3 May has been celebrated worldwide as ‘World Press Freedom Day’ since 1991.
We celebrated it too…
What did we do?
In our esteemed Parliament; we dealt yet another ‘blow’ to the ‘press freedom’ that has been limping along…
We have imposed restrictions on:
Our people’s right to receive news…
Society’s right to learn the truth…
Freedom of expression, which is indispensable to democracy…
We paid no heed to what is written in our ‘Constitution’…
Without hesitation or qualms, we imposed a new ‘censorship’ on the press…
This is our second ‘absurdity’ regarding ‘restrictions’ on the press, following the ‘Law on the Protection of Private Life and the Private Sphere’ passed by Parliament in 2014…
Back then, too, as if fleeing a fire ‘suddenly and rapidly’, under the pretext of “We need to protect private life”, prison sentences were envisaged for journalists.
Those publishing documents, recordings, or videos, or taking photographs, faced up to five years in prison…
Eleven years have passed… With this law, many of our citizens, along with journalists, have been ‘victimised’.
Now, it is forbidden to publish the names, or photographs of witnesses, prosecution, or those on trial. If an ordinary citizen does this, they face three months in prison; if a journalist does it, they face one year.
I am quoting Article 23B of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act verbatim:
“Any person who, in connection with a crime for which a suspect or an unconvicted person is being tried, or in such a trial, publicly writes, displays, prints, shares, or in any way exposes the full name or photograph of a suspect or an unconvicted person in connection with the offence for which they are being tried, or of a person who has filed a complaint or acted as a witness in such a trial, commits a minor offence and, upon conviction, may be sentenced to up to three months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the current monthly gross minimum wage, or both.
Any person who commits the above act through the press, publications, internet media or social media commits a minor offence and, upon conviction, may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to four times the current monthly gross minimum wage, or both.”
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Let us first make this clear;
Was amending the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act a necessity?
Yes… It was a serious necessity…
In fact, this law, passed by Parliament, introduced very significant improvements to legal processes.
However, in doing so, a ‘trick’ was employed…
They concealed this ‘censorship’ clause within a host of positive new amendments…
In other words, they employed the tactic often referred to in the British media as the ‘Trojan Horse’…
Insidiously, they injected the ‘poison’ aimed at the media, into the law…
Here, we must consider the following:
Who sought to ‘sneak’ this clause into the law? What benefit did they derive from it?
Naturally, the finger of suspicion points at Ünal Üstel.
It is clear from the statements made that Üstel ‘pressured’ the ‘Bar Association’ considerably during the drafting of the law…
It is clear that the Bar Association did not follow a ‘democratic’ path within its own ranks during this process; it failed to involve certain subsidiary bodies, sidelined them, and was used as a tool for this ugly ‘censorship’.
The Bar Association’s internal debates, which have also been reflected in the public sphere, make this abundantly clear.
Whilst some lawyer members were blaming one another over this matter, two lawyers who were members of the “Human Rights Committee” and had criticised the Bar Association’s management resigned from their posts.
Alongside this ‘lack of communication’ within the Bar Association, the failure of journalists’ organisations to act with sufficient sensitivity and the main opposition party’s lack of preparedness resulted in this bill being approved by Parliament.
In this ‘operation’, Ünal Üstel had far too many ‘personal motives’.
So let us be clear: even if all opposition had intensified, this law would have passed anyway.
His own ‘MPs’ and coalition partners were already waiting like ‘puppets’ at Üstel’s beck and call…
Their hands were up…
Whilst the ‘female figure’ of his party was on trial over allegations of a fake degree…
Whilst his four-year-long undersecretary—his right-hand man—was on trial for accepting, offering and giving bribes…
Whilst the Chairman of the Central Tender Commission (MİK), whom he had appointed, was arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of office…
Whilst The Chairman of the Housing Committee was being accused of the ‘abuse of office’…
Whilst photographs of all this were being published in the media, with names explicitly named, it was Mr. Ünal who was suffering the greatest political damage.
That is why the man, like an ‘illusionist’, blindfolded everyone and managed to impose ‘censorship’ on the media…
Üstel’s main target was, without a doubt, Serdinç Maypa…
Maypa’s harsh criticisms, delivered in a ‘common’ tone, were resonating with the public.
That is why he chose the ‘gang beating’ tactic and dealt a solid ‘slap’ to the entire media…
On this matter, I would like to acknowledge with appreciation the efforts of Sami Özuslu, who pleaded desperately in Parliament, shouting “Please don’t do this” and warning with examples of the consequences this would entail.
The situation we find ourselves in is truly painful…
There are mayors on trial… You will keep their names secret…
In the ISIAS case, which he himself frequently attends, you will no longer be able to utter the name ‘Bozkurt’.
Your headline will read: “A woman close to the Prime Minister, a member of the UBP, is accused of obtaining a fake diploma…”
You will present your journalism as if it were a riddle…
I condemn the MPs who could bring themselves to vote for this law, for raising their hands in support of this great ‘ignorance’…
Even though far harsher ‘swear words’ come to my lips, I console myself by saying, “It’s not worth it”…
Do you see the ‘disgraceful’ point we have reached?
This article was originally published on 12.05.2026
Source: A TRUE ‘TROJAN HORSE’ OPERATION
