Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir criticized a court ruling on Tuesday that sentenced former Zaman daily reporter Ayşenur Parıldak to seven years, six months in prison on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, calling for the release of all jailed journalists in Turkey.
“Decision to imprison journalist #AyşenurParıldak for over 7 years on unfounded charges is highly worrisome. I call on #Turkey to release not only her, but all journalists in prison. Journalism is not a crime,” tweeted Harlem Désir from the official account of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
During a hearing at the Ankara 14th High Criminal Court on Tuesday, Parıldak, who has been in pretrial detention since August 2016, was first sentenced to nine years, but the court subsequently reduced her sentence to seven years, six months for good conduct.
Parıldak, a 27-year-old court reporter from the now-closed Zaman daily, denied the charges leveled against her, saying she has never used the ByLock smart phone application, believed by Turkish authorities to be a communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Turkish government of being behind a failed coup last year.
“My only offense was to work for the Zaman newspaper. I wish I had not. All the leading figures from the newspaper went abroad tweeting about press freedom. I demand my acquittal and release,” she said. “I want to be acquitted. I am so exhausted.”
Parıldak was released by the court on May 2, 2017 but was later rearrested by the same court before being freed after a prosecutor objected to the initial ruling following reports criticizing her release in pro-government media outlets.
In October 2016 Parıldak wrote a letter to the Cumhuriyet daily from Silivri Prison, saying she had faced solitary confinement and sexual harassment in the prison. Her letter to Cumhuriyet led to a ban on letters being sent from that prison.
She was awarded the inaugural Shahnoush Courage Award by the Oslo-based Vigdis Freedom Foundation (VFF) in September of this year.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by the SCF has showed that 256 journalists and media workers are in jails as of November 21, 2017, most in pre-trial detention languishing in notorious Turkish prisons without even a conviction. Of those in Turkish prisons, 230 are arrested pending trial, only 26 journalists remain convicted and serving time in Turkish prisons. An outstanding detention warrants remain for 135 journalists who live in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down more than 180 media outlets after the controversial coup attempt. (SCF with turkishminute.com)
