Turkey uses police and courts to fight critics of government
2023.01.12 04:02
Turkey uses police and courts to fight critics of government
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – Human Rights Watch reported on Thursday that the government of President Tayyip Erdogan has used censorship and prison sentences to crack down more aggressively on dissent and political opponents ahead of the elections in Turkey.
Elections for the presidency and the parliamentary seats are scheduled for the middle of June, but Erdogan has indicated that they could occur earlier. After 20 years in power, polls indicate that he and his Islamist-rooted AK Party may lose.
The rights watchdog said in its annual World Report that authorities were using laws against disinformation and online censorship to silence independent media, the opposition, and dissenting voices.
Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia director, Hugh Williamson, stated in the report, “The government has carried out highly abusive manoeuvres against the political opposition, blanket bans on public protest, and the jailing and conviction of human rights defenders and perceived critics by courts operating under political orders.”
When asked to comment on the report, Turkey’s Directorate of Communications did not immediately respond.
Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential challenger to Erdogan from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was given a sentence of two years and seven months in prison last month. He also received a politics ban for insulting public officials in 2019, a decision he has appealed.
In response, Erdogan stated that courts would correct any errors during the appeal process and that Turks had no right to ignore legal decisions.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third-biggest party in parliament, had its bank accounts frozen this month while the top court heard a case about shutting it down because of alleged ties to militants. The claims are not made by the party.
Concerns about free speech were stoked when the AK Party’s bill to imprison social media users and journalists for spreading “disinformation” was passed in Turkey in October.
According to critics, there is no precise definition of “false or misleading information,” making the law susceptible to abuse by non-independent courts. Their claims that courts have restricted open dissent and silenced opponents in recent years are refuted by the government.
The new law, according to the government, aims to regulate online publications, safeguard the nation, and combat misinformation.
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