Teens targeted as Turkey cracks down on speech

ISTANBUL — A high school student, a former beauty queen and a slew of Turkish journalists are among a growing number of people facing prison sentences for engaging in political dissent, part of what critics say is a widening government crackdown on freedom of speech.

In the last week alone, Turkish authorities questioned, detained or indicted more than a dozen people accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which — along with berating other top government officials — is forbidden under Turkey's penal code.

While Turkish journalists who run afoul of the government line have long complained of political pressure and outright censorship, ordinary citizens — including teenagers — are increasingly facing harsh penalties and jail time.

"There's been a huge escalation in punishment for speech. The traditional modes of censorship that had been applied to Turkish journalists are now starting to be applied to social media users," said Nate Schenkkan, a Turkey expert at Freedom House, a non-profit group in Washington that seeks to encourage democracy. "President Erdoğan is visibly and clearly seeking to consolidate power under himself."

A key U.S. ally in a volatile region and NATO member, Turkey was until the past couple years held up as a model democracy in an unstable part of the world. But the latest restrictions have drawn rebuke from lawmakers in Washington. Citing intimidation of media and censorship of the press, 74 senators last week called on the State Department to take up the issue with the Erdoğan administration.

While the country is no longer known as the world's leading jailer of reporters, prosecutions remain an issue. The Turkish Journalists' Association this week reported government officials have filed more than 100 lawsuits against at least 60 reporters since 2013. On Tuesday, two cartoonists from the satirical magazine Penguen were convicted and fined $2,700 each for insulting Erdoğan in a caricature that made a reference to the difficult environment for journalists in the country.

Turkey's insult laws have been on the books for years, but analysts say they've been used more aggressively since Erdoğan became the country's first directly elected president in August after serving as prime minister for more than a decade.

Merve Buyuksarac, a model and 2006 Miss Turkey winner, faces up to two years in prison for sharing a poem on Instagram that prosecutors claim insults the president. The same fate could await a 16-year-old student, who is on trial for insulting Erdoğan during a student protest in the central Anatolian city of Konya. Last month, police questioned a 13-year-old boy over a Facebook post.

There are other signs of a clampdown on free speech. Last week the parliament approved new Internet controls that would allow cabinet members to block websites without a court order. More than 67,000 websites are already inaccessible in Turkey, including those of an atheist association and the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. While last year's ban on Twitter was eventually overturned, the company received more content removal requests from Turkey than any other country.

Government officials insist they are simply upholding the rule of law. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended Turkey's censorship record in January, saying that "freedom of expression does not mean freedom to insult."

But some believe authorities are seeking to stifle dissent ahead of the June 7 general elections.

"The political authority's ultimate aim is to control social media platform in a very strict fashion," said Asli Tunc, a professor of communication at Istanbul Bilgi University. "Twitter proved to be a very powerful tool for critical voices to get organized in many social movements and protests."

Public anger has been mounting over what critics describe as Erdoğan's increasingly top-down exercise of power. In 2013, what began as a peaceful demonstration against plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park spiraled into nationwide anti-government protests, following a harsh police crackdown that killed several people and wounded thousands. Public unrest has continued periodically since then.

Erdoğan has made no secret of his ambitions to enhance the power of the presidency, purging thousands of police officers and prosecutors believed to be loyal to his opponents, while overhauling the judiciary. The developments have sparked fear that Turkey is heading toward authoritarian rule.

"I'm not sure we can say any longer that Turkey is a democracy," said Kerem Altiparmak, professor of law at Ankara University. "The government is controlling the judiciary, universities, military and mass media. Now they're initiating criminal cases against ordinary people and this has a huge chilling effect."