The case of Bülent Mumay in Türkiye

European Parliament resolution of 10 October 2024 on the case of Bülent Mumay in Türkiye (2024/2856(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its previous reports and resolutions on Türkiye,

–having regard to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, which ranks Türkiye 158th out of 180 countries,

–having regard to Rules 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas, on 6 May 2023, Bülent Mumay, a Turkish journalist and coordinator of the Istanbul bureau of Deutsche Welle’s Turkish editorial office, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for social media posts about a pro-government company’s seizure of Istanbul Municipality’s subway funds during the AKP administration; whereas his appeal was rejected, and his tweets removed;

B.whereas, on 20 August 2024, Istanbul’s 26th Regional Court, acting as an appeals court, upheld the sentence and ordered the Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block access to news reports about the upheld prison sentence;

C.whereas the verdict, coupled with repeated censorship, demonstrates the escalating pressure on press freedom in Türkiye, with Bülent Mumay’s case not being an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of judicial harassment and censorship targeting Türkiye’s independent media;

D.whereas Türkiye, as a member of the Council of Europe and EU candidate country, is required to apply the highest democratic standards and practices, including respect for human rights, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms (such as press freedom and freedom of expression), the universal right to a fair trial and strict respect for the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to due process;

1.Condemns the sentence against Bülent Mumay, which follows a broader pattern of silencing critical journalism; calls on the Turkish authorities to drop the charges against Bülent Mumay, and all arbitrarily detained media workers and journalists, as well as political opponents, human rights defenders, civil servants and academics;

2.Is deeply concerned about the ongoing deterioration of democratic standards in Türkiye, relentless crackdown on any critical voices and targeting of independent journalists, activists and opposition members amid frequent reports of legal intimidation, censorship and financial coercion as ways to suppress criticism and investigative journalism;

3.Deplores the fact that, the Turkish Government, through a number of laws, including the 2020 social media law, the 2021 anti-money laundering law, and the 2022 disinformation law, has built a complex web of legislation serving as a tool to systematically control and silence journalists; is highly concerned about the new ‘foreign agent regulation’ to be introduced by the end of 2024;

4.Continues to condemn the lack of independence of the prosecution and judiciary and the political instrumentalisation of the judicial system in Türkiye and calls on the Turkish authorities to restore judicial independence, respect press freedom and ensure compliance with international human rights obligations;

5.Calls on the EEAS to adequately support the EU Delegation to Türkiye in intensifying trial observation of detained journalists and media workers and raising their cases with the Turkish authorities at all levels, while maintaining close relations with civil society;

6.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, and the President, Government and Parliament of Türkiye and have it translated into Turkish.