A group of Italian and international press freedom groups have released an open letter calling on Pope Francis to address Turkey’s crackdown on independent journalism during a meeting in Rome with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The letter calls on the pope to engage in a “frank” discussion with Erdoğan about the dramatic decline in the rule of law in Turkey, where more than 150 journalists are currently behind bars, the majority put there following a failed coup in July 2016. A version of the letter was published in Sunday’s version of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Erdoğan is the first Turkish head of state to visit the Vatican in 59 years. He will also meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. A
Rome, February 5, 2018
Open letter
His Eminence Pope Francis
Dear Pope Francis,
We are writing to you to bring to your attention serious abuses committed in Turkey following the failed coup d’état of July 15, 2016, in particular through the control of the justice system by the executive branch and the overall weakening of the rule of law in the country.
Under the pretext of the state of emergency and the fight against terrorism, tens of thousands of people have become victims of arbitrary repression that continues to worsen and that affects many groups within society, including lawyers, journalists, teachers, academics and researchers. At least 150,000 civil servants have lost their jobs, over 50,000 have been jailed and more than 170 journalists are currently in prison along with hundreds of lawyers and human rights defenders.
Regarding our colleagues, who are a primary target of this crackdown, there is an ongoing information purge in Turkey that aims to subordinate the country’s intellectuals and free press to executive power and thereby stifle every yearning for dissent.
The same goes for judges and prosecutors, 4,500 of whom have been removed from their positions and 2,500 of whom have been jailed.
The Council of Europe, in awarding the 5th Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to Judge Murat Arslan, president of the only remaining independent judicial organisation in Turkey, YARSAV, and who has been held in prison for almost 15 months, aimed to express great concern about the situation in Turkey and stress the importance of an independent judiciary in a democracy.
In view of this situation, we hope that, in the course of your meeting with the president of a country that still aspires to become a member of the European Union and that is already a member of the Council of Europe, you will have the opportunity to discuss how damaging it is for Turkey to disregard the rule of law and thereby demonstrate incompatibility with the democratic values of Europe.
We also hope that you will join our voices and those of 25,000 Italians who signed a petition launched by us on January 23 to call for the release of journalists Mehmet Altan and Şahin Alpay (who have been ordered released by the Turkish Constitutional Court but who remain in prison because of lower courts’ failure to implement that ruling) as well as other journalists unjustly detained in Turkey, including Ahmet Şık and other editors and staff members of the storied opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet.
Finally, we hope that you will be able to frankly address concerns about fundamental rights and human rights, emphasising how essential they are.
We are not asking you, your Eminence, for an approach that is contrary to diplomatic and institutional custom, but one that gives hope that the violation of journalistic rights and the rights of all Turkish citizens will be ended.
We thank you and deliver to you this appeal, which has the support of tens of thousands of Italians and of international journalist and press freedom groups.
International Press Institute (IPI)
Articolo 21
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
Federazione Nazionale della Stampa
Osservatorio Balcani
PEN International
Reporters without Borders (RSF)
Rete No Bavaglio
