Turkey: DW seeks constitutional court appeal for reporter

DW plans to appeal the 2023 conviction of reporter Bülent Mumay for publishing supposedly secret information belonging to an Istanbul construction company owner at Turkey's highest court, after a lower court upheld his 20-month suspended jail sentence last week. 

"To be honest, I did not expect the appeal to be decided in my favor. It would be a surprise if the judiciary, politicized by the palace regime, would rule in favor of a journalist, especially at a time when freedom of the press has disappeared," Mumay said. "The lawsuits and sentences against me and other journalists have two goals. Both to neutralize us and to intimidate and silence other journalists."

Bülent Mumay, the coordinator of the Istanbul office of DW's Turkish language service, only has one remaining legal recourse, which is to appeal at the constitutional court.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg said Deutsche Welle would stand behind him and provide full legal support.

"Bülent Mumay is a fearless, experienced, and critical journalist whom the Turkish authorities appear intent on silencing," Limbourg said. "The charges against him are clearly baseless and serve only as a pretext to intimidate him and other journalists in Turkey." 

What is the case about? 

The case pertains to information Mumay shared on social media in 2020 related to alleged money laundering schemes involving construction moguls and officials from the previous Istanbul local government, which was led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP, or "Justice and Development Party" in English.

The material allegedly showed that some of the contractors given tasks were government-affiliated.

The data concerned the expansion of Istanbul's metro system, which is also underpinned by international investment and loans.

The legal case began following a complaint by the owner of the company involved, the Met-Gun Insaat construction firm, who alleged that it constituted the illegal dissemination of "personal data." Mumay meanwhile contends he was doing his job as a journalist.

Turkish authorities also took steps to block public access to the information online.

Support from NGOs including PEN, Reporters Without Borders, IPI

DW and Mumay's other employer in Germany, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper, protested the original verdict in 2023, with support from Reporters Without Borders and the German branch of the writers' NGO known as PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelists). 

The International Press Institute (IPI) also issued a critical statement following Mumay's latest failed appeal on August 20. 

"This verdict represents a severe assault on press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey, further eroding the foundations of democratic discourse in the country," the IPI said. "We urgently call on Turkish authorities to end their harassment of critical journalists. Mumay's case is emblematic of the systematic repression of independent journalism in Turkey."

Mumay was also arrested and later released in 2016 in the days following the coup attempt in Turkey, for which Erdogan's government blames US-based former Erdogan ally Fethullah Gülen. This was part of a widespread crackdown that often targeted journalists following the failed coup.

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Mumay has continued his journalistic activity during the current process, often taking positions that are critical of or disagree with Turkey's government. He for instance is much more critical of Hamas in the context of the conflict in Gaza than President Erdogan, who tends to be among the most strident critics of Israel among world leaders and certainly among NATO member states.

"The government wants a press that supports it and aligns with it in all its actions, not just in foreign policy," Mumay said. "But what they want is not journalism, it is public relations. The palace regime is trying to silence or align itself with anyone who is not 100% loyal to it through these kinds of cases. To be honest, there are very few journalists left in this country who oppose this."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Turkey was still among the top 10 jailers of journalists worldwide in 2023, albeit with considerably fewer behind bars, at 13, than in the previous year, when the NGO put the figure at 40.

Mumay believes the government has become more repressive during Preisdent Erdogan's long tenure and hopes to contribute to resisting this.

"Any social change comes at a price," he said. "Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for 22 years, started to lose support in society as he increased his powers. As he himself is aware, he has increased his pressure on both the press and the opposition. But anyone who reads history well knows that it is impossible to stop change. It can only delay it a little."

msh/rt (DW sources)