FREEDOM OF PRESS AND EXPRESSION
Journalists Fined Under Charges of Insulting PM
The court of Appeals approved a decision of a local court concerning the case on compensation fines to be paid to the Erdoğan family. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had filed a complaint about Radikal newspaper journalist Perihan Mağden, his wife Emine Erdoğan had complained about Tempo magazine journalist Cemal Subaşı.
The Court of Appeals 4th Law Office rejected the appeal and approved the decision as "licit and corresponding to the procedure".
The Erdoğan family will receive a total of 10,000 TL (€ 4,500) from both cases. In a speech at the US American John Hopkins University on 7 December Erdoğan said the following about press freedom in Turkey: "The press freedom in our country is so advanced that there are all sorts of freedoms up to very heavy criticism of the president, the prime minister and our families. The press in Turkey is much freer than the press in the USA".
Journalist Mağden: If you win, I'll pay the fine from my own pocket
The Ankara 22nd Criminal Court of First Instance partially accepted Erdoğan's complaint filed on allegations of "attacking personal rights" referring to the column entitled "Does the Prime Minister really like his job?" published in the Radikal newspaper issue dated 14 Feburary 2008. Judge Suna Türe decreed for half of the demanded 10,000 TL in compensation.
The article subject to the trial blamed the prime minister of resembling a dictator more and more. Journalist Mağden wrote that "R.T. Erdoğan caught the disease of leaving his mark on the agenda day in day out" and "He is physically decaying in front of our eyes, Erdoğan decays".
After the journalist from Radikal got to know about the trial, she wrote another article entitled "Dear trial-loving Prime Minister", saying that "Though the probability is low, but if you should win this case I will pay the amount from my own pocket".
On 21 February, Mağden wrote that in the past she defended the MP who had been imprisoned for reading poems. She also wrote that Erdoğan had not taken any steps to prevent thoughts from being seen as a criminal offence and that he did not take up the struggle to amend articles 301, 318, 277 and 288 of the Turkish Criminal Code.
By reason of an article published in the weekly magazine on 7 February 2007 Mağden was convicted under charges of insulting the Bulanık district governor Ayataç Akgül in the province of Muş.
Weekly Leman magazine and company owner Mehmet Çağçağ was sentenced to 4,000 TL (€1,800) in moral compensation for putting Erdoğan's comment on the cover page of the magazine. Apparently, the prime minister had said, "We have adopted the West's indecency, not its sciences and education".
Emine Erdoğan won her case as well
Tempo magazine and journalist Cemal Subaşı were convicted by the Ankara 10th Criminal Court of First Instance. They have to pay another 5,000 TL to Emine Erdoğan, the prime minister's wife.
Emine Erdoğan had demanded 10,000 TL in compensation for the article entitled "This is the conversation that cut the strings - The Ankara whispers regarding the state summit huff" published on 22 May 2008. (BÇ/VK)