Over recent years, censorship of the press in Turkey has been under international scrutiny, having been examined on the basis of recent political developments such as the Justice and Development Party’s democratisation promises with the incentive of the EU accession process and the role of the press in Turkey’s democratisation. This research aims to widen the terms of reference by providing a unifying framework for the problems posed by political, historical, and legal agents to press freedom, and analysing their interrelation throughout the history of modern Turkey. It seeks to identify the hindrances encountered by the press, which has its roots in the deep-seated State ideology and institutional framework that prioritises state security over individual rights and freedoms. This thesis therefore sets forth the inextricable link between the political history of Turkey and the current application of the law, and presents an in-depth analysis of Turkish political history in relation to press freedom, legal scholarship, and case-law as evidence to demonstrate this. The analysis of the obstacles to establishing stronger legal protection for the press that would not be affected by political change, is based on doctrinal and socio-legal analysis that investigates the flaws in the Turkish Constitution, Turkish Penal Code and Turkish Anti-Terror Law and questions the judicial approach to the implementation of the right to free expression of the press. The thesis specifies the loopholes in Turkish legislation that allow insufficient legal protection for freedom of the press and the inefficiency of the judiciary to realise the press’s right to free expression. The thesis recommends practical amendments to clarify broadly drawn legal provisions. A reduction in judicial bureaucracy to eliminate political influences on the judiciary. Judicial training for the internalisation of the right to free expression of the press as a human right . All of which would help overcome institutional hindrances based on the perception of a critical press as a threat to state security and national interest.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:699310 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Aykota, Cansu |
| Contributors | Heitsch, C. |
| Publisher | Brunel University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/13657 |
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