From Europe News:
Turkey: many violations of freedom of expression
ANSAmed 17 November 2011
ANKARA - The European Court of Human Rights is currently examining one thousand presumed violations of freedom of expression in Turkey, a huge amount, according to the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, who has been speaking in Ankara today. Jagland repeated the European Council's concern at the constriction of freedom of the press in the country but also focussed on the commitment with which the Turkish government wants to bring the country's legal standards up to European levels.
"There are 16,000 cases pending against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and one thousand of these concern freedom of expression," said Jagland, who underlined that the figure is the source of "much concern", not least because it has a "freezing effect" on the freedom "of journalism and journalists in Turkey". The secretary general did not give any comparative figures on the number of cases faced by other countries but said that the one thousand brought against Turkey were "a lot" and the sign that "there are problems here".
Speaking to journalists during a conference on Turkish cases at the Strasbourg court, which was also attended by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the secretary general of the Council of Europe said that for "historical" reasons legal proceedings concerning freedom of the press are interpreted "very differently" from the standards of "every European country", where people are "free to criticise the government" without risking legal action for defamation. Jagland highlighted the importance of today's conference in Ankara, saying that "the extraordinary level" of participation - an implicit reference to the attendance by Erdogan and by the Turkish Justice Minister, Sadullah Ergun - showed that the Turkish government is tackling the problem "very seriously", working with the Council of Europe to review "Turkish laws and their application" in a process of reform that "will need to go a long way". Jagland also said that the length of remand periods in the country was a "problem".
As has been documented, pre-trial custody in Turkey can last up to ten years. Some 60 journalists are currently detained in Turkish jails on suspicion of participation in attempted coups against Erdogan or sponsoring terrorism, a number that one association says makes Turkey one of the world's worst offenders, even ahead of China.
Posted November 17th, 2011 by pk
Turkey: many violations of freedom of expression
ANSAmed 17 November 2011
ANKARA - The European Court of Human Rights is currently examining one thousand presumed violations of freedom of expression in Turkey, a huge amount, according to the secretary general of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, who has been speaking in Ankara today. Jagland repeated the European Council's concern at the constriction of freedom of the press in the country but also focussed on the commitment with which the Turkish government wants to bring the country's legal standards up to European levels.
"There are 16,000 cases pending against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and one thousand of these concern freedom of expression," said Jagland, who underlined that the figure is the source of "much concern", not least because it has a "freezing effect" on the freedom "of journalism and journalists in Turkey". The secretary general did not give any comparative figures on the number of cases faced by other countries but said that the one thousand brought against Turkey were "a lot" and the sign that "there are problems here".
Speaking to journalists during a conference on Turkish cases at the Strasbourg court, which was also attended by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the secretary general of the Council of Europe said that for "historical" reasons legal proceedings concerning freedom of the press are interpreted "very differently" from the standards of "every European country", where people are "free to criticise the government" without risking legal action for defamation. Jagland highlighted the importance of today's conference in Ankara, saying that "the extraordinary level" of participation - an implicit reference to the attendance by Erdogan and by the Turkish Justice Minister, Sadullah Ergun - showed that the Turkish government is tackling the problem "very seriously", working with the Council of Europe to review "Turkish laws and their application" in a process of reform that "will need to go a long way". Jagland also said that the length of remand periods in the country was a "problem".
As has been documented, pre-trial custody in Turkey can last up to ten years. Some 60 journalists are currently detained in Turkish jails on suspicion of participation in attempted coups against Erdogan or sponsoring terrorism, a number that one association says makes Turkey one of the world's worst offenders, even ahead of China.
Posted November 17th, 2011 by pk
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