In Turkey, Criticizing a Corporation Can Land You in Jail
Turkish labor leader Mehmet Türkmen was jailed for spreading “disinformation” after he criticized a business where a worker lost both arms in an accident. It’s part of a wider crackdown designed to suppress trade unions that speak up for workers.
Last year, at least 2,105 workers in Turkey were killed on the job: an average of six deaths every single day. Yet the labor organizers who dare to speak up against these lethal conditions are routinely thrown in jail. (Adem Altan / AFP via Getty Images)
“In this country, laws don’t apply to the rich.”
These words are the reason why Mehmet Türkmen, president of the United Textile, Weaving and Leather Workers’ Union (BİRTEK-SEN), spent two months behind bars. The charge was “publicly disseminating misleading information.” Speaking at a labor protest in southeast Turkey, Türkmen had criticized the impunity of bosses after a grim incident where a worker lost both arms in a factory machine.
Just days later, Esra Işık — a leading voice among villagers fighting a mining giant’s environmental destruction — was arrested. That set off a chain reaction. Başaran Aksu, a coordinator for the labor group Umut-Sen, claimed Işık’s arrest was “ordered” by Limak Holding, the conglomerate behind the contested Akbelen mine project. He was jailed on the same charge. Doğukan Akan, a legal officer for the Independent Mine Workers’ Union, called Aksu’s arrest “proof that the judiciary takes orders from holding companies.” Then he too was swept up in the dragnet.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.