Füsun Erdoğan Addresses Turkey’s EU Minister

Jailed journalist and former coordinator of Özgür Radyo, Füsun Erdoğan urged Turkey’s EU Minister to prove the allegations on a letter sent to Swedish parliamentarians which claimed that she was a “bomber” and “assaulted people”. 

“The letter went on to recklessly claim that I assaulted people with guns and damaged buildings with explosives,” Erdoğan wrote in a letter addressed to Selçuk Gökaltun, EU Minister Egemen Bağış’s advisor. 

She urged the authorities to prove the allegation with the MLKP case that she was standing. 

The letter was sent from Gebze Women’s Prison. Some of the highlights from the letter are as follows: 

“Whenever the problem of jailed journalists is brought to public attention, it is a well-known fact that officials especially PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are distorting information.

“The amount of these distortions are even exceeding the amount of charges that prosecutors are issuing.” 

“56 journalist terrorists"

She also urged journalism unions to raise their voices on the issue. 

According to Fırat News Agency, advisor Selçuk Gökaltun makes the following statement in a letter sent to President of Sweden’s Parliament and Swedish foreign policy advisors on the situation of 56 jailed journalists in Turkey. 

* Out of 56 journalists, 2 were released. 

* 21 were convicted from various crimes. 

* 33 are currently jailed for ongoing trials.

* 33 journalists are facing trial in PKK/KCK cases, while 8 from Ergenekon, 4 from MLKP/MK, 3 from TKP (ML) TİKKO, 7 from DHKP-C and 1 from İBDA-C cases.

* 20 are being accused of being an armed terrorist organization, 18 for having linkages or propagating for a terrorist organization, 1 for violating the national and territorial unity, 8 for forcefully changing the constitutional order and ousting the government, 4 for attempted murder and threat, 3 for the unpermitted storage of dangerous agents and document fraud. (EA/BM)