, during the past year 2020, as many as 1,358 news items were deleted due to rulings issued by the Turkish court against local media. 

Estudiantes de la Universidad de Bogazici protestan contra el nombramiento de un nuevo rector por parte del presidente Tayyip Erdogan, en Estambul

With the publication of this report, the leader of the Turkish Journalists' Syndicate (TGS), Gökhan Dormus said that "the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) and the Press Advertising Authority (BİK) are working to punish the media with orders from the government, and we have many examples. They fined independent newspapers last January, including the daily Evrensel, and prevented them from publishing advertisements for a period of three days". Already then, outrage was at its peak in a Turkish society that now welcomes the Supreme Court's decision, and hopes to move closer to true freedom of expression.  

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