Erol Önderoğlu

As a representative of Reporters Without Borders in Turkey and editor of the information website Bianet.org (one of the key Turkish independent media which covers, among other things, women and human rights issues), Erol Önderoğlu briefly assesses the situation of journalists in Turkey and talks about Hrant Dink, a journalist who advocated the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and who was murdered about two years ago, on January 19th 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist.

Although the use of imprisonment has decreased, it seems it’s been replaced by another mean of pressure : judicial harassment. A legal arsenal aims to gag the media and to hinder journalists from doing their jobs through continuous prosecution. Among these laws, the Article 301, entitled “Insulting the Turkish People, Republic of Turkey and Governmental Institutions and Bodies” , and provides for a six-month to three-year sentence for everyone convicted of denigrating the Republic and the Turkish identity. Among others, this article was used to sue the Nobel Literature Prize Orhan Pamuk, the writer Elif Safak and also Hrant Dink.

Read the BIA (Independent Communication network) 2009 Annual Media Monitoring Report here : http://www.bianet.org/english/freedom-of-expression/119836-getting-rid-of-freedom-of-thought

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