RSF launches international appeal for release of ​Cumhuriyet journalists

At a press conference held in partnership with the Turkish Association of Journalists (TGC) today in Istanbul, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched an international appeal for the release of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül and all their fellow journalists unjustly detained in Turkey.

Türkçe / Read in Turkish

The list of initial signatories, consisting of NGOs and international public figures, has been posted on RSF's website. The general public can support the appeal by signing the petition in English, Turkish and French at this address: http://rsf.org/petitions/turquie/pe....

The signatories accuse the Turkish authorities of "persecuting journalists of all colours in an increasingly ferocious manner" and urge them "to free Can Dündar and Erdem Gül without delay, to drop all charges against them, and to free all other journalists who are currently detained in connection with their journalism or the opinions they have expressed."

They also condemn this spiral of oppression in "a country that is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index."

"The Turkish authorities are targeting the wrong enemy," RSF secretary­general Christophe Deloire said. "The judicial system seems to prosecute journalists more often than the accomplices of Daesh (Islamic State). Turkey is a great country, with democratic institutions and a very open civil society. We appeal to the government, as a matter of honour, to restore all the conditions of pluralism, starting with freedom for journalists."

TGC president Turgay Olcayto added: "With globalization, the Turkish media's problems could one day become the problems of western journalists. It is vital that we join forces to defend free journalism before it is too late."

Cumhuriyet lawyer Bülent Utku spoke of the appeal that has been filed for the provisional release of Dündar and Gül. Kadri Gürsel of IPI, Ugur Güç of TGS/IFJ, Faruk Eren of DISK Basin­İş and Ceren Sözeri of the Ethical Journalism Network also spoke. A video message recorded by OSCE media freedom representative Dunja Mijatovic was broadcasted.

Public figures already supporting the appeal for the release of Cumhuriyet's journalists and their jailed colleagues include German journalist Günter Wallraff, Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem, French philosopher Edgar Morin, US intellectual Noam Chomsky, Swedish writer Per Wästberg, Turkish pianist Fazil Say, Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, German politician Cem Özdemir and French economist Thomas Piketty. The full list is posted on the RSF website.

The many NGOs that have signed the RSF appeal include the Committee to Project Journalists, (CPJ), PEN International, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN­IFRA), Index on Censorship, the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Global Editors Network (GEN).

RSF awarded its 2015 Press Freedom Prize to Cumhuriyet at the inaugural ceremony of the Council of Europe's World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg on 17 November.

APPEAL

President Erdogan, free Cumhuriyet's editors and all other detained journalists!

First as prime minister and now as president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been waging a methodical crackdown on the media in Turkey for years. Erdogan is persecuting journalists of all colours in an increasingly ferocious manner in the name of combatting terrorism and defending state security. The Erdogan regime's arrests, threats and intimidation are unworthy of a democracy.

Can Dündar, the editor­in­chief of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, and his Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gül, have been held since the evening of 26 November. They are charged with spying and terrorism because last May they published evidence of arms deliveries by the Turkish intelligence services to Islamist groups in Syria. Both are exemplars of journalism, the search for truth and the defence of freedoms. President Erdogan publicly said that Dündar "will pay for this." But Cumhuriyet's journalists just did their job, publishing information that was in the public interest.

At a time when international terrorism is at the centre of everyone's concerns, it is unacceptable that political prosecutions are used to suppress investigative reporting and exposés. The arrest of these two journalists is the latest extreme to which political use of the Turkish judicial system has been taken. Many journalists have been detained on spurious charges of terrorist propaganda and insulting President Erdogan. The regime has also been using economic levers to put growing pressure on the media, while draconian laws have been passed.

We, public figures, media freedom NGOs and unions, reject the blatant erosion of media freedom in Turkey. The country is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

We appeal to the Turkish authorities to free Can Dündar and Erdem Gül without delay​, to drop all charges against them, and to free all other journalists who are currently detained in connection with their journalism or the opinions they have expressed.

We also urge the institutions and governments of democratic countries to face up to their responsibilities to respond to President Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian excesses.

FIRST SIGNATORIES

NGOs

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Committee to Project Journalists, (CPJ)
PEN International
International Press Institute (IPI)
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN­IFRA)
Index on Censorship
World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC)
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Ethical Journalism Network (EJN)
Global Editors Network (GEN)
Turkish Association of Journalists (TGC)
Turkish Union of Journalists (TGS)
DISK Basin­İş
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)

Public figures

Günter Wallraff, journalist, Germany
Noam Chomsky, linguist, USA
Edgar Morin, sociologist, France
Carl Bernstein, journalist, USA
Zülfü Livaneli, writer, Turkey
Ali Dilem, cartoonist, Algeria
Thomas Piketty, economist, France
Claudia Roth, politician, Germany
Paul Steiger, journalist, United States
Kamel Labidi, journalist, Tunisia
John R McArthur, media executive, USA
Fazil Say, pianist, Turkey
Peter Price, media executive, USA
Edwy Plenel, media executive, France
Jim Hoagland, journalist, USA
Ahmet İnsel, political analyst, Turkey
Eric Chol, newspaper editor, France
Nedim Gürsel, writer, Turkey
Cem Özdemir, Green Party co­president, Germany
Hakan Günday, writer, Turkey
Mikis Theodorakis, composer, Greece
Dmitry Muratov, journalist, Russia
Per Westberg, writer, Sweden
John Hughes, journalist, USA
Louise Belfrage, journalist, Sweden
Ali Anouzla, journalist, Morocco
Omar Bellouchet, journalist, Algeria
Jack Lang, former government minister, France
Omar Brouksy, journalist, Morocco
Pierre Haski, journalist, France
James Schwab, media executive, USA
Jay Weissberg, cinema critic, USA
Harald Stanghelle, managing editor, Norway
Jean Daniel, journalist, France
Khadija Ryadi, human rights activist, Morocco
Mokhtar Trifi, human rights activist, Tunisia
Maati Monjib, historian, Morocco
Nadia Salah, managing editor, Morocco
Gilles Raymond, media CEO, France
Bertrand Pecquerie, organization director, France
James Schwab, media CEO, United States
John Hughes, journalist, United States