VIENNA, Austria — A new law on media and internet censorship that is to be enforced in Turkey soon could limit media freedom and access to information, the OSCE said on Tuesday (May 17th). In a letter to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic expressed concern about a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court, allowing prosecutors to file criminal cases against journalists years after material was published. Previously, this term was two months for journalists in daily papers and four months for those in other printed media. The OSCE warned that if these provisions remain, journalists who express critical views will work in constant fear.
Mijatovic also expressed concern about government plans to introduce mandatory content filtering for all internet users in August. “Internet users must have the freedom to make an independent decision about using content filters. If enforced, this regulation would contravene OSCE and international standards on the free flow of information,” she added. (OSCE website, Hurriyet, Aksam – 17/05/11)
via OSCE concerned about internet filters, media restrictions in Turkey (SETimes.com).
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