No News about Honor Crimes or Corruption

Women courthouse reporters said that the new Press Law draft recently presented to the parliament would ban journalists from making news about honor crimes and torture.

They said news on the media about honor crimes and torture led to the discussion of these issues for the first time in Turkey, and had positive outcomes.

"News about the Manisa case, Susurluk case, Altunbas case and about honor crimes contributed to Turkey's European Union bid," said Demet Bilge, a courthouse reporter for the daily "Radikal".

"This draft comes at a time when the public's demand for news is increasing. We will hesitate before writing certain stories," said Hacer Yucel, a courthouse reporter for the daily "Gunluk Evrensel."

"With reforms and harmonization laws, many issues have begun to be discussed. I see this legal regulation as censorship," said journalist Hatice Yasar.

Bilge: Media would contribute to Turkey's EU bid

Women courthouse reporters agree that the new Press Law, if remains unchanged, would hurt judicial journalism.

Bilge said the law would directly affect all news written about a certain trial. "Preparation investigations were already secret. But, if I am not mistaken, the new law bans writing about the trial process too."

Bilge said the regulation was against the approach that "hearings are public."

"We used to be able to write about developments in different stages of a trial," she said.

"No reporter writes a story with the intention of affecting the trial process. The judge had the authority to hold a closed-doors hearing if necessary."

Yucel: We will hesitate before writing a story

Yucel talked about the difficulties of covering courthouse news. "Our days go by trying to cover courthouse news. We are mostly dealing with cases at the process of being investigated or cases that are going on." Yucel also objected to the draft law.

"With such a law, we will hesitate before writing our news stories."

Yasar: This regulation is censorship

"I look at the regulation as a censorship," said journalist Yasar. She said writing about cases like honor crimes led to discussions about those issues and improved the situation.(EO/BB/EA/YE)