The German National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI) has issued a statement urging a Munich court to allow Turkish journalists to observe the trial of a woman linked to a neo-Nazi group accused of killing 10 people, including eight of Turkish origin.
Beate Zschäpe, one of three suspected members of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), faces charges of accessory to murder in a trial set to open April 17.
Munich’s Upper Regional Court accredited 50 journalists to cover the proceedings on a first-come-first-serve basis, leaving none for representatives of Turkish media. The court has declined to issue additional credentials or to allow any of the accredited journalists to transfer their credentials to their Turkish colleagues.
On Thursday, the editor of the Turkish daily Sabah said the newspaper would ask Germany’s Constitutional Court to issue an order to force the regional court to give Sabah a reserved seat at the trial.
The full text of the statement by IPI’s German National Committee – in English and in German – can be read below.
IPI calls for the admission of foreign journalists to the NSU proceedings
The German national committee of the International Press Institute* calls for foreign media representatives, and in particular Turkish journalists, to be admitted as court reporters to the NSU trials, taking place in Munich. The court’s media selection procedure, distributing seats to journalists on a first come first serve basis, had as a consequence that all 50 seats were reserved after a few hours, making it impossible for foreign media to gain access.
“The court should have taken into account the exceptionally strong media interest by the Turkish public, given the high number of Turkish victims, when choosing a selection procedure. An authentic and direct reporting by Turkish media requires the presence of Turkish journalists at the proceedings”, the chairman of the German IPI national committee, Carl-Eugen Eberle, said. Furthermore, he recalled that German representatives – such as most recently the German chancellor on a visit to Turkey – had pointed out the injustice Turkish journalists face in their home country, where they are often confronted with dubious legal charges and where more than 70 journalists are imprisoned. “Taking that into account, it would be fatal if a German court would now have to face criticism not to respect the freedom of press”, Eberle pointed out.
A practical solution could be a video stream, broadcasted in a second court room, which provides enough space for foreign correspondents. § 169 S. 2 of the Judicial System Act prohibits radio and television broadcasts from the proceedings. A video stream that remains internal to the court, however, does not violate such provisions and does also not embody a “public viewing”, which is also outlawed by the act.
“If the legal statutes allow the admission of Turkish media representatives and at the same time provide practical solutions to make their attendance possible, we should not refrain from taking such measures”, Eberle said.
*IPI is a globally-active network of publishers, leading journalists and media workers based in Vienna that works to strengthen and protect press and media freedom.
Wiesbaden, 4. April 2013
International Press Institute
German National Committee
Chairman
Prof. Dr. Carl-Eugen Eberle
Kapellenstr. 68a
65193 Wiesbaden
Tel. 0611-520468
Email: [email protected]
