The Human Rights Centre at Ghent University is supporting a student initiative to organize an event on (restrictions of) press freedom and other fundamental rights in Turkey. They intend this to be in particular an evening of solidarity with the journalists of the newspaper Cumhuriyet who have been arrested (this came about because one of our students befriended the son of the editor-in-chief of this newspaper during a student exchange programme in Germany, where they organized a similar event).
We are hoping that the European Federation of Journalists would be able to provide a speaker at this event.
The event takes place on 29 March 2017, 20-22h, at Ghent University. It will be an evening of debate, at which the speakers (a journalist, an academic, and 2 NGO representatives) will first make statements of 10-15 minutes, followed by some debate among the panelists and with the audience.
The ‘freedom of journalists’-subject will be approached widely, covering the legal background of this basic right and the broader context of the restriction of fundamental rights in Turkey today.
The event will be open to students and to the general public.
We would like to thank you for considering our invitation.
Best regards,
Eva Brems
Professor of Human Rights Law
Department of European, Public and International Law
Human Rights Centre
Campus Aula, Universiteitstraat 4, B-9000 Gent, Belgium