The Wire Staff 
Turkey: Dozens of Turkish journalists have been harassed, detained or prevented from reporting on the deadly earthquakes that hit the country earlier this month – and at least four are being investigated for reporting or commenting on the tragedy.
According to the BBC, Mir Ali Koçer, travelled 200 miles to the epicentre of the earthquake, which occurred on February 6, and has been sharing stories of survivors and rescuers on Twitter. At least 50,000 were killed because of earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey.
The Kurdish journalist, who contributes to pro-opposition news outlets such as Bianet and Duvar, is now under investigation on suspicion of spreading “fake news”, for which he could face up to three years in jail, the report says.
In both countries, criticism has been levelled at the administrations – led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey and Bashar al-Assad in Syria – for inadequate rescue efforts. Fingers have also been pointed at the Turkish state for its inability to implement safety codes, which resulted in newly-built complexes collapsing – despite being touted as luxury housing “compliant with the latest earthquake safety standards”.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has deemed the investigation “absurd” and urged the authorities to drop it. According to the BBC, Koçer is under investigation for violating a “disinformation law” that was adopted in October 2022. Though the law criminalises spreading of disinformation, it was criticised for giving the state much broader powers to control news sites and social media.
Erdogan, when visiting affected sites, has not pledged to rebuild the cities but also warned those spreading “fake news” and “causing social chaos” of prosecution, even calling them “provocateurs”.
The BBC said that the police have detained at least 134 people for “provocative posts”, out of which 25 have been arrested.
Among those who have been targeted are Merdan Yanardağ and Enver Aysever, well-known political commentators with large social media followings. Mehmet Güleş was detained for “inciting hatred” for interviewing a volunteer critical of the government’s rescue effort.
Cyber rights expert, Yaman Akdeniz told the BBC that “the government is trying to suppress information coming from the quake zone”.
Arzu Geybulla, a journalist in Istanbul covering digital authoritarianism and censorship, told the British broadcaster that any time Turkish officials and the government are criticised, they don’t like it. “But this time they are perhaps more vocal.”