Aydınlık Magazine Banned for One Month

The Istanbul 14^th High Criminal Court ruled for a 1 month ban of the weekly Aydınlık magazine and also decreed for the collection of the magazine's latest issue. The decision was criticised by the International Press Institute (IPI) Local Committee and the Turkey Journalists Association (TGC).

On request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the court reviews issues 1165, 1166 and 1168 published in November and December. The investigation was launched under allegations of "showing counter-terrorism officials as targets for terror organizations" and "spreading propaganda of a terror organization".

Publication ban decided in the USA...

It was the demand of the Chief Prosecutor's office to confiscate the latest issue and ban the magazine for 1 month. The court decreed for the confiscation of issue No. 1168 and the publication ban based on article 6/ last paragraph of the Anti-Terror Law.

Magazine owner and responsible manager Ruhsar Şenoğlu declared that he would apply legal action against the decision which in his opinion is a political one. He argued that the publication ban was decided during the meeting of Obama and Erdoğan.

Şenoğlu pointed out that the magazine's publication director Deniz Yıldırım and National Channel intelligence chief Ufuk Akkaya were detained and brought to the Silivri Prison 1 month ago on the grounds of records concerning phone talks of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

IPI Local Committee: Diametrical opposite to freedom of the press

The IPI Local Committee announced, "Applying a penalty before a crime has occurred is impossible in a democratic country. This is an application only encountered in totalitarian regimes".

The committee emphasized that the ban of any publications, may it be written, oral or on the internet, is "the diametrical opposite to freedom of the press". They also indicated that the Press Law and the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMY) both bear "regulations contrary to press freedom".

Referring to the prime minister's declaration made in the USA to defend press freedom in Turkey, the committee said "As if our calls remain unheard, this was the attempt to make the world believe in the existence of press freedom in Turkey instead of the government correcting the situation".

TGC: This approach should be abandoned

The Turkey Journalists Association claimed in a written statement: "The mistake of publication bans implemented in the law of 12 September [following the military coup in 1980] persists until today. Not only does it show the situation of press freedom but also the state of democratic approach".

TGC argued that the publication ban and the following penalty were imposed without proof of the allegations, which "is impossible to understand within the rules". The association demanded to abolish this kind of approach: "We are afraid that with this conduct Turkey might not be able to sustain even rank 122 on the World Index of Freedom of Expression".

Aydınlık: Liquidation operation against the army...

Subject to the ban is the magazines latest issue, publishing an article entitled "It is a crime to defend the motherland, separatism and espionage are free". The article included the following passage: "Liquidation operation against the Turkish Army... The Beşiktaş Terror Organization has increased its goal. The button was pressed for the liquidation of the Turkish Army as aimed by Ergenekon from the very beginning. 3 commanding officers from 2004 were called for statements by the Ergenekon prosecutor under allegations of a coup attempt". (EÖ/VK)