The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned a month-long ban on daily newspaper Özgür Gündem in Turkey as the country’s justice minister said a judicial reform package would abolish the law that led to the ban.
Hürriyet Daily News reported that an Istanbul court ordered the suspension based on allegations that the daily – known for its reports on the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – “promotes a terrorist organization”. The daily’s website indicated that Istanbul police raided the daily’s headquarters on Saturday, where they seized the following day’s edition, Hürriyet said.
Following criticism of the ban, Turkish Justice Minister said Tuesday that a government-backed judicial reform package introduced in January would amend Turkey’s anti-terrorism law to remove a provision allowing courts to order publications to temporarily suspend operations. The package is reportedly currently before Parliament’s Justice subcommittee.
Ferai Tinç, a member of IPI’s Executive Board and head of IPI’s Turkish National Committee, said: “The banning of Özgür Gündem for a month is not only a violation of press freedom, it is also against the principles of democracy and the norms of the rule of law. No newspaper should be punished because of unpublished articles. I hope the government will revise the present articles [of Turkish law] that allow anti-democratic interpretations as soon as possible.”