Turkey Mulls Jail For Publishing ‘Unapproved’ Economic Data

Economists in Turkey may face up to three years in prison for publishing ‘unofficial’ data on indicators without first obtaining approval from the country’s statistics agency, according to Bloomberg, which has seen a draft of the a law currently being drafted by the governing AK party.

The proposed legislation was set to be introduced to parliament this week, however two party officials speaking on condition of anonymity say there’s further work to be done on it.

The move comes as blistering inflation followed an earlier slump in the value of the lira – while Turkish elections are just over a year away.

In March, independent inflation researcher, ENAGroup, reported an annual inflation rate of 142.63% – more than double the official figure of 61.14%…

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…leading to the Turkish Statistical Institute to file a complaint, accusing ENAGroup of “purposefully defaming” the institution and “misguiding public opinion.”

The draft law seen by Bloomberg would bar researchers from publishing any data on any platform without seeking approval from the statistics agency, which would have two months to assess methodology. Those found guilty of violating the law may face between 1 and 3 years in jail. -Bloomberg

An original version of the bill envisioned broadcast bans for websites that publish unapproved statistics – which ENAGroup has done, along with posting data on Twitter. 

“Some of the manipulative statistics presented to the public under the name of scientific study without a clear methodology target both the Turkish Statistical Institute and the confidence in economic indicators,” reads the draft.