Tercüman Newspaper on Trial for Insulting Journalists Magden and Temelkuran

Lawyers of the Dogan media group, which owns the Radikal and Milliyet newspapers for which Perihan Magden and Ece Temelkuran write, have sued the Halka ve Olaylara Tercüman (“Interpreter of the People and Events”) newspaper for making the two journalists public targets in their publications.

Criminal complaint under Articles 125 and 267 

The lawyers applied to the Bakirköy Chief Public Prosecution on 7 January and demanded the prosectuion of editor-in-chief Ufuk Büyükcelebi and responsible editor Mustafa Dolu for the unsigned articles relating to Magden and Temelkuran.

The lawyers say in their complaint that the Tercüman newspaper insulted and vilified Magden and Temelkuran in their issues of 18 and 19 January 2008. Citing Articles 125/1-5 and 267, they demanded prosecution.

The controversy is related to a Turkish flag which high school students made from their own blood and sent to the General Staff. Chief of General Staff Büyükanit had shown the flag to journalists in January, expressing his pride in the children. The Tercüman newspaper had even distributed promotional copies of this “flag” to its readers.

Call for an end to militarism

On 15 January, Magden wrote in a column entitled “Flag of Blood”, in which she condemned the militarist, war-mongering and violent atmosphere which had inspired the children to such an act. She also condemned Büyükanit’s reaction. Her article ended: “No one should die on this soil anymore. There should be no more odes to being killed and killing in this country. Let there be no applause and tears for such pathological expressions on this soil. Let there be no more discourse of “martyrs.”

Temelkuran had written an article entitled “Bloodflag, Flagblood” on 18 January, in which she had said: “If only this noise, which makes flags out of children and dead children out of flags, would end.”

"Ugly woman, flag-enemy, cheek to insult the Turkish flag..." 

The Tercüman newspaper had reacted with two articles to Magden and Temelkuran. On 18 January, its headline read: “Answer this ugly woman”. The sentence, “This is the woman who insults the children and martyrs.”

On 19 January, in an article entitled “These women have lost their way”, which included their photographs, the Tercüman newspaper said:
“While reactions against the flag-enemy Magden are continuing, another ugly (person) has emerged. Ece Temelkuran has also had the cheek to insult the Turkish flag and has committed a crime (…). Reactions continue to flood in against Radikal newspaper journalist Perihan Magden, whose name has been associated with polemics recently, and her ugly words, which are remote from a Turkish identity.”

More than 160 people, among them academics and human rights activists, had reacted to this attack in the press, emphasising that newspapers like Tercüman made people into public targets with such dangerous campaigns. (EÖ/AG)