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ANKARA: US Group: Turkey Ranked Partly Free In Press Freedom Index

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  • ANKARA: US Group: Turkey Ranked Partly Free In Press Freedom Index

    US GROUP: TURKEY RANKED PARTLY FREE IN PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    May 1 2008

    Although Western Europe has continued to boast the highest level of
    press freedom worldwide, Turkey is the only country ranked as "partly
    free" in the region following a two-point dip in the country's score,
    the US-based Freedom House announced in a report on Tuesday.

    The survey, released annually in advance of World Press Freedom
    Day on May 3, assessed the degree of print, broadcast and Internet
    freedom in every country in the world. Out of the 2008 ratings of
    195 countries and territories, 72 (37 percent) were rated "Free,"
    59 (30 percent) "Partly Free" and 64 (33 percent) "Not Free." The
    evaluations are based on an assessment of the legal, political and
    economic environments in which journalists worked during 2007.

    "The continued prosecution of large numbers of journalists and the
    high-profile January 2007 assassination of Turkish-Armenian editor
    Hrant Dink, apparently with some involvement by state actors, were
    the primary factors behind a two-point decline in the score from
    49 to 51," according to the report, titled "Press Freedom in 2007:
    A Year of Global Decline."

    Turkey's legal and political environments were both ranked 20 and
    its economic environment ranked 11. A lower number indicates more
    freedom. "With heightened polarization regarding issues of secularism,
    nationalism and separatism, reform efforts toward enhanced freedom
    of expression stalled in 2007," the report said.

    The report also noted developments related to the newly revised
    Article 301, which restricts freedom of expression. "Convictions
    against journalists are made much less frequently than are
    prosecutions, but trials are time-consuming and expensive. A total
    of six convictions were made for charges under Article 301 in 2007
    (nine were acquitted). In a positive development, the Supreme Court of
    Appeals confirmed a lower court's prior decision to drop the Article
    301 case against Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk in August."

    Freedom House noted setbacks in press freedom outnumbered advances two
    to one globally and that there was some improvement in the regions with
    the least press freedom: the Middle East and North Africa. Gains in
    these regions have been attributed to a growing number of journalists
    who are willing to "challenge government restraints, a pushback trend
    seen in other regions as well."

    Western Europe continued to boast the highest level of press freedom
    worldwide in 2007, with 24 countries (96 percent) being listed as
    free, including top-ranked Finland and Iceland and lower-ranked
    Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland,
    Estonia, Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic and the United
    Kingdom. Countries registering declines included Portugal, whose
    score worsened due to a new law that could strip journalists of their
    right to protect confidential sources and gives employers the right
    to reuse journalists' work in any way for 30 days following initial
    publication, as well as Malta, whose score deteriorated by several
    points due to a series of a threats and attacks against journalists
    covering public demonstrations and debates.
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