By Leon J Williams
Turkish police officers get 10 month in prison for torturing a journalist.
12 years ago Şenol Gürkan was tortured while in police custody for ‘being a terrorist’.
The officers were originally sentenced to 1 year in prison however that sentence was overturned by the Turkish Supreme Court.
So after 12 years and being defended by the Turkish Supreme Court the police officers get just 10 months for torture.
At the beginning of the month I wrote about Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index (PFI) in which Turkey performed woefully. Sadly this is not set to change, Turkey’s attitude towards journalists and anyone who speaks out against the government is of huge disdain and hatred.
Turkey continues to clamp down on anyone with opposing views and ignore those who attack proponents of free speech.
Turkey has been accused of not adhering to international standards over the definition of terror and terrorists.
The US ambassador to Turkey said “In Turkey, most definitions or terrorism focus on attacks against the Turkish state and the definitions are less clear when it comes to international terrorism”
Imprisonment and torture of journalists and proponents of free speech remains wide-spread in Turkey.
The European Federation of Journalists President Arne könig has said that the terrorism charges against Turkish journalists by the Turkish state was “shocking to hear”. Mr könig went on to say “It was shocking for us to hear that normal journalistic activity can be considered illegal and an act of terror”
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