Journalist Mağden Sentenced for Calling Singers “Fascist”

Former Radikal journalist Perihan Mağden criticised the video clip “Don’t make a plan” in two articles.

She has now been convicted of insulting songwriter Arif Şirin (also known as Ozan Arif) and singer İsmail Türüt in the media, and has been sentenced to paying legal fines of 3,480 TL (around 1,550 Euros).

In September 2007, an investigation was started into the song "Don't make a plan", composed by Sirin and sung by Türüt. It is said to include references to and praise of the suspected murderers of journalist Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the weekly Agos newspaper. In addition, the song was put on the Internet website YouTube with a video clip about the murder.  

Mağden found guilty, appeal not possible

The Beykoz 2nd Criminal Court decreed that Mağden was guilty of insult when she criticised Türüt for praising the suspects in the murder of  Hrant Dink and when she accused Arif of “fascism”.

The two cases ended with a sentence of 174 days imprisonment, converted to a 3,480 TL fine, on 12 March. Her lawyers took the sentence, which was not deferred, to the Supreme Court of Appeals.

However, because the sentence in a case needs to be worth at least 2,000 TL in fines, and because there were two cases, there was a debate whether the lawyers could apply to the court. Finally, they tried to appeal with the two cases as one.

The defence lawyer said in court that the articles as a whole did not represent insults, and that they were meant as criticisms.

However, the court rejected the plea for an acquittal.

The articles, both published in the Radikal newspaper were: “Don’t make a plan/Let a jackal eat his mother” (18 September 2007) and “Terribly Personal Article” (16 October 2007).

Mağden will appeal to ECHR

Speaking to the Agos newspaper, Mağden accused the lawyers of the plaintiffs to have taken the case to the Beykoz court with the help of faked addresses of their clients. She added that the refusal of the court to merge the two cases meant that she had been prevented from appealing to the Supreme Court of Appeals. 

She added, “While the clip and song lyrics that honour the murderers of Hrant Dink are creating new murderers and encouraging people to commit murder, my conviction is exemplary. Just like Hrant Dnik and his son were given unjust punishments, I have been punished for defending Hrant Dink. I am going to take the decree to the ECHR to set an example.”

Lyrics 

The song's lyrics are as follows:

Plan, do not make a plan, that does not suit the Black Sea,
Stabs in the back, lies and untruths do not succeed at the Black Sea,
Let neither Johnny (i.e. the Americans) nor the Russians lay traps,
The horn of separatism does not blow at the Black Sea,
Stop ringing (church) bells, stop being pro-Armenian,
The people do not swallow such food at the Black Sea,
Let them say this on that day ("Ogün") and this today,
The Black Sea does not run out of Fatihas (Muslim prayer) and Yasins
Put forth your honour, glory and life,
At the Black Sea no one sells their homeland,
If a person sells the homeland, business ends immediately,
The sun of the Turk and Islam does not set at the Black Sea,
As long as we stand like that, even if Bush is your uncle,
Your jeer is not worth five cent.
We know you're offended and hold a grudge,
(But) you're not strong enough to cause a disturbance at the Black Sea.

It is assumed that the line "Let them say this on that day",where "that day" can be read as a name, "Ogün", refers to murder suspect O.S., and the line "The Black Sea does not run out of [...] Yasins" to Yasin Hayal, who stands accused of planning the murder.

"Souvenir" pictures with murder suspect 

The clip on Youtube also includes images of O.S. as he was photographed standing under a Turkish flag on the night of his arrest, on 20 January. It had emerged later that police and gendarmerie officers took "souvenir" pictures of and with O.S. (EÖ/AG)