Union of Turkish Bar Associations takes legal action against Erdoğan’s ‘media circular’

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The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) has taken legal action against President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's circular on "Press and Broadcasting Activities", which was published in the Official Gazette on January 28.

The TBB has requested that the execution of the related Presidential circular be halted and the circular be canceled.

Referring to the relevant provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the petition of the TBB has listed a series of negative consequences that will arise as long as the circular of Erdoğan remains in force:

"The fundamental rights and freedoms granted to people by both the Constitution and the international documents that Turkey is obliged to abide by as a Constitutional requirement will be violated.

"As a concept contrary to freedom of expression and press, it will have an effect of 'self-censorship', going beyond 'censorship'.

"The instruction given by the Circular in dispute, which will restrict Constitutional basic rights and freedoms through subjective and open-ended expressions with no legal certainty, will undermine the discretionary power of all public institutions and agencies that enforce the related legislation and sometimes touch basic rights and freedoms as it is required by the law.

"It will transform the activities of the instructed public institutions and agencies to interpret the articles of law so far in such a way to counter the Constitution's principle of proportionality, it will touch the essence of the fundamental right by overstepping the current limits set in the related laws and it will constitute an overall contrariness to Constitutional provisions."

'It is against the Constitution'

The TBB has stressed that the circular is "against the principle of rule of law and is contrary to the Constitutional provision stipulating that fundamental rights and freedoms shall only be restricted by law for certain purposes." According to the TBB, the circular violates the following:

Article 2 of the Constitution (on rule of law); Article 13 (on the restriction of fundamental rights and freedoms); Article 26 (on freedom of expression); Article 28 (on freedom of the press and publication) and Article 29 (on the right to publish periodicals and non-periodicals).

Accordingly, the TBB has requested that the execution of the related Presidential circular be halted and the circular be canceled.

What happened?

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a circular late Friday (January 28) about TV programs "against the national and spiritual values of society."

"The steps to eliminate the destructive effects of TV programs that contain elements contrary to basic values of society and that especially appear as adaptations of foreign programs will be taken urgently," said the circular.

Children and the youth will be protected from "productions targeting their minds with messages given by using certain symbols," the circular said, apparently in reference to The Masked Singer (Maske Kimsin Sen?)

Pro-government media outlets and social media accounts accused the program of "paganism and satanism propaganda."

Fox TV, which broadcasts the program, defended itself, saying that the program is aired in many countries across the world.

After debates over the program, İbrahim Uslu, the deputy chair of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), said they would probe the program in terms of "protecting children." (HA/SD)