The Association of European Journalists expresses our deep alarm at the arrest on March 21 of Ismail, Ari, a highly respected journalist for BirGun newspaper who has received several awards for his reporting, on suspicion of ‘publicly spreading misleading information’. Ari was in Tokat visiting his family over the Eid holiday when he was arrested and taken to Ankara for questioning about his reports, including a video report about the operations of a foundation managed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son. Ari reportedly told police that his reports were strictly within the scope of professional journalism. The AEJ calls for his immediate release, and for any charges against him as well as other journalists to be dropped.
İsmail Arı’s detention follows that of numerous other prominent Turkish journalists, including Sinan Aygül, Alican Uludağ and Furkan Karabay, who have been held under the same provision, Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code — “Publicly Disseminating Misleading Information”. According to the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), in the 18-month period following the law’s entry into force, 47 investigations were launched against 41 journalists due to their news reports, commentary or articles. Because of this accusation, 10 journalists were temporarily detained and four were sent to jail awaiting further judicial process.
This spate of arrests has occurred in spite of assurances given by lawmakers during the legislative process that “journalists would not be prosecuted.” In reality, the provisions of the new law are being widely used against free journalism, leading to the investigation, prosecution and imprisonment of many journalists. The existence of Article 217/contradicts Turkiye’s international commitments to democracy and the rule of law, and severely damages the country’s international reputation. It should be withdrawn without delay.
