Turkish media ignore ban on coverage of Ankara blast probe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish newspapers defied a ban on coverage of the investigation into the country’s deadliest terrorist attack, as critics accused the government of censorship ahead of critical elections, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A Turkish court this week broadly banned reports about the probe into twin Oct. 10 bombings that killed at least 100 people, a ruling officials say is necessary to avoid damaging the investigation.

The Ankara Bar Association has appealed the ban. Opposition and mainstream news outlets published details about the weekend attack and alleged negligence by the state for failing to stop it, a charge the government denies.

“Why should we implement an order that has no legal basis?” Cumhuriyet, one of Turkey’s oldest dailies, asked on Thursday, October 15. “For us, the coverage blackout doesn’t exist.”

Coverage bans have become common in recent years, and pressure on the media has grown after June elections ended the 13-year majority rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP—which hopes to regain its full power in elections on November 1.

“Every incident that ensnares the government is being censored with media bans,” read the headline of staunchly antigovernment Sozcu newspaper on Friday. “The constitution declares that the press is free and cannot be censored.”

Though Turkish courts act independently, some critics have warned that the judiciary has become a political tool. Media outlets that ignore the ban could be raided or sued, raising a host of legal headaches.

On Thursday, the European Union’s commissioner for human rights, Nils Muižnieks, criticized the coverage ban as hampering the public’s “legitimate need” for information. The move marks the latest disconcerting move against freedom of expression in Turkey, he said.