Özgür Gündem Editor-in-Chief on Watch Çelikkan Sent Off to Prison

Click to read the article in Turkish/Kurdish

Rights defender journalist Murat Çelikkan enters prison today (August 14).

Journalists and rights defenders gathering on Friday bid farewell to Çelikkan.

Çelikkan was sentenced to 18 months in prison for joining now-closed Özgür Gündem newspaper's Editor-in-Chief on Watch campaign.

Journalists Nadire Mater, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Yıldırım Türker, Mehmet Güç (who joined the campaign as well), artist Deniz Türkali, staff from the Truth Justice Memory Center at which Çelikkan is the director, rights defenders, Çelikkan's journalist friends and his attorney Emel Ataktürk Sevimli attended the event.

Çelikkan was seen off by his friends with the witty remark that “He escaped ‘inside’ to get rid of the anti-democratic and oppressive life ‘outside’”.

About Murat Çelikkan

He has worked as reporter, editor, columnist and editor-in-chief during his 25-year journalism life.

He has actively taken part in the human rights movement; he founded the Human Rights Association, Amnesty International Turkey, Helsinki Citizens’ Association and took place in the board of directors. He worked on projects concerning the Kurdish question and media ethics.

He is the director at Truth, Justice, Memory Center of which he is among the founders.

What happened?

Supporting the Özgür Gündem’s Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign, Murat Çelikkan served as the Editor-in-Chief at Özgür Gündem’s issue dated May 28, 2016.

The trial was heard at İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court on May 16, 2017 and Çelikkan was found guilty for “terror propaganda”. The court board comprising Pınar Gezen Atanian and Kadri Arslan didn’t apply remission on the ground that “the suspect hasn’t shown sufficient remorse”.

On his defense on May 17, 2017, Çelikkan had explained why the reports published on the day of his editorship-in-chief cannot be counted as “crime”. (HK/TK)