Heavy Fine for Magazine Owner for "Spreading Propaganda"

The Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court ordered Devrimci Hareket ('Revolutionary Movement') magazine owner and responsible editor-in-chief Fehmi Kılıç to pay TL 16,660 compensation under charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" in two articles.

The full name of the magazine is "Emperyalizme ve Oligarşiye Karşı Devrimci Hareket", meaning 'The revolutionary movement against imperialism and oligarchy'. The sentence was based on two articles published in the magazine's special edition entitled "Liseli Dev-Genç" magazine ('High-shool students revolutionary youth').

Reason for punishment: THKP-C and THKO propaganda

The court claimed that propaganda for the Turkey's People's Liberation Party-Front (THKP-C) and the Turkey's People's Liberation Army (THKO) was spread in the articles "It is a struggle for the youth of 'Liseli Dev-Genç' to handle their future" and "We commemorate Che" published in the youth magazine.

Court President Şeref Akçay had initially sentenced Kılıç to 1,000 days imprisonment converted to a monetary fine on 30 December applying article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY). Afterwards, the court mitigated the sentence to 833 days due to "good conduct" and converted the penalty into daily rates of TL 20 summing up to a total of TL 16,660 (approx. € 7,570).

Mentioning former leaders of revolutionary youth constitutes crime

The first article given as a reason for crime deals with the "persistency" of İbrahim Kaypakkaya and with the "guidance" of Mahir Çayan, both in their capacity as leaders of the revolutionary youth in the 1970s. However, a name of an organization is not mentioned in the article.

Kılıç: Reactionary mindset reason for conviction

Kılıç made a rigorous statement after the court decision: "A reactionary mindset and an anti-people mentality are the reasons for evaluating the commemoration of Che in our magazine as propaganda for an illegal organization and punishing it. We will continue our struggle in the awareness that the ruling ones will not be able to give anything but a non-future to our people". (EÖ/VK)