Determinants of freedom of opinion and expression in peaceful protests: Turkey as a model

Abstract

   Freedom of expression and opinion enjoys great importance in all societies, and defending it is an essential and necessary part of international covenants, as it is the pillar of other freedoms that include the right to thought, conscience, religion, etc. It is connected with freedom of peaceful demonstrations  and participation in protests through which individuals express their opinions freely.

In Turkey it is found that despite laws and constitution containing many articles that guarantee freedom of opinion and expression, it practices many violations of these freedoms by arbitrary means, such as arrest and imprisonment in criminal and terrorist cases, and the use of excessive force to disperse peaceful protests, and it does not commit itself with the articles of the International Covenant to which it voluntarily joined, which prohibits restricting the right of opinion and expression, in a way that empties it of its basic content. The Turkish government has also worked on political interference in the Turkish judiciary and the trial of individuals despite the absence of evidence.