Interpol Alert Issued By Turkey For Exiled Journalists President Erdogan Wants To Toss In Jail

from the shut-up,-he-BOLOed dept

Wed, Oct 24th 2018 1:48pm — Tim Cushing

Turkey's government has already locked up more than 70 journalists -- most of them in the wake of a failed coup. President Recep Erdogan says the imprisoned journalists are terrorists and criminals, but rather than offer evidence of wrongdoing, Erdogan just keeps throwing more of them in jail.

The notoriously thin-skinned president has been eliminating dissent and criticism since he took power, so there's no reason to give his accusations of criminal activity credence. Erdogan has leaned on favorable laws elsewhere in the world to press for criminal charges and extradition of citizens of other nations who've offended his delicate sensibilities.

As a player on the world stage, Erdogan and his government will use whatever tools they have available to continue to eliminate their critics. It appears Erdogan is now asking the world's police forces to help him track down journalists he hasn't yet jailed. (h/t Mutlu Civiroglu)

Journalism in Turkey has come under renewed scrutiny after an Istanbul court issued an international arrest warrant for two prominent writers living overseas.

In a hearing against journalists linked to the Cumhuriyet newspaper, the 27th High Criminal Court said it would request the issuance of Interpol “red notices” for Can Dundar and Ilhan Tanir. The order notifies all Interpol member states that the individual has pending arrest warrants.

Mr Dundar, the newspaper’s former editor-in-chief, and Mr Tanir, its ex-Washington correspondent, currently live in Germany and the US respectively.

No one's under any obligation to arrest and extradite these "criminals." And certainly no one should feel they have to enforce Turkey's draconian anti-press measures halfway around the world. But it will make travel difficult, as databases will be pinged and info alleging criminal activity will be returned. If they happen to travel to a country that feels compelled to take Turkey's disingenuous government at its word, these journalists find themselves being sent home to face ridiculous charges in a kangaroo court.

Critical speech is its own crime in Turkey, despite what Erdogan says publicly.

“Turkey numbers among the world’s leading countries in matters of press freedom, the most advanced communications technologies, social media, the internet and journalism,” he said on Journalists’ Day in January.

You can only get away with saying something this ridiculous in a country where a large majority of news services are under direct government control and internet blockades are only a kill-switch away. When most of your journalists are in jail or have left the country, you're not in the running for Free-est Press in the World awards. You're just a thug in nation-state clothing.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: arresting journalists, free speech, interpol, journalism, recep tayyip erdogan, turkey

31 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 2:08pm

Moslem regimes and journalists?
Considering that Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate in Turkey, I'm wondering if they aren't cooperating with each other to squash journalism.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 2:19pm

You're just a thug in nation-state clothing.

What clothing, Erdogan's skin is so sensitive that clothes would bruise it.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 24 Oct 2018 @ 2:49pm

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows
He’s our only hope for any kind of justice for Jamal Khashoggi. But then, who gets to rein him in?

Maybe we should ask MBS for help with that...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
guy, 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:02pm

Re: Moslem regimes and journalists?
No, Turkey and Saudi Arabia hate each other too much for that.

They both separately hate a free press.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thad (profile), 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:03pm

Re: Moslem regimes and journalists?
...it kinda seems like if that were the case, then Erdogan would be helping cover up the murder, instead of, you know, spending the past two weeks very publicly calling attention to it.

Christ, this is "Saddam is cooperating with Osama" all over again. Just because two leaders are both bad people, and both are Muslim, doesn't mean they're collaborating.

There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. They're not actually all friends with each other.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:03pm

Re:
The clothing I just sold him! To a fool, the clothes are absolutely invisible, but to a wise man, they are the finest suit of clothes ever made.

Obviously, he agreed with me on the excellence of the clothing, and bought three whole outfits.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:16pm

Trump and outright bold faced lies...
Granted our journalists here aren't being thrown in prison, yet. The assertion that you can't get away with outright false statements is, in and of itself, false. It is clear that you can say the most ridiculous things regardless of the nation you live in or the supposed freedoms it has. To prove it all you have to do is listen to DJT for a few minutes, at any given time, and VOILA!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:24pm

It's all playing into the hands of despots everywhere. Before you know it the president will have the gumption to try and jail a few.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thad (profile), 24 Oct 2018 @ 3:38pm

Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
It's "bald-faced".
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 4:00pm

Re: Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
The orginal is barefaced.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gary (profile), 24 Oct 2018 @ 4:37pm

Re: Short walk
Trump has already made so many threats about throwing journalists in jail this isn't a stretch. He has *publicly* threatened to punish the WaPo by raising Amazon's postal rates in retaliation.
Blurred lines? Slippery slope? Or past that, and there are too many outrages to keep our attention.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
stderric (profile), 24 Oct 2018 @ 6:08pm

Re: Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows
He’s our only hope for any kind of justice for Jamal Khashoggi.

It's like a hundred years' worth of global irony reserves got used up to craft a single sentence.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 6:13pm

I'm sure this is a great use of Interpol's time and resources. I'm sure this will improve Interpol's relations with governments around the world.
Forget those who perpetrate genocide, human trafficking or child abuse - there are journalists on the loose, damnit!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pixelation, 24 Oct 2018 @ 8:09pm

Good old Gollum
Chewing off the heads of fish and journalists alike.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 8:12pm

Re: Re: Short walk
trump will look "marvelous" in a casket
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Oct 2018 @ 8:20pm

Erdogan, upside down, next to his whore
[ link to this | view in thread ]
tom sparks, 24 Oct 2018 @ 8:44pm

why do I read ....
why do I read President Dragon instead of President Erdogan?

...... must be the Eragon film
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

John Smith, 24 Oct 2018 @ 10:29pm

Of course, none of this would have happened if not for Section 230, but Masnick insists on getting his users to mock me for writing self-help books and having desires towards females. Shame!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Agammamon, 25 Oct 2018 @ 12:22am

>If they happen to travel to a country that feels compelled to take Turkey's disingenuous government at its word . . .

Like, I don't know, Germany?

https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-allows-prosecution-of-a-comedian-who-mocked-erdogan- 2016-4
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Agammamon, 25 Oct 2018 @ 12:25am

Re: Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
https://youtu.be/iXVJfRZTbyQ?t=17
[ link to this | view in thread ]
oliver (profile), 25 Oct 2018 @ 1:29am

Some clarification?
Some of you seem to miss what INTERPOL really is.
This is not a boots-on-the-ground organization.
That is just a network for information exchange.

There are no Interpol agents running around, searching for suspects. Except they do have a President, but that just had been disappeared in China. Sucks to be him?

Anyway, good luck finding a police agency in those countries to be willing to arrest those journalists, just on a whim of that turkish despot!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 6:57am

Re: Re: Moslem regimes and journalists?
"Turkey and Saudi Arabia hate each other"

Nothin' personal .. jus bizness.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 6:58am

Re: Re: Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
With Donald, it is ButtFaced
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 7:00am

Re: Sports News
Why?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 7:04am

Re: Some clarification?
I doubt the Ergodan wise guys will wait for the host government leos.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
me, 25 Oct 2018 @ 8:24am

President Gollum needs thicker skin
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 8:42am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
Not as ButtFaced as you!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 9:06am

Re: Re: Sports News
It's an adbot, brosef, or a slave-wage employee. user name is a URL to the site being advertised. Flag and move on.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 9:08am

Re:
Please explain how section 230 (which protects platforms from liability for the contest posted by users of those platforms), which is US law and only US law, and has no power in Turkey, is directly responsible for Erdogan's oppression of the press.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 25 Oct 2018 @ 9:19am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Trump and outright bold faced lies...
Why thank you ... thank you all.
I'll be here all week, please remember to tip your bartender and wait staff.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 25 Oct 2018 @ 10:12am

Re: President Gollum needs thicker skin
His micron thin skin(to compensate for his planet sized ego I'd guess) would be fine if he was just some nutjob ranting on the streets, demanding people give him the respect he so clearly deserves.

The problem is said nutjob is in a position where he has power over other people, lots of other people, and appears to have absolutely no hesitation is making people 'respect' him, and punishing anyone he can reach who dares criticize the little tin-pot dictator.
[ link to this | view in thread ]