2016 Tyrkia: Can Dündar og Erdem Gül
Tyrkisk rett har avgjort at rettssaka mot journalistane Can Dündar og Erdem Gül skal gå for lukka dører. Norsk PEN er bekymra for at dette vil føre til svekka rettstryggleik for dei to, og har i dag sendt nye protestbrev til den tyrkiske presidenten og til justisministeren.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Cumhurbaşkanlığı Sarayı
06560, Beştepe
Ankara, Turkey
Oslo, 01.04.2016
Your Excellency,
On behalf of Norwegian PEN I need to express serious concern at the Turkish Court’s decision to close the trial of journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül to the public and press. We believe this undermines their right to a fair trial and is yet another example of attempts by the Turkish authorities to supress all critical reporting. Norwegian PEN urges the court to reopen the trial to public scrutiny and guarantee due process for the defendants.
Our Writers in Prison Committee has chosen Can Dündar as an Honorary Member of Norwegian PEN. As far as we can see, he has solely exercised freedom of expression in his duties as journalist, and we call on the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against him and other Cumhuriyet staff members. There must be an end to bringing cases against writers and journalists engaging in legitimate political criticism, as Turkey has the obligation to respect the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a state party.
Yours sincerely,
Ms Brit Bildøen
Chair of Writers in Prison Committee
Norwegian PEN
COPY: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
