Turkey: Legal harrassment of women court reporters

Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law No. 3713 has been criticized for its vagueness and broad application. Article 6, “Disclosure and Publication”, is often used to summon journalists to court. This article is vague, open to interpretation, and is particularly used against journalists reporting on public interest trials.

PEN Norway’s Turkey Legal Adviser, lawyer Şerife Ceren Uysal, writes on the frequent court cases brought against a number of women court reporters by a single prosecutor for making an official the potential target of terror groups.

Read the report in English and in Turkish.

Journalists prosecuted under Article 6§1 of the Anti-Terror Law often share a common trait: they either write columns on the judicial system in Turkey or report on cases generated considerable public interest. Such accusations are usually based on the allegation that a mere mention of the name of a prosecutor or a judge in a news report constitutes the act of marking officials as targets for terrorist organisations.