 for airing an interview with the brother the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the run-up to a critical election in İstanbul in 2019 although the man had been sought by Turkey on terrorism charges, according to a statement from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.){kind=link}
Turkish prosecutors have found no grounds to investigate public broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) for airing an interview with the brother the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the run-up to a critical election in İstanbul in 2019 although the man had been sought by Turkey on terrorism charges, according to a statement from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutors said TRT was exercising freedom of the press when airing the remarks of Osman Öcalan, a brother of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, while it said Osman Öcalan was exercising his freedom of expression.
In 2015 Turkey’s Justice Ministry sought the issuance of an INTERPOL Red Notice for Osman Öcalan and his extradition to Turkey from northern Iraq due to his links to the acts of the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.
TRT attracted widespread criticism for allowing Osman Öcalan to appear on air, with many criminal complaints filed against its two executives on allegations of aiding and abetting terrorism.
Osman Öcalan appeared on TRT’s Kurdish TV station, TRT Kurdi, in June 2019 seeking support for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of a repeat mayoral election in İstanbul where the votes of the Kurdish people would play a critical role.
Osman Öcalan endorsed the candidacy of the AKP’s mayoral candidate against the main opposition’s candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who won the election in March 2019.
When the AKP had the election cancelled due to alleged irregularities, a repeat election was held in which İmamoğlu won by a greater margin.
In the wake of the public outrage, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed at the time that he was unaware that Osman Öcalan had previously been the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice request from Turkey.
“I did not know that Osman Öcalan had been sought on a Red Notice. If he appeared on TRT Kurdish, it concerns our friends there. I trust them,” he said in response to a question during a press briefing in Ankara.
The prosecutors also ruled that there was no legal reason to investigate the state-run Anadolu news agency for reporting on a letter from PKK leader Öcalan in which he called on supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to remain impartial in the İstanbul election.
In the letter, which was made by public by an academic who visited Öcalan on İmralı Island, where he has been jailed since 1999, Öcalan called on the HDP to remain impartial during the vote although the HDP had previously announced it would support İmamoğlu.
At the time, Anadolu was also criticized for spreading the words of Abdullah Öcalan in a bid to attract support for the AKP, and its general manager faced criminal complaints on accusations of aiding and abetting terrorism.
Prosecutors said Anadolu was exercising freedom of the press while reporting on Abdullah Öcalan’s letter, while Öcalan was exercising freedom of expression in the letter.
Both TRT and Anadolu are accused of being mouthpieces of the AKP government and giving limited or no coverage to the opposition although they are funded by taxpayers’ money.
The decision of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office about the TRT and Anadolu comes at a time when many journalists and others are sent to prison for simply expressing their opinions or for engaging in journalism.
The Turkish judiciary is criticized for acting orders on government and applying double standards to supporters and opponents of the government.
