"Terrorist Propaganda" Case Against Birgün Daily

Journalist Hakan Tahmaz, Birgün daily manager Bülent Yılmaz and editorial manager İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu will face court for a published interview with Kurdish rebel group PKK's Murat Karayılan.

In an indictment notified to the newspaper, public prosecutor Kadir Altınışık accuses them of publishing PKK statements and urges prison sentences.   

First hearing of the court will be held on April 30th, at the Istanbul 10th high Criminal Court. They face up to 3 years in prison if convicted.

Previously, the paper's edition dated August 9, 2008 was confiscated for publishing the interview, titled "Unilateral Ceasefire Amplifies the Problem".

During a four-page interview, it read "Karayılan, who met with Tahmaz in Kandil Mountain [PKK's base] in Northern Iraq, stated that people on streets no longer want to witness violence but they're determined to continue a 'legitimate defense war', in his words."

Emphasizing, "they don't want to establish a separate state but react to the denial of the Kurdish solution", Karayılan said that the Democratic Society Party (DTP) is regarded as a mid-tier but they want to pursue politics as PKK and this isn't in contradiction with the ongoing armed-struggle.

Tahmaz and Çeşmecioğlu already testified before a prosecutor during the inquiry. On August 25, all three will once again give testimonies.

During his testimony, Tahmaz rejected the allegations of "terrorist propaganda", saying he merely acted as a journalist and only relayed his observations to readers.

They will be tried with Article 6/2 of the Counter Terrorism Law.(EÖ/AGÜ)