For a PACE member from a country where 150 journalists are in prison, where thousands of journalists have been sacked after their media outlets have been seized by the government, and where around 40 000 social media users have been prosecuted for statements that they made on the Internet, guarantees for freedom of expression overwhelms all other concerns.
The situation has been well documented in European Union, European Commission and PACE reports, including Monitoring Committee reports, and PACE meetings. This is well known by the Turkish Government and Council of Europe member countries. Since 2016, the situation has been worsening every year and every day. This is a big matter for this Organisation to face.
If a country’s press situation is deteriorating daily, does it still deserve its position in a democratically organised international community, or should it somehow be brought to a new level of relations? That is a big question to be answered. In Turkey, there is a big fight by intellectuals, journalists and the general population, to face those pressures. The worst issue is that the problem is not only legal but economic. Independent news outlets are being forcibly sold to favourites of the government, and after the latest events, every one of the 10 biggest media outlets has fallen under the control of government supporters. In such a country, freedom of expression becomes the first concern for democratic change. We ask the Council of Europe’s member countries and all colleagues to support our fight for freedom of expression, and freedom in general. Thank you.
