US Congress warns Blinken on Turkey, the largest prison for journalists in the world

The future of relations between Turkey and the United States seems to have taken apart with the new administration of Joe Biden.The relationship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the White House began under the banner of diplomatic tensions. Not only because of Ankara's questionable foreign policy choices but also because of the worrying climate of human rights repression in the country. A few days ago, 183 members of the US Congress addressed a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressing all their concern about the growing number of human rights violations in Turkey.

The document affirms that “as the Biden, administration formulates its foreign policy in regard to Turkey, we ask that you aim to address the troubling human rights abuses taking place under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan”.  The 183 Congress members explained that Turkey has long been a key United States ally, but Erdogan has strained the relationship between the two countries. “President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party have used their nearly two decades in power to weaken Turkey’s judiciary, install political allies in key military and intelligence positions, a crackdown on free speech and free press, and wrongfully imprisoned political opponents, journalists, and minorities,” reads the missive.

Since 2016, more than 80,000 Turkish citizens have been imprisoned or arrested and more than 1,500 nongovernmental organizations have been closed to suppress political opposition, including three Turkish staff employed by the U.S. State Department. In the missive, 183 members of the US Congress urge Blinken to prioritize their cases, including their immediate release and dismissal of all charges, in his engagements with Ankara. They stressed the need to protect Western values, especially in protecting Human Rights.

Since the beginning of his term, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has persecuted and kept in jail thousands of journalists all over the country. A report issued by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media expresses many concerns about the case of arrested media operators in Turkey. Courts often impose exceptionally long imprisonment sentences. The longest conviction is 166 years and the longest jail sentence sought for a journalist is 3,000 years. Several colleagues face double life sentences if convicted, some without the possibility for appeal. Courts do not tend to grant the pretrial release of defendants. Also, there is concern that arrests and long pre-trial detentions without conviction are used as a form of intimidation.

In addition to using false accusations against journalists, the most widespread one of terrorism, in some cases Turkish and international journalists held in prison for up to three years are still awaiting trial. Some journalists have been imprisoned for more than five years while their trial is ongoing. Some of them often face several trials as they are convicted for several offenses. There is one journalist who faces 150 court cases. The International Court of Human Rights, based in Den Hague, has repeatedly urged Turkey to ensure the immediate release of jailed businessman and human rights defender Mehmet Osman Kavala pending the Turkish Constitutional Court’s decision on his case.

Mr. Kavala was arrested in Istanbul on 18 October 2017 on suspicion of attempting to overthrow the government and the constitutional order in Turkey through force and violence. In December 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that his detention took place in the absence of sufficient evidence that he had committed an offense, in violation of his right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR also found that Mr. Kavala’s arrest and pre-trial detention pursued an ulterior purpose, namely to silence him and dissuade other human rights defenders. In addition, the length of time taken by Turkey’s Constitutional Court to review Mr. Kavala’s complaint was insufficiently “speedy”. The European Court concluded that the government was to take every measure to put an end to the applicant’s detention and to secure his immediate release.

On 18 February 2020, the Istanbul 30th Assize Court acquitted Mr. Kavala and ordered his release. On the same day, he was taken into custody on the basis of separate charges, concerning which the domestic court ordered his release on 20 March. Mr. Kavala was placed in pre-trial detention on the basis of the third set of charges on 9 March. Media outlets reporting about sensitive issues, including terrorism or anti-government activities, in Turkey, are often regarded by the authorities as to the publishing organs of illegal organizations. Courts often consider reporting about such issues as equal to supporting them. Journalists are often imprisoned in F-tipi cezaevi– the F-type high-security prisons - where they have to serve their time with the most dangerous criminals. It is also not uncommon to punish journalists with solitary confinement for extended time periods.

According to a report published by Amnesty International on 30 March 2020, the Turkey government is said to be speeding up the process of preparing a draft law that intends to release approximately 100,000 prisoners amid growing concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in prisons. However, the law overlooks the journalists, political prisoners, and human rights defenders, who are said to remain jailed despite overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions already posing a severe health threat. On 3 July 2020, four Amnesty International activists were convicted by the Turkish court for "assisting a terrorist organization". The human rights group denies all the charges and said that every allegation against its members has been "comprehensively exposed as a baseless slur.”