Journalist Ayşe Düzkan Released

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Feminist journalist and writer Ayşe Düzkan, who was sentenced to 18 months in Özgür Gündem Editors-in-Chief on Watch case, has been released from Eskişehir Prison.

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Ayşe Düzkan was referred from Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison to Eskişehir Open Prison in May 2019. Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Utku Çakırözer visited Düzkan in prison on June 8, 2019. Making a statement afterwards, he indicated that as the necessary documents for her release on probation was sent to Hendek instead of Eskişehir, Ayşe Düzkan had to remain behind bars during the Ramadan feast.

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Her release announced by her daughter

Ayşe Düzkan was released from prison yesterday (June 11). Her release has been announced by her daughter Haziran Düzkan on Twitter today:

Merhaba, annem #ayşedüzkan dün tahliye edildi ve şimdi İstanbul’da dinleniyor. Bir kaç gün telefonunu açmak istemiyor ama sonra yine buralarda olacak. Dayanışma gösteren herkese çok teşekkürler
— Haziran Duzkan (@haziranduzkan) 12 Haziran 2019

Haziran Düzkan said in her tweet, "Hello, my mother #ayşedüzkan was released yesterday and is now taking a rest in İstanbul. She does not want to open her phone for a couple of days, but she will soon be around. Everyone who displayed solidarity, thank you very much."

What happened?

On January 18, 2018, Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran, who were tried for participating in the Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign in solidarity with the closed Özgür Gündem newspaper, and its columnists Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş and former Co-Editor-in-Chief Hüseyin Aykol were sentenced to 9 years and 9 months in prison in total.

Having their final hearing at the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court, five journalists were sentenced to prison on charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" as per the Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).

Examining the verdicts of conviction, the court of appeal upheld the prison sentences on November 29, 2018. Düzkan has been behind bars since January 29, 2019. Düzkan was arrested and sent to Bakırköy Closed Women's Prison on January 29, 2019. She was transferred to Eskişehir Open Prison in May 2019 and released from there on June 11.

(EMK/SD)