MLSA - Among the decisions included last week by the Constitutional Court (AYM), there were important decisions regarding freedom of expression and freedom of the press. While the court ruled that the sentence given due to the Özgür Gündem acting editor-in-chiefship did not constitute a violation, it changed its approach regarding the crime of terrorist organization propaganda. The court ruled that the praise of terrorist organization members is of the same nature as the praise of violence and force.
The court ruled that the confiscation of the letter of a prisoner who wanted to send a cartoon to the Cumhuriyet newspaper from prison constituted a violation of freedom of expression, and found lawful the compensation ruled against Yeni Akit, which made a news story using the photos of the wrong people regarding the Soma mine disaster and calling them "charlatans."
The court ruled that the phrase "sewer media" used by journalist and Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) Istanbul MP Ahmet Şık towards the Sabah newspaper was protected under press and expression freedom, and overturned the compensation Şık had been sentenced to pay.
AYM, which said the sentence given for the Özgür Gündem watch is in accordance with the law, changed its view on terrorist propaganda
The Constitutional Court, ruling on the sentence given to journalist Mehmet Ragıp Duran, who was held responsible due to the news published in the newspaper within the scope of a one-day editor-in-chief campaign in solidarity with the shut-down Özgür Gündem newspaper, ruled that holding Duran responsible for the unsigned news stories published on the date he served as editor-in-chief did not violate freedom of expression and press freedom, rejecting the application by declaring it manifestly ill-founded.
According to the news report by Hikmet Adal from Bianet, in the application which is foreseen to be a precedent for many lawsuits filed against journalists and human rights defenders within the scope of the one-day editor-in-chief duty in solidarity with Özgür Gündem, the Court stated that the praise of terrorist organization members should also be considered as incitement to violence and thus changed its approach to the propaganda crime. In its past case law, the court had said that only the praise of direct armed actions or clear incitement to violence could constitute the crime of propaganda. Now, it stated that news stories and expressions of opinion that normalize the terrorist organization could also constitute this crime, adopting a more restrictive understanding than its previous case law.
Compensation ruled against Ahmet Şık over 'sewer media' tweet against Sabah newspaper is a violation of freedom of expression
Ahmet Şık, reacting to the fact that Sabah newspaper had reported on the operation known to the public as the "Anadolu Kültür A.Ş. operation" a week in advance, had shared: "A week ago, from the sewer media, they fired the signal flare of the operation." As a result of the compensation lawsuit filed by Sabah newspaper, Şık was sentenced to pay TL 20,000 in compensation.
According to the news report by Can Öztürk from T24, the Constitutional Court, ruling on Şık's individual application against the compensation, stated that Şık believed that the said publication was operating with dirty methods and purposes and that making a post in this direction was under the protection of press and freedom of expression, and ruled that TL 34,000 be paid to Şık in compensation.
Confiscation of cartoonist’s cartoon sent to Cumhuriyet from prison violates freedom of expression
According to the news report by Batuhan Serim from Cumhuriyet, the Constitutional Court ruled that the confiscation of letters and cartoons that Rıza Kartal, while in prison, wanted to send to Cumhuriyet newspaper cartoonist Zafer Temoçin violated freedom of expression.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the intervention of the prison administration did not correspond to a necessary social need and was not compatible with the requirements of a democratic society, and thus ruled that freedom of expression was violated. The court ruled that TL 10,000 in non-pecuniary damages be paid to Kartal.
In one of the cartoons drawn by Kartal; President and AKP Chairperson Erdoğan was drawn sitting on top of a father who was putting his hungry daughter to bed, and saying: "Did you know that they make sour grape molasses from patience?" In another cartoon, a prisoner was shown extending a banner reading "We want our right to a fair trial. Free prisoners" toward a judge trying to escape from him.
