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Turkish media organizations under scrutiny over role in 2013 anti-gov’t protests

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Turkish prosecutors have asked the country’s media watchdog to assist them in identifying media organizations whose coverage of anti-government protests in 2013 might have contributed to the protests’ escalation, the Habertürk news website reported on Monday.

The anti-government Gezi Park protests, which began over an urban development plan in central İstanbul in the summer of 2013 and spread to other cities in Turkey, posed a serious challenge to the rule of then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They were violently suppressed by the government of Erdoğan, who later labelled the protests as a “coup attempt” against him.

The protests have once again returned to Turkey’s agenda 12 years later with the arrest of celebrity manager Ayşe Barım last week due to her alleged role in the protests.

Barım, a prominent figure in Turkey’s television and film industry who works with many famous actors, is accused of “attempting to overthrow the Turkish Republic or prevent it from fulfilling its duties” as one of the alleged “organizers” of the protests. She denies the charges.

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is leading the investigation into Barım, is now investigating the alleged role of media outlets in the protests as it deepens the probe.

According to Habertürk’s report, prosecutors investigating Barım have recently asked the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) to identify media organizations that “legitimized” the protests in their broadcasts and caused them to escalate by spreading the protestors “propaganda.” The prosecutors are requesting that RTÜK provide them with a copy of their broadcast records starting on May 27, 2013.

Habertürk has obtained the letter sent by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to RTÜK.

After RTÜK identifies these media organizations and sends a file to the prosecutors about them, their executives and reporters could be summoned by prosecutors to testify.

At the height of the protests in June 2013, some media outlets, mainly those close to the government, chose not to cover them, probably fearing to attract the government’s anger. They were covered by only a group of pro-opposition and independent media outlets.

As police violence against the protestors was spiraling out of control in İstanbul, one of the main broadcasters in Turkey, CNN Türk, chose to air a documentary on penguins, leading to much ridicule and criticism on social media and the launch of an online petition urging CNN International to pull its name from the Turkish franchise.

Barım’s arrest has come as a shock to many, leading to claims that the government might use the protests as a pretext to again punish its opponents and redesign Turkey’s arts and culture sector. Turkey saw the filing of charges against other government opponents over their alleged role in Gezi Park protests in past years.

Five people including prominent businessman and civil society leader Osman Kavala were convicted in 2022 of charges related to the Gezi Park protests.

They were convicted of attempting to overthrow the government for their alleged role in the protests. They denied the charges and said they were politically motivated.

The Supreme Court of Appeals in September 2023 upheld the convictions human rights lawyer and former Workers Party of Turkey (TİP) lawmaker Can Atalay, journalist and film producer Çiğdem Mater, city planner Tayfun Kahraman and filmmaker Mine Özerden in addition to Kavala.

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