November, 03 2019, 11:00pm EDT
A Dark Day for Press Freedom in Turkey After Politically Motivated Trial Injustice
Following a trial court's decision to sentence Nazli Ilicak and Ahmet Altan to 10-and-a-half, and 8 years and 9 months in prison, on ludicrous charges of "knowingly and willingly assisting a terrorist organization," Sara Hall, Deputy Regional Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International, said:
WASHINGTON
Following a trial court's decision to sentence Nazli Ilicak and Ahmet Altan to 10-and-a-half, and 8 years and 9 months in prison, on ludicrous charges of "knowingly and willingly assisting a terrorist organization," Sara Hall, Deputy Regional Director of Campaigns for Amnesty International, said:
"The convictions of Ahmet Altan and NazliI licak are shocking and the sentences imposed on them are outrageous. While it is a relief that they will be released on bail pending appeal, the fact that they have been convicted without a shred of evidence presented against them, is not justice.
"This is a yet another dark day for freedom of expression and for justice in Turkey which increases the country's suffocating climate of fear.
"What should have been an opportunity to undo a wrong and dismiss this politically motivated prosecution, has only exposed the broken nature of Turkey's justice system. More than a year after lifting the state of emergency and despite the promise of 'reform,' Turkey's judiciary remains in a downward spiral."
Background
Nazli Ilicak and Ahmet Altan have been in pre-trial detention for over three years on bogus charges. They were initially charged with "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order" and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. They are now being re-tried on terrorism charges following a decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals in July 2019.
Another defendant, journalist and academic Mehmet Altan was acquitted and the judicial control measures imposed on him were lifted.
The three other defendants in the case, Fevzi Yazici, Yakup Simsek and Sukru Tugrul Ozsengul, reportedly received lengthy prison terms for "membership in a terrorist organization" and the court ruled for their continued detention in prison.
This statement is available at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/a-dark-day-for-press-freedom-in-turkey-after-politically-motivated-trial-injustice
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Congressional Report Calls Trump Deportation Plan 'Catastrophic' for Economy
"All it will do is raise grocery prices, destroy jobs, and shrink the economy," JEC Chair Martin Heinrich said of the president-elect's plan to deport millions of immigrants.
Dec 12, 2024
Echoing recent warnings from economists, business leaders, news reporting, and immigrant rights groups, Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee detailed Thursday how President-elect Donald Trump's planned mass deportations "would deliver a catastrophic blow to the U.S. economy."
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There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and Trump—who is set to be sworn in next month—has even suggested he would deport children who are American citizens with their parents who are not and attempt to end birthright citizenship.
Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
- Reduce real gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 7.4% by 2028;
- Reduce the supply of workers for key industries, including by up to 225,000 workers in agriculture and 1.5 million workers in construction;
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Highlighting how mass deportations would harm not only undocumented immigrants but also U.S. citizens, the report explains that construction worker losses would "make housing even harder to build, raising its cost," and "reduce the supply of farmworkers who keep Americans fed as well as the supply of home health aides at a time when more Americans are aging and requiring assistance."
In addition to reducing home care labor, Trump's deportation plan would specifically harm seniors by reducing money for key government benefits that only serve U.S. citizens. The report references estimates that it "would cut $23 billion in funds for Social Security and $6 billion from Medicare each year because these workers would no longer pay into these programs."
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who chairs the JEC, said Thursday that "as a son of an immigrant, I know how hard immigrants work, how much they believe in this country, and how much they're willing to give back. They are the backbone of our economy and the driving force behind our nation's growth and prosperity."
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Along with laying out the economic toll of Trump's promised deportations, the JEC report makes the case that "providing a pathway to citizenship is good economics. Immigrants are helping meet labor demand while also demonstrating that more legal pathways to working in the United States are needed to meet this demand."
"Additionally, research shows that expanding legal immigration pathways can reduce irregular border crossings, leading to more secure and regulated borders," the publication says. "This approach is vital for managing increased migration to the United States, especially as more people flee their home countries due to the continued risk of violence, persecution, economic conditions, natural disasters, and climate change."
The JEC report followed a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that explored how mass deportations would not only devastate the U.S. economy but also harm the armed forces and tear apart American families.
In a statement, Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the advocacy group America's Voice, thanked Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) "for calling this important discussion together and shining a spotlight on the potential damage."
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"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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The Federal Reserve Board exempted banks from Truth in Lending Act protections in 1969, allowing them to charge overdraft fees without disclosing their terms to consumers.
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Police use of "catch-and-release" tactics is particularly worrying for press freedom advocates, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
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The tracker reports that journalists were arrested or detained by police at least 48 times this year—eclipsing the number of arrests that took place in the previous two years combined, and constituting the third highest number of yearly arrests and detentions since the project began cataloging press freedom violations in 2017. 2020, however, still stands as far and away the year with the most arrests and detentions.
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