The ECHR's Oversight in Karaca

Failing to Unveil The Ulterior Motive and Acknowledge The Violation of The Journalist’s Right to Freedom of Expression

Abstract

Following the 17/25 investigations which implicated the members of the Erdogan government and his own family in a colossal scale corruption scandal, Erdogan and his fellows have initiated a relentless campaign against the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement, accusing the Movement of framing a conspiracy to overthrow his government under the pretext of corruption investigations. Then, a failed coup attempt came into play on July 15, 2016, which Erdogan called as “a gift from God”. In the aftermath of the failed coup attempt, hundreds of thousands of perceived members of the Movement were arrested and subjected to politically motivated criminal proceedings on trumped-up terrorism charges as if they had anything to do with the failed coup attempt. Hidayet Karaca, a journalist since 1994 and the General Director of Samanyolu TV at the time of his arrest, was one of the victims of the Government’s brutal crackdown on the Movement. He was arrested long before the coup attempt and charged with leading an armed terrorist organization on bogus charges. Recently, he received a judgment from the ECHR, concluding, inter alia, that his excessive pre-trial detention in prison was a violation of his rights under Article 5 of the European Convention. However, the Court did not find a violation of his right to freedom of expression, notwithstanding that the core of the criminal proceedings levied against him was rested upon his authorization of the broadcast of three episodes conjoined with a TV series. This article delves into two pivotal aspects of the case: first, the importance of scrutinizing the case’s contextual backdrop as an indispensable path to deciphering the ulterior motive in the case, and the Court’s failure to acknowledge the primary issue in the case, that is central to the determination of violation of the applicant’s right to freedom of expression.