Journalist to be Retried Under Article 301

Journalist Karaca, who had received a prison sentence converted to a fine in his trial under Article 301, is being retried because there was a procedural error in the court proceedings. The first sitting is scheduled for June 20.

Erol Önderoğlu

The Supreme Court of Appeals had sentenced journalist Emin Karaca to five months in prison, later converted to a fine of 900 YTL, for criticizing the army. Now he is to be retried.

Remembering Deniz Gezmis

Karaca had written an article in the magazine "Yazin" which appears in Turkey and Europe, remembering the anniversary of the execution of three leftist militants, Deniz Gezmis, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin Inan.

In his article printed in the April 2002 issue of the magazine, Karaca had written about the execution of the three young men 30 years earlier. He accused the army of being involved in murders since the 1960s.

Procedural error causes retrial

Karaca had been tried under Article 301/2, for "insulting and deriding the armed forces". In the trial, which had begun in November 2002, editor Mehmet Emin Sert had been acquitted, and the editor-in-chief Doğan Özgüden has not been tried because he lives in Belgium.

However, because of a procedural error (a missing signature), Karaca will be retried. The new trial is to start on 20 June, in a penal court in Istanbul.

The international group Reporters Sans Frontieres had written a letter to the then-Minister of Justice, Aysel Celikel at the time of the first trial to protest against the case. (EÖ/EÜ/AG/EÜ)

Origin

BÄ°A News Center

Erol Önderoğlu

[email protected]

all articles of the author

A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without...

A graduate of the French Language and Literature Department at İstanbul University. He has served as the Turkey representative for the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), where he began as a reporter in 1996. Since 1999, he has worked at bianet, a project of the IPS Communication Foundation, as the coordinator of the Legal Support Desk, editor for freedom of expression, and editor-in-chief. He has authored more than 4,800 signed news articles and opinion pieces. He has also written for Bizim Gazete and the journal Güncel Hukuk. He currently prepares the Media Monitoring Reports at bianet.