What happened after the survivors from the raft of the Medusa were rescued is another story.
The Raft's voyage had lasted thirteen days and cost one hundred and thirty seven lives at least. Reports of the disaster were slow to reach France. While the government did not entirely suppress the news, it sought to hide or soften its most atrocious aspects, and the Ministry of the Navy took particular pains to keep the public from learning of the incompetence and treachery of the Medusa's captain. The first despatches arrived in Brest on 2nd September 1816.
Eight day later, their substance was published in Paris by means of an extremely terse note, inconspicuously inserted in the official Moniteur Universel:
"On 2nd July, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the frigate Medusa was lost, in good weather, on the shoals of the Arguin twenty leagues distant from Cap Blanc (in Africa, between the Canaries and Cap Verde). The Medusa's six launches and lifeboats were able to save a large part of the crew and passengers, but 150 men who attempted to save themselves on a raft, 135 have perished."
Here matters might have rested, if the government could have had its way. But some of the survivors of the raft were about to make their way back to France. One of them, the surgeon Henri Savigny, had spent the days of his return voyage in composing a detailed account of the shipwreck and of the horrors of the raft. On his arrival in France, he submitted his report to an official of the Ministry of the Navy. The Ministry would have been glad to bury it in the files; by mischance, however, a second copy of it fell into the hands of agents of the powerful Prefect of the Police, Elie Decazes, a man of vast ambition, who as the King's intimate favourite, had designs on the government of France. Since it suited Decazes' strategy of the moment to discredit the Minister of the Navy, Debouchage, he allowed Savigny's account to be leaked to the editor of the widely read Journal des Debats, who published it, without official authorisation, on 13th September 1816.
This first full disclosure of the circumstances of the shipwreck of the Medusa burst like a bombshell upon the public. It was immediately taken up by the foreign press, and brought on a resounding scandal, which was only aggravated by the Ministry's clumsy attempts to silence or discredit Savigny.
The political opponents of the monarchy were quick to seize the opportunity for a broad attack on the government. They represented the loss of the Medusa as a political crime, rather than a natural disaster, and put the blame for it on the minister who had appointed the incompetent captain.
It was not difficult for them to turn the shipwreck into an illustration of the danger to which France was exposed by a regime which put dynastic over national interest, gave the command of ships to political favourites and allowed aristocratic officers to abandon their men in times of crisis. To the veterans of the Napoleonic reign, many of them idle, reduced to half-pay and furious at having been displaced by courtiers such as the lamentable de Chaumareys, the catastrophe of the Medusa summed up the plight of France under the Bourbons.
In February and March of 1817, a naval court was quietly convened a warship in the harbour at Rochefort, to try the Medusa's captain. It sentenced de Chaumareys to be degraded and to serve three years in prison - a lenient penalty for a crime which, according to the letter of the military code could have been punished by death. Neither the trial nor the sentence was reported in the press.
Savigny in the meantime had been joined by another survivor of the raft, the naval engineer and geographer, Alexandre Correard. Together the two men continued to petition the government to compensate the victims of the shipwreck and to punish the guilty officers. The government responded with harassment, fines, and imprisonment. more serious still, both Savigny and Correard were dismissed from government service. Destitute and despairing of ministerial justice, they decided to put their case before the nation, this time deliberately and with the intention of achieving the fullest publicity.
Together they wrote an expanded version of Savigny's original report, adding many further details, and had it printed in the form of a substantial book, first offered for sale in November of 1817.The venture was a success from the start. After only a few months, a second enlarged edition was required. Early in in 1818, a full English translation of this second edition appeared in London.
Encouraged, Correard decided to turn his misfortune into a profit. he established himself as a publisher at the Palais royal and began to issue political pamphlets. His shop, under the irresistible sign Au naufrage de la Meduse, remained for years a rallying point for political malcontents and a thorn in the side of the government.
Article 19 is a British human rights organization with a specific mandate and focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide founded in 1987. The organization takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.”
ARTICLE 19
STATEMENT
Turkey: Freedom of expression is essential to preserve democracy post-coup attempt
ARTICLE 19
18 Jul 2016
ARTICLE 19 and the Guardian Foundation call upon the government of Turkey to protect freedom of expression in light of Friday’s attempted coup. This is essential for preserving democracy and respect for human rights.
“We condemn the plot to overthrow a democratically-elected government, and mourn the loss of over 265 people, including one journalist”, said Katie Morris, Head of Europe and Central Asia at ARTICLE 19.
“In light of these tragic events and the current turmoil, the Turkish government must ensure that democracy is protected in Turkey. Freedom of expression is now more important than ever. The Turkish government has long sought to muzzle critical voices in the country. However, in its response to the failed coup, the government must ensure independent media and broader civil society are able to freely and critically report on the situation, and the state must refrain from politically motivated arrests,” added Morris.
Failed Coup
On the evening of 15 July, members of the Turkish army launched an attempted coup to overthrow the government. The plotters were defeated after all major political parties condemned the coup attempt and President Erdogan called upon the population to resist the coup through street protests.
President Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric based in the USA, of having orchestrated the coup. Since a corruption scandal in 2013 which led to the resignation of MPs close to the President, Erdogan has argued that Gulen has sought to create a parallel state within the country, implicating members of the police, judiciary, and media. Accusations of affiliation with the movement have long been levelled at government critics.
In the aftermath of the coup, the Turkish government has arrested thousands of military and civilian personnel accused of involvement in the plan, including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, governors, and civil servants.
The speed with which the arrests have occurred and the lack of credible evidence presented has raised concerns that Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to purge state institutions of any critical voices. World leaders have already expressed concern that the arrests are occurring without appropriate checks and balances, and called upon the Turkish government to respect the rule of law in responding to the coup.
Purging critical voices
Reports that the government plans to arrest journalists and writers suspected of involvement in the coup are particularly worrying.
“We are concerned that the government is using the coup to purge dissident and critical voices. Rumours of forthcoming arrests of independent journalists and other dissidents have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. The government must reassure the public that these are false rumours and actively encourage full public debate on the current situation”, said Ben Hicks, Executive Director of the Guardian Foundation.
On Sunday 17 July, a pro-government Twitter user released a list of more than 70 dissident journalists and writers, allegedly to be detained on suspicion of involvement in the coup. While some of those featured do have links to the Gulen movement, this does not prove involvement in the coup. Moreover, many of those named have no known affiliation to the movement but are well-known for their opposition to the government. They include a number of high profile journalists, such as Can Dundar and Mehmet Altan; columnists working for the few remaining independent media outlets in Turkey; and dissidents working with opposition parties, such as Atilla Tas, a former singer and member of CHP, the Republican People’s Party.
Limiting access to information
President Erdogan has proved sensitive to any form of criticism and over the past year has shut down critical media outlets and harassed remaining independent media in the country. This has enabled the government to dominate mainstream coverage of the coup, severely restricting the public’s access to diverse views on the topic.
Moreover, reliable sources within Turkey have reported that multiple websites have been blocked since Saturday, including a number of independent and critical media.
Attempts to obstruct the free flow of information about the coup and its aftermath undermine democracy within Turkey, hindering the ability of the media and the public more broadly to ensure the government is held accountable for its reaction to recent events, including the mass arrests.
ARTICLE 19 and the Guardian Foundation call upon the government of Turkey to refrain from politically-motivated persecutions in wake of the coup. They must ensure that arrests only occur on the basis of clear evidence and that due process is observed in line with international standards on the right to a fair trial.
The government must further ensure that the public have access to reliable and pluralistic information about the coup and the government’s response. They must ensure the safety of media professionals and provide the media with explicit guarantees that they will not interfere into their reporting. They must also refrain from blocking independent media reporting on events.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/18/european-leaders-urge-turkey-to-respect-rule-of-law-after-failed-coup
The Guardian
Europe and US urge Turkey to respect rule of law after failed coup
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini makes clear that restoration of death penalty in Turkey would rule out EU membership
Patrick Kingsley in Istanbul and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Monday 18 July 2016 11.38 BST Last modified on Monday 18 July 2016 17.05 BST
European politicians and the US secretary of state, John Kerry, have called on Turkey to respect the rule of law amid a purge of state institutions in the aftermath of this weekend’s botched coup.
Speaking at a meeting of Kerry and the EU’s 28 foreign ministers – including the UK’s Boris Johnson – the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the group intended to send a strong message to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“We call for the full observance of Turkey’s constitutional order and we as European Union stress the importance of the rule of law,” Mogherini said. “We need to have Turkey respect democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Kerry told a news briefing: “We also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation’s democratic institutions and the rule of law. We will certainly support bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice but we also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that.”
He said Turkey must provide evidence that “withstands scrutiny” when requesting the extradition of US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, who Erdoğan has blamed for the attempted coup.
As Turkish authorities consider restoring the death penalty, which was outlawed in 2004, Mogherini stressed such a move would rule out EU membership.
“No country can become an EU member state if it introduces the death penalty,” she said, noting that Turkey was a member of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European convention on human rights, which bans capital punishment.
Mogherini said: “[Just as we were] the first ones to say in that tragic night [of the coup on Friday] that the democratic and legitimate institutions needed to be protected, today we will say, together with the ministers, that this obviously doesn’t meant that the rule of law and the system of checks and balances in the country doesn’t count. On the contrary, it needs to be protected for the sake of the country itself. So we will send a strong message on that.”
Turkish officials deny the suggestion that they are acting inappropriately, let alone outside of legal norms.
Mogherini was among several leading politicians to stand by Erdoğan in the early hours of Saturday morning, calling for the coup plotters to back down and respect Turkey’s democratic process.
But there are now concerns that Erdoğan is using the aftermath of the attempted coup to crack down not just on its perpetrators but also on political opponents who were not involved in the rebellion.
Following the coup’s failure, the Turkish government immediately announced the detention of 2,700 judges and prosecutors, and on Monday said 7,850 police officers had been fired. By Sunday, the number of people arrested rose to about 6,000, leading to questions about how many of the arrests were actually linked to the coup. For several years, Erdoğan has been accused of rising authoritarianism, and some argue this is more of the same.
On Saturday and Sunday, Erdoğan and his ministers also spoke of reinstating the death penalty to punish the plotters – a move that would make Turkey ineligible to join the EU, and could also jeopardise the EU-Turkey deal that has markedly reduced the migration flow to Europe.
While Erdoğan and his allies have amplified the sense of an authoritarian crackdown by using language such as “purge” and “cleansing” to describe their backlash, Turkish officials on Monday said the government was not guilty of mission creep.
One Turkish official said those arrested or fired were either clearly involved in the coup or had known ties with those who led it. “I understand that the numbers seem excessive, but right now this is about preventing the next wave of attacks against civilians and government buildings,” he said. “Obviously, the courts will consider evidence and reach their verdicts.”
He added: “I am starting to feel that we are ignoring the fact that the parliament was hit 11 times by hijacked F16s.”
The official also denied that Erdoğan would use the aftermath of the coup to increase his presidential powers. “Right now, our priority is to treat the wounded, bury the dead and bring to justice the people who bombed the parliament three days ago,” the official said.
But some European politicians remained unconvinced. The EU official responsible for Turkey’s request to join the EU, Johannes Hahn, feared that the government was rounding up opponents it had already listed for arrest before the coup.
“It looks at least as if something has been prepared. The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage,” Hahn said before the EU meeting. “I’m very concerned. It is exactly what we feared.”
The Belgian foreign minister, Didier Reynders, also spoke out against the possibility of Turkey reinstating the death penalty, a punishment it abolished in 2004 to apply for EU membership.
Reynders said: “We cannot imagine that from a country that seeks to join the European Union. We must be very firm today, to condemn the coup d’état but the response must respect the rule of law.”
Meanwhile, a video emerged in Turkey that purportedly showed some of the alleged military masterminds of the coup, now handcuffed and in detention. With bruised faces, they give their names – to scorn and derision from interrogators.
“Are you happy now?” an interrogator shouts, before telling them: “Get out – fast.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/18/asia/turkey-attempted-coup/
CNN
EU: Turkey can't join if it introduces death penalty
By Angela Dewan and Ralph Ellis, CNN
Updated 1947 GMT (0347 HKT) July 18, 2016
CNN)Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he would approve reinstating the death penalty if lawmakers backed the measure in Parliament. He called the attempted coup on Friday a "clear crime of treason."
In his first one-on-one interview since the attempted coup by a faction of the military, Erdogan on Monday said citizens are demanding the death penalty for coup plotters.
"The people now have the idea, after so many terrorist incidents, that these terrorists should be killed," Erdogan told CNN's Becky Anderson through his translator. "Why should I keep them and feed them in prisons for years to come?"
The President didn't specify whether he'd seek the death penalty for Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the president says was behind the attempt to overthrow him. He said he'll submit a formal request to the United States within days for Gulen's extradition.
The United States should grant the request, Erdogan said, because the two nations are strategic partners. "There should be reciprocity," he said.
Gulen, who is living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denied he had anything to do with the coup.
Who is Fethullah Gulen?
"Twenty years ago, I clearly stated my support for democracy and I said that there is no return from democracy in Turkey," Gulen said Saturday. "My position on democracy is really clear. Any attempts to overthrow the country is a betrayal to our unity and is treason."Why the coup attempt will shock Turks
If Turkey reintroduces the death penalty, it won't be joining the European Union, according to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
"Let me be very clear on one thing ... No country can become an EU member state if it introduces [the] death penalty," Mogherini said.
7,000 people arrested
Throughout the Monday interview, Erdogan indicated he would rule with an iron fist.Erdogan said he has "no issues" when it comes to a free press, but if media outlets sided with and supported the plotters of the attempted coup, the justice system would need to take steps.
More than 7,000 people have been arrested and some of the very institutions responsible for the country's security have been gutted since Erdogan reasserted power.
Failed coup in Turkey: What you need to know
Of those detained, dozens were photographed at horse stables, forced to their knees and stripped to the waist in humiliation.Erdogan is wasting no time to his bid to "cleanse" the country's security forces of "viruses," as he put it, vowing that those behind the attempt to overthrow his government "will pay a very heavy price for this act of treason."
Almost 13,000 public officials have either been removed or suspended from their positions, authorities said. These are officials drawn from the interior, finance and justice ministries. A total of 8,777 officers have already been removed from the Interior Ministry, the vast majority of them police officers, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Of those arrested, 103 are generals and admirals, a third of the general-rank command of the Turkish military, according to Anadolu.
Judges, lawyers, senior aides and police are among those detained, while eight soldiers who fled to Greece are waiting to hear their fate, as no bilateral extradition agreement exists between the countries.
The President, whose government is known for shutting down social media to stop protesters mobilizing, used FaceTime to call on the Turkish people, many of whom took to streets to challenge the military.
Dozens were dead within hours.
By Monday, the death toll was at 232, including 24 "coup plotters," according to Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Officials earlier said at least 290 people had been killed and did not explain the reason the death toll had been overstated. Another 1,400 were injured.Yildirim warned of repercussions, saying on Twitter that "every single drop of blood shed will be accounted for in such a harsh way."
Anadolu reported that Cemil Candas, deputy mayor of the Sisli district in Istanbul, was shot in the head Monday and is in critical condition, although it was not clear who targeted him or why.
Amnesty: Rights must be respected
Turkey's history of military coups has long had "devastating consequences" for human rights, Amnesty International said in a statement."A number of government officials and ruling party representatives have spoken in favor of reinstating the death penalty, itself a tool of past military rulers. This regressive step should be avoided, as should further restrictions on legitimate dissent," Amnesty said.
Turks grieving after deadly coup attempt
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about conditions in the country.
"We also firmly urge the government of Turkey to maintain calm and stability throughout the country, and we also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation's democratic institutions and the rule of law. And we will certainly support bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice," Kerry said on Monday in Brussels, where he was meeting with EU leaders.
Twenty-seven men accused of masterminding the failed coup faced court in the capital Ankara on Monday, apparently without having access to the lawyers prior to their arrival.
Images show Akin Ozturk, a four-star general and former commander of the Turkish air force, had been arrested, his ear bandaged and neck bruised.
On this day in 1290 King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
In the duchy of Gascony in 1287, King Edward ordered the local Jews expelled.[10] All their property was seized by the crown and all outstanding debts payable to Jews were transferred to the King’s name. By the time he returned to England in 1289, King Edward was deeply in debt. The next summer he summoned his knights to impose a steep tax. To make the tax more palatable, Edward in exchange essentially offered to expel all Jews.[13] The heavy tax was passed, and three days later, on July 18, the Edict of Expulsion was issued. One official reason for the expulsion was that Jews had declined to follow the Statute of Jewry. The edict of expulsion was widely popular and met with little resistance, and the expulsion was quickly carried out.
The Jewish population in England at the time was relatively small, perhaps 2,000 people, though estimates vary.
The expulsion edict remained in force for the rest of the Middle Ages. The edict was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of over 200 years of increased persecution. Oliver Cromwell permitted Jews to return to England in 1657, over 360 years after their banishment by Edward I, in exchange for finance.
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