ARTICLE 19

The right to information is crucial for maintaining public awareness and trust, fighting misinformation, ensuring accountability, and developing and monitoring implementation of public policies aimed at tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where a state of emergency has been declared, voters’ entitlement to receive reliable information about candidates and voting processes – and to exchange political opinions – remains unchanged. Political parties and candidates must be allowed to have access to the electorate on an equal basis.

“While we welcome any measures taken to alleviate overcrowding in Turkey’s prisons, the new measures unjustifiably exclude tens of thousands who are imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their rights.”

While news that the Turkish government is preparing a draft law to release up to 100,000 prisoners is welcome, the package of measures does not include journalists, human rights defenders and others imprisoned for simply exercising their rights.

“These measures must be strictly time-limited and kept under regular Parliamentary scrutiny to ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate to the threat we face. Crucially, for public to trust government, transparency and accountability must be at the heart of our democratic societies’ response to this crisis”.

“The global effort to combat COVID-19 will not be successful unless there is full transparency about the spread of the virus, the sharing of accurate public information and independent media coverage.”

Free expression groups call on governments, NGOs and others to use our checklist to identify eligible candidates for the upcoming vacancy for the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

From a lack of government transparency, to Internet restrictions and US sanctions, access to information and freedom of expression are crucial in controlling a growing health crisis in Iran says ARTICLE 19.