In a memorandum published on Wednesday 15 February Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Nils Muiznieks, criticises the serious harm to the freedom of the media and rule of law in Turkey, and calls on the authorities to change course urgently.
This 25-page text follows two visits to Istanbul, Ankara and Diyarbakir in April and September 2016. Muiznieks presents the picture of a country where judicial harassment has grown against whole categories of society including journalists, members of parliament, academics and simple citizens.
The situation in Turkey is indeed complex, he basically admits, but neither the attempted coup of 15 July, nor the terrorist threats, can justify the measures currently in place. This is because, he says, there is too broad an application of the notions of 'terrorist propaganda' and 'support for a terrorist organisation', as well as an excessive use of arrangements punishing defamation.
The situation, which was already alarming in April, has deteriorated significantly since the establishment of the state of emergency which gives the Turkish executive virtually unlimited discretionary powers, Muiznieks says. He also criticises the erosion of the independence and impartiality of the judicial system. In particular, magistrates' courts now practice judicial harassment in order to silence legitimate criticism and opposition, and they are at the root of the most flagrant violations of the right to freedom of expression.
Turkey has set out on a very dangerous route, Muiznieks concludes, urging the country's authorities to lift the state of emergency, to make an in-depth reform of the criminal code and anti-terrorist legislation so that word and deed might be compatible with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights – a body he also calls on to enforce judgments. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)