Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish pres Gül to veto Internet bill, criticizes gov't over Zeynalov's deportation.

Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Turkish pres Gül to veto Internet bill, criticizes gov't over Zeynalov's deportation.(TZ).

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has criticized the deportation of Mahir Zeynalov -- an Azerbaijani journalist working for Today's Zaman -- for posting tweets critical of the government as well as the controversial Internet bill passed by Parliament on Wednesday, calling on the Turkish president to veto the newly passed law.

Commenting on the deportation of Today's Zaman journalist Zeynalov, who was deported from the country on Friday morning back to his native Azerbaijan, the committee said, “Nothing can justify such a punishment given to a journalist for sharing thoughts on social media."

Nina Ognianova, coordinator of the Europe and Central Asia Program of the Committee, expressing her thoughts regarding the deportation of Zeynalov said: “Deporting a journalist is a rigid sanction. The Turkish authorities urgently should halt this decision. This person, no matter what origin he is from, should not be punished for expressing his ideas and thoughts.”

Ognianova, adding that they work diligently to solve the difficulties the journalists face around the world, said, “The decision to deport this journalist is harsh and will affect the reputation of Turkey, already notorious for restrictions of press freedom.”

The committee also bashed the newly passed Internet bill, which will give the Turkish government huge control over the Internet by allowing web pages to be blocked without first obtaining a court order. According to the bill, the head of the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) will be authorized to block access to a web page on his own initiative in the event there is a request concerning the violation of the right to privacy."

These amendments have no place in a democratic society. They go far beyond the restrictions on speech allowed by Turkey's existing Internet law and they are inconsistent with international norms," said Geoffrey King, CPJ's Internet advocacy coordinator said.King, expressing his concerns over Internet freedom and people's right of access to information in Turkey, added: “"Moreover, it's hard to believe these powers will be exercised in a restrained manner, given the dismal press freedom record of the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."According to research conducted by the CPJ, Turkey's existing Internet law, Law 5651, already led to the blockage of thousands of websites by court order. According to Google, Turkey issues requests to Google to remove content three times more than other countries.Also, Turkey has been listed as having the highest number of journalists in prison, according to a report issued by the CPJ in December 2013.