According to the quarterly report of the Bia Media Monitoring Desk, relating to events in July, August and September 2007, 125 people, most of them journalists, and six media institutions have been tried for expressing their thoughts freely.
This report lists the violations of the freedom of expression under seven headings:
- Murder, attacks and threats
- Detentions and arrests
- Trials and investigations
- Corrections and seeking legal redress
- European Court of Human Rights
- Reactions to censorship
- RTÜK [Radio and Television Supreme Council] practices
Murder, Attacks and Threats
Two security officers who were involved in the taking of photos of O.S., the murder suspect of Agos editor Hrant Dink, together with gendarmerie and police in the tea room of the Samsun Department for Terrorism, are now on trial. At the first hearing at the fourth penal court in Samsun on 28 September, the defendants Metin Balta, the acting director of the Terrorism Department, and Ibrahim Firat, police officer at the department, did not attend. The hearing has been postponed until 2 November in order to take their statements and evaluate demands. Bahri Bayram Belen, a lawyer for the Dink family, has demanded that the court file of Balta and Firat be added to the murder case which is being heard at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal court. Belen also requested that Hrant Dink’s wife, daughter, son and brother be allowed to join the trial as third-party plaintiffs.
When nationalist singer Ismail Türüt and lyrics writer Arif Sirin (also known as “Bard Arif”) gave statements about the song “Plan, don’t make a plan” and the clip which was broadcast on You Tube using that song, Radikal reporter Serkan Ocak asked Türüt: “Are those with you your body guards?” One of the men pointed his finger at Ocak and said, “Be careful”. Türüt called his entourage “my friends, my fans.” In the Objektif programme on Fox TV, broadcast on 20 September, Sirin continued to threaten journalist Ali Bayramoglu of the Yeni Safak newspaper, who had first written about the song and the video clip. He said: “I was surprised at Ali Bayramoglu’s approach in this matter. What is such a writer doing in such a climate? This community needs to examine this writer carefully.” Bayramoglu had previously been threatened after publishing an article entitled “Our Life is in Danger” on 4 July, in which he pointed out the importance of solving the Hrant Dink murder. He received an email message saying, “If you continue to write like that, you will end like Hrant Dink”. The matter has been taken to the prosecution.
Lawyers of the Dink family have appealed against the decision of the Trabzon Governor’s Office not to allow the investigation of Ramazan Akyürek, the head of the Intelligence Unit at the Police Department, Resat Altay, former police chief in Trabzon, and police officers Engin Dinc, Faruk Sari, Ercan Demir, Özkan Mumcu, Muhittin Zenit and Mehmet Ayhan. The governor’s office is basing its refusal on a report by investigators of the Ministry of the Interior who had prepared a report.
Kasim Ciftci, the owner of the “Hakkari Province Voice” newspaper died on the evening of 22 September after being shot by one or more unknown persons. The murder was condemned by the Van Lake Journalists’ Society, the former Hakkari mayor and Abdurrahman Keskin, owner of Hakkari’s “The People’s Voice” newspaper. It is not clear yet whether he died because of activities relating to press freedom or the freedom of expression.
“Radikal” journalist Türker Alkan wrote that he used to receive threats before 28 February 1997, a date commonly remembered as a “postmodern coup” in Turkey. He said that threats by email had resumed since the general elections of 22 July. Writing on 6 September, Alkan said: “After 22 July, angry and threatening communications have again shown themselves. In a recently received communication, someone claiming to be a police officer said that I was a ‘traitor’ and that s/he would ‘shoot into my head twice.’” Alkan added, “Who knows, was that person really a police officer? But even if s/he was not, what do you think it means that someone with such a mentality has appropriated the role of police officer?”
Prime Minister Erdogan criticised “Hürriyet” columnist Bekir Coskun heavily for writing about Abdullah Gül, “He Will Not Be My President”. In the Arena programme of Kanal D, which Erdogan attended on 20 August, he responded to the column by saying: “Unfortunately there are those who do not know propriety. Those who say such things should first give up their citizenship of the Turkish Republic.” In his editorial comment, Oktay Eksi of the “Hürriyet” newspaper then replied: “The honourable Prime Minster has to be asked by someone: ‘Are you kicking Bekir Coskun off your father’s farm?” Orhan Erinc, president of the Turkish Journalists’ Society (TGC) evaluated the PM’s comments as “unfortunate and misplaced”. Prime Ministerial spokesperson Akif Beki replied that the Prime Minister had not criticised Coskun, but the attempts at making the issue [of the presidential elections] personal.
Reporter Ahmet Ün of the local “Kulp News” newspaper in Diyarbakir filed a criminal complaint in August, saying that he has been receiving death threats and insults from mayor Mahmut Zengin after criticising him for not solving a water problem which was causing illnesses.
The “Tunceli Emek” (Labour) newspaper, which had reported that a petrol tanker belonging to the state-run village services had emptied its petrol into the petrol station of former mayor Hasan Korkmaz, was subsequently visited by a man called Hasan Cakici on 3 August. He threatened newspaper employees. It has been said that after he was removed from the office with the help of others, Hasan Korkmaz’s brother came to the office and hurled threats.
Aris Nalci, the news editor of the weekly Turkish-Armenian “Agos” newspaper has said that although there has been a decrease in email threats, they do continue. High school student R.D. was arrested on 2 August for sending the newspaper a threatening email one day after editor-in-chief Hrant Dink’s murder. In his first statement R.D. said, “I sent that message in a moment of ignorance.” He was then sent to Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul.
Sinan Tekpetek, journalist and editor for the “Özgür Hayat” (Free Life) newspaper and the “yüzde 52 Öfke” (52 percent Anger) magazine, has stated that he was forcibly taken away by a police car in Taksim (central Istanbul) on the evening of 26 July, brought to a desolate place, continuously exposed to insults, death threats and violence, and then thrown out of the police car near Karaköy. The international Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reacted to the incident by saying: “It is not clear yet whether the journalist was exposed to violence because of his professional activities as a journalist or because of a court case related to his objection to police violence.” In a press statement which he read at the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Tekpetek said that he did not know the reason for the attack, but that it may either be the activities of the magazine or a court case opened against him after he had witnessed police violence in 2005. Tekpetek gave a statement to prosecutor Enver Dikilitas on 31 July.
The daily “Bölge” (Region) newspaper in Adana was attacked by a group for writing that those who “made efforts to ensure that no one voted for the CHP (Republican People’s Party) thus did not have the right to criticise the CHP”. Around 20 people came to the newspaper office to speak to editor-in-chief Nevzat Ucak. They reacted to an article published on 29 July, which said that “the gathering in front of the head office was a fiasco” and to an article criticising them as “The Children of Soros” on 30 July. The CHP opponents insulted newspaper employees and when they reacted, the intruders harrassed them further. Ucak said, “We wrote that those who had said ‘Do not vote for the CHP’ and who had hung up posters, put adverts in newspapers and had generally worked towards that goal, did not have the right to call for CHP chair Baykal’s resignation; they stormed our office.” The Cukurova Journalists’ Society condemned the attack with a statement.
On 13 July, the Professional News Camerapersons’ Association condemned the physical attack by AKP supporters on the news group of the Kanaltürk channel when filming an election campaign with 500 cycling children in Ankara. Cameras were broken and film cassettes confiscated. Reporter Duygu Kayacik and cameraman Müjdat Genc were targeted, too. In its statement, the association said: “We demand that those responsible for the attack on democracy and free publishing during the election campaign, one of the greatest gains of democracy, be brought to trial.”
On 13 July, lawyers of the Dink family appealed against the decision of the Samsun Public Prosecution to dismiss proceedings against police and gendarmerie officers who formed close relationships with Hrant Dink’s murder suspect O.S. after his arrest.
In the Hrant Dink murder trial, joint attorneys appealed against the decision of the court to release four of the eighteen detained suspects, Salih Hacisalihoglu, Osman Alpay, Irfan Özkan and Veysel Toprak, from detention at the first hearing of the case on 2 July. In the appeal to the 9th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul, it said: “Basic and critical issues which are needed to shed light on this case are to be found in the actions of the released suspects.”
The international Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reacted to a report by the Police Department, which said that the murder of journalist Hrant Dink was organised by “a group based on friendship”. RSF said, “This report is attempting to clear the security forces. The question that really needs to be answered is why the warnings of Erhan Tuncel were ignored. The police said that ties with Tuncel were cut in November 2006, but he said at the hearing, ‘I told the police that an attack against Hrant Dink would be organised.’”
In a press briefing on 3 July, one day after the first hearing in the Hrant Dink murder trial, lawyer Fethiye Cetin called for the trial of all the gendarmerie and police officers whose relations with the murder suspects have emerged, and who did not prevent the murder despite knowing about it. Cetin cited Article 83 of the Penal Code, which deals with “related crimes”, and demanded that these officers be tried as part of the murder case.
At the first hearing of the Hrant Dink murder trial at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court, the release of detained defendants Salih Hacisalihoglu, Osman Altay, Irfan Özkan and Veysel Toprak was decided. Defendant O.S., tried for being the suspected gunman, used his right to silence. Erhan Tuncel, tried for incitement to murder, said: “I served the state. I do not know why I am here.” Defendant Yasin Hayal said: “Tuncel deceived us. He planned the murder. It was him who built the bomb that was thrown at Mc Donald’s [in an earlier incident in Trabzon].” The first hearing lasted all day. All eighteen defendants were questioned and the demands of the defense and the joint attorneys were listened to. Requests of both sides to widen the investigation were accepted. The court case was to continue on 1 October.
Detentions and Arrests
Idris Akboga, the editor of the “Özgür Halk” (Free People) magazine, was arrested when he went to the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court on 26 September in order to give a statement on the September issue of the magazine. He was sent to Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul. The court has accused Akboga of “praising crimes and criminals”, of “printing and publishing texts of a terrorist organisation”, of “committing a crime by helping members of a terrorist organisation or spreading propaganda."
Füsun Erdogan, the general broadcast coordinator of “Özgür Radyo” (Free Radio), who had been arrested together with 22 other people in an operation targeting members of the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) on 12 September 2006, is to appear at the Istanbul 10th Heavy Penal Court on 26 October for the first time. Others accused of relations with the organisation are Atilim newspaper editor Ibrahim Cicek, who is being held in an F-type prison in Tekirdag, and Atilim publishing coordinator Sedat Senoglu, being held in an F-type prison in Edirne, former Atilim editor Ziya Ulusoy and Atilim journalist Bayram Namaz. In the 292-page indictment prepared by Public Prosecutor Ali Cengiz Haciosmanoglu, prison sentences ranging from 10.5 to 45 years are being demanded.
Durmus Sahin, a student of the Ankara Gazi University Education Faculty, was arrested on 11 July when he refused to shake hands with Minister for Health Recep Akdag. Sahin had said, “I do not shake hands with those in government who do not provide services to the citizens”. After five days detention, he was brought before the Olur Criminal Court of Peace. There Sahin said, “Although I did not want to shake hands, the minister persisted in wanting tos hake my hands. Because I did not give my hand, he sent me to prison.” Sahin was released from detention but will be tried. A prison sentence from six months to two years is being demanded.
Mehmet Cevizci, reporter for the Dicle News Agency, who was taking part in a news workshop organised by Press Now and the IPS Communications Foundation, was arrested by gendarmerie coming to his room at the Mavi Göl hotel at 5am. He was released at around 2pm after giving a statement. Cevizci said that he had been arrested at a protest against “criminal gangs and prostitution”, which ended in disturbances after a banner saying “Amed [the Kurdish name for Diyarbakir] is honour, protect your honour” was opened. Cevizci was being searched for since then.
Issues of the weekly “Coban Atesi” (Shepherd’s Fire) newspaper in Gaziantep were collected and confiscated after an article in the issue of 3 August 2007 said, “Antep is an industrial city in Northern Kurdistan.” A week later, Yasin Yetisgen, owner and editor of the newspaper, was arrested when he went to the Gaziantep 1st Peace Court of First Instance to give a statement regarding the notification of the confiscation. The newspaper’s publishing board said in a statement: “Our newspaper, which supports real freedom of expression, will continue its struggle against all kind of legal, administrative and political decisions and practices which mean an attack on the freedoms of thought and expression.” The board also protested against the “precautionary arrest” of Yetisgen. Yetisgen was released after three weeks in detention. There has been an arrest warrant issued for writer Hursit Kasikkirmaz of the same newspaper.
Four people who had been in detention for more than 10 months after the “Gaye” operation targeting the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) in 21 September 2006 were released on 7 August. One of them is Emin Orhan, the editor of the “Dayanisma” (Solidarity) newspaper. The case, in which 32 people, nine of them still in detention, are being tried for “membership in an organisation”, will continue on 6 December. The Istanbul 9th Heavy Penal Court decided to continue the detentions of Yusuf Demir, Yunus Aydemir, Erdal Demirhan, Ali Haydar Keles and Günes Senyüz.
Sait Bayram and Firat Avci, the news editor and reporter of Diyarbakir-based “Söz TV and Newspaper” were arrested after claiming that judge Mehmet Yücel Kurtoglu was transferred because he had been taking bribes. The two reporters were released a month later, on 20 July. They had been sent to Diyarbakir’s Closed Prison under the charge of “insulting through the press”. The relevant article had been published on 18 June 2007. The court case will continue on 31 October.
Sinan Kara, the owner of the “Datca News” newspaper was arrested when preparing a book about the city of Batman and its environs. He was arrested on 3 February under the charge of “insulting through the press”. He was released on 3 July, after spending more than four months in an M-type prison in Batman, and then 20 days in a prison in Mugla.
Trials and Investigations
The trial of Rojda Kizgin, reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DIHA), Ridvan Kizgin, former branch president of the Human Rights Assocation (IHD) and Dogan Adibelli will continue on 30 October. Adibelli had claimed that village guards were using government bombs to hunt fish, and this was reported by DIHA. The defendants are being tried under Article 301/2, for “degrading the state’s military and security forces”.
Emin Karaca, journalist for the “Yazin” magazine in Turkey and Europe, had criticised the army for the execution of student revolutionary leaders Deniz Gezmis, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin Inan on the anniversary of their execution. The Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that Karaca be retried under Article 301/2, and the trial continues on 3 October. In September 2005 he was given a five-month prison sentence which was then converted into a 900 YTL fine. The sentence was then overruled for a technical reason (a missing signature) and wil now continue at the 2nd Penal Court in Istanbul.
The case which retired ambassador and MP for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) M. Sükrü Elekdag initiated against Publisher Muzaffer Erdogdu for the publication of a book entitled “The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-1916: Documents Presented to Fallodon Viscount Grey by Viscount Bryce” continues at the Ankara 6th Civil Court of First Instance. Elekdag is demanding compensation of 20,000 YTL. The book, which was published in November 2005, has also caused the trial of translator Ahmet Güner and historian Taner Akcam. Akcam is further being tried for an article in the “Birikim” journal. The trial will continue on 8 November.
Abdurrahman Dilipak and Mehmet Özcan, journalist and editor of the “Akit” newspaper respectively, are still on trial at the Bagcilar 2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) for an article entitled “My Country is Something Else” and published on 27 April 2001. The two defendants are on trial for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”. The trial will continue on 20 November.
It has been decided to continue four trials against DTP Batman MP Aysel Tugluk for “spreading propaganda for a terrorist organisation”. The cases were heard at the Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court on 20 September. Tugluk did not attend, but her lawyer Özcan Kilic demanded that the court consider Tugluk’s immunity (due to her status as a parliamentarian). The court has cited Article 14 of the constitution which foresees that “basic rights and freedoms are not abused” and decided to continue. Up to five years imprisonment are being demanded.
Singer Ferhat Tunc has been on trial for around three years for an article entitled “A Revolutionary Leyla and a Song”, published in the “Yeniden Gündem” newspaper on 19 January 2004. He has been charged with “degrading and ridiculing the court”. In the article, he had criticised the detention and trial of Leyla Zana and the former DEP MPs. Up to three years imprisonment are being demanded. The trial is to continue on 13 December at the Beyoglu 2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) and the newspaper’s responsible editor Mehmet Colak, who lives abroad, is also being tried.
In the trial against Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, who have been accused of “degrading Turkishness and inciting hatred and hostility” and “illegally collecting data” with Protestant missionary activity, there has been a change of court. Following a complaint of lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and others from the Great Lawyers’ Union about the judge, the case has been transferred to the Silivri 1st Penal Court. At the hearing on 26 September, the demand of Sevgi Erenol, press spokesperson of the Turkish Orthodox Church, to join the trial as a third party was denied. The case will be continued on 29 November. Prosecutor Demirhüyük, who was in charge of the case before, had said on 18 July, “The right to live and spread the religion one wants is protected by the constitution and our laws in terms of the freedom of religion and conscience.”
The case against the Belge Publications for translating and publishing Prof. Dr. Dora Sakayan’s “An Armenian in Turkey” (The Memoirs of Garabet Haceryan) and George Jerjian’s “The Truth Will Set Us Free” will continue on 3 October. Because the court cannot reach Jerjian, publisher Ragip Zarakolu is on trial instead. For Sakayan’s book, both Zarakolu and translator Atilla Tuygan are on trial. Zarakolu faces up to 7.5 years imprisonment demanded for “degrading and ridiculing the State and the Republic” and “insulting the memory of Atatürk”. Tuygan faces six years imprisonment for “degrading and ridiculing the army”.
Prime Minister Erdogan lost his court case against “Cumhuriyet” writer Ilhan Selcuk, who had written an article entitled “There is No Language Particular to the Reactionary” published on 6 May 2007. Selcuk had written “The worst thing was how the reactionary gang who spoke in the name of the Supreme Allah, the Holy Prophet and the Holy Qu'ran became wild when they had come to power." Erdogan had demanded 20,000 YTL compensation, but judge Ahmet Metin Tözün at an Ankara court decreed that there was no criminal element in the words.
"The state made mistakes. When and where? Yesterday, in the East and South-East. then in Istanbul. In Maras and Sivas. Today in Trabzon, Istanbul, Mersin and in the South-East,” said journalist Haci Bogatekin, and had to face court again on 26 September. Because he criticised state policies in an article entitled "Turkey Has Made Mistakes", published in his newspaper on 10 March 2007, he is on trial for "degrading Turkishness, the Republic, state institutions or its organs" (Article 301). The case will continue on 6 November.
On 21 September, the Kocaeli 2nd Penal Court punished caricaturist Muhammet Sengöz to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment for a caricature entitled "Who's next, Mayor?" published in the "Free Kocaeli" newspaper. The sentence was converted into a 7,000 YTL fine. The prosecutor had called for an acquittal, but nevertheless, Sengöz was sentenced in the case brought by mayor Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu. Sengöz had reacted to billboards which Karaosmanoglu had put up around the city which praised his achievements. A constant theme on the billboards was a person asking, "What's next, Mayor?" In Sengöz's caricature, a man with his back to the reader and with his trousers down is asking, "Who's next, Mayor?"
Umut Karakoyun, owner of the local "Tunceli Emek" newspaper in Tunceli, eastern Anatolia, was being tried under Article 301 for accusing the judiciary of bias. Karakoyun has claimed that the Tunceli governor's office obstructed advertisements in an arbitrary manner and had written about the governor's press and PR manager Elif Polat. Karakoyun is also accused of "insulting a public officer through the media". On 21 September, the Tunceli Penal Court acquitted him on both accounts.
Sinan Kara, a journalist who has been imprisoned three times before, was acquitted in a trial under Article 301, concerning an article he wrote in which he joined EU Commission Turkey representative Hans Jörg Kretschmer's criticism of the army. The article was entitled "Barracks Party". At the hearing on 20 September, the Beyoglu 2nd Penal Court acquitted him. He is also on trial under Article 301/2 for an article entitled "Justice has become Militarism's Jester", published in the "Social Democracy" (Toplumsal Demokrasi) newspaper on 20 November 2006. He will face court again on 26 October. Kara is also on trial for an article entitled "Full-time killers", in which he criticised the state and the army in relation to a bombing in Diyarbakir in which 10 people died, eight of them children. Again, Article 301 has been cited, and the case will start on 26 October. Finally, Kara will face the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court on 30 January 2008 for an article entitled "Isolation Knows No Limits", writing about isolation cells in prisons. The article was published in the "Ülkede Özgür Gündem" newspaper on 14 November 2006. In addition, the "Ülkede Özgür Gündem" newspaper's responsible editor Özlem Aktan and writer Mustafa Temizkan are on trial for "praising a criminal" after an article referred to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as "the leader of the Kurdish People".
Retired judge Zekeriya Dilsizoglu is demanding 100,000 YTL compensation from editor Nurgül Balcioglu of the “Gaziantep Sabah newspaper. Balcioglu had criticised the judge's claim that "In nine out of ten murders, a woman is involved". The case began on 14 September at the Bakirköy 8th Penal Court (Istanbul) and will continue on 29 November.
A case against “Nokta” magazine editor Alper Görmüs began on 19 September. The trial is related to the publication of parts of retired Navy Commander General Özden Örnek’s diaries. On 29 March, the magazine had published an article entitled “Sarikiz and Ayisigi in Suprising Detail. We had a narrow escape from two military coups in 2004!” Following a complaint by Örnek, Görmüs is now on trial. The case will continue on 29 February 2008 and up to six years and eight months imprisonment are being demanded.
Dink family lawyer Erdal Dogan is on trial for saying that "Hrant was particularly worried about Veli Kücük getting involved in his trial". Veli Kücük, a retired brigadier general who is infamous in Turkey for his involvement in the "deep state", is said to have threatened Dink. There is no investigation against Veli Kücük. Kücük is deamnding 10,000 YTL compensation for being portrayed as a “murderer” and for being accused without justification. At the hearing on 18 September, the Beyoglu 4th Penal Court requested more evidence from both sides. The trial will continue on 22 November.
Yasin Yetisgen, owner and responsible director of the weekly "Coban Atesi" (Shepherd's Fire) newspaper in Gaziantep, south-eastern Turkey, is on trial under Article 216/1 of the Turkish Penal Code. Yetisgen, and the writer of the article, Hursit Kasikkirmaz, are charged with “inciting hatred and hostility”. The case is based on the controversial use of the term “Kurdistan” in the sentence “With a population of 2 million, Antep is the biggest metropoloe in Northern Kurdistan”. The case will begin on 4 October at the Gaziantep 10th Penal Court.
Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Kaboglu and Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran had been on trial under Article 216/1 for the writing of the report of the Minority Rights and Cultural Rights Working Group. The two academics had suggested the term "citizenship of Turkey" (or literally "Turkey-ness", in Turkish "Türkiyelik") as a super-identity in their report. Since 14 November 2005 they have been on trial, with a sentence of between 1.5 and 4.5 years being demanded. An Ankara Penal Court had aquitted the two academics of "inciting hatred and hostility" on 10 May, but, following the appeal of Ankara Public Prosecutor Hüseyin Boyrazoglu, the supreme court overturned this decree. On 13 September, the 8th Penal Department of the Court of Appeals decreed that "a new definition of minority will endanger the unitary state and the inseparability of the nation".
A Recep Akkus and an Asim Demir have filed a criminal complaint against the “Radikal” newspaper for translating two articles into Turkish and publishing them. The articles in question are “New Evidence of Armenian Genocide” by the experienced Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk from the “Independent” newspaper and “How Sincere is the ‘Never Again’ Slogan?” by Jeff Jacoby from the “Boston Globe”. Radikal’s responsible editor Hasan Cakkalkurt may face a trial under Article 301 for “degrading Turkishness”. The complaint is still being investigated.
Fuat Turgut, the defense lawyer of Yasin Hayal, a suspect in the Hrant Dink murder trial, is demanding a total of 20,000 YTL compensation from “Radikal” columnist Perihan Magden, “Birgün” journalist Ahmet Tulgar and Dink family lawyer Erdal Dogan. The trial was opened on 12 September. In an article published on 5 July 2007, Magden had described Turgut as a “freak showman”. On the same day, Tulgar wrote of him as “mad and showy”.
The case of DTP Batman PM Aysel Tugluk and the party’s former Siirt Province chair Murat Avci continued on 11 September. They are on trial for a statement they made - on World Peace Day. Tugluk is accused of “spreading terrorist propaganda”. The Diyarbakir 4th Heavy Penal Court has decided to request an official statement regarding Tugluk’s parliamentarian status. The court has further decreed that if Avci, who has not attended hearings, does not appear in court by 13 November, which is the next hearing, he will be brought forcibly. Tugluk is also being tried for a speech she made in Batman last year. Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law has been cited and up to five years imprisonment are being demanded. The next hearing in this case is 25 October.
The trial against 56 mayors who had written to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 2005 in order to persuade him not to close down Roj TV has had to be postponed awaiting the answer of Denmark’s media secretary. On 11 September, the Diyarbakir 5th Heavy Penal Court demanded an original English text on the situation concerning Roj TV for the second time. The trial will continue on 20 November. The 56 mayors, 54 of whom are from the pro-Kurdish DTP, and two from the Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP), are being accused of “knowingly and willingly aiding a terrorist organisation” by “trying to prevent the loss of a visual propaganda medium of the terrorist organisation”. The prosecution has demanded the acquittal of three and prison sentences ranging from 7.5 to 15 years for the other 53. They are being tried under Articles 314/3 and 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Hikmet Erden, reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DIHA) is being tried for claiming that soldiers were trying to prevent people from voting for the “A thousand hope” candidates supported by the pro-Kurdish DTP party in the Karacadag region of Diyarbakir. Following a criminal complaint by the gendarmerie, the Diyarbakir Public Prosecution has opened a trial against Erden for “spreading slander in the press”, citing Article 267 of Law 5237 of the Penal Code and demanding between one and four years in prison. The case will start at the Diyarbakir 2nd Penal Court on 2 February 2008.
Emin Bal, reporter for the Dogan News Agency and the “Sirnak News” newspaper, filed a complaint against police officers for hitting him at the same time as they claimed the same about him. Bal has been to court eight times for “hitting three police officers” a year ago. On the other hand, no trial has been opened against the police officers, whom Bal claims hit him. Bal had a medical report saying that he was unfit to work for six days. The journalist’s lawyer Mücahit Dursun said, “Although we filed criminal complaints on the same date, the case against my client has nearly been decided. Our complaint against the police however, is still waiting at the prosecutor’s office. The case against Bal will continue on 4 October. Bal claims that he was arrested and beaten by police officers on 10 October 2006 when he went to court to research a court case.
Singer Ferhat Tunc is being tried for saying at a concert in Antalya’s Alanya district on 22 July 2006: “Just as every soldier who dies in this country is a child of this country, every guerilla who is killed is this country’s child.” Tunc will appear at the Izmir 10th Heavy Penal Court on 4 October. He is being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and five years imprisonment are being demanded.
Yücel Sayman, former president of the Istanbul Bar Association, who accused Kemal Kerincsiz’s lawyers of influencing the judiciary at the first hearing in the trial against journalists from the “Agos” newspaper, is being tried for insulting those same lawyers. The hearing in question was on 10 May 2006, when editor-in-chief Hrant Dink, editor Arat Dink and licence holder Serkis Seropyan were being tried. Following a complaint by Kerincsiz, Sayman will have to appear at the Sisli Penal Court in February 2008. Article 125 of the Penal Code is being cited, and up to two years imprisonment are being demanded.
Cagri Karadag and Kemal Bozkurt, the owner and editor-in-chief of the “Revolution is the Only Way Movement” magazine were acquitted at a hearing at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court on 31 August. The trial had been opened because of two articles entitled "The Kurds are my brothers and the people in E-type prisons are your children" and "1 September World Peace Day". The articles were published in the eighth issue of the magazine in September and October 2004, and the two journalists had been on trial under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. In the first article it had said: "As those resisting become isolated, attacks increase. Let us unite our forces in order to create an effective resistance against the brutal attacks on the Kurdish movement, the systematic attacks on the revolutionaries and the torture.” Bozkurt is furthermore on trial for an article about Mahir Cayan, a student revolutionary leader of the 1960s, and his friends. He is accused of “praising a crime and criminals” and will be tried on 18 October at the Istanbul 2nd Penal Court.
Özgür Ulas Kaplan, the president of the Tunceli Bar Association, and Hüseyin Tunc, the province chair of the Labour Party (EMEP) were on trial under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for opposing military operations in a programme broadcast by Roj TV. They were acquitted on 16 August. Kaplan and Tunc said that they made a press statement at the Tunceli Municipality conference room together with political party representatives and municipality officials at the end of 2006. After the statement, a Roj TV reporter connected with them by phone and they told the TV channel that operations needed to stop.
On 13 August it emerged that the General Staff filed a criminal complaint against “Sabah” newspaper’s columnist Umur Talu for an article published on 12 June 2007 and entitled, "Are these impossible?" Article 95/4 of the Military Penal Code has been cited and a sentence ranging from six months to three years is being demanded. The legal article also envisages an increment in the sentence because a published text is concerned. Talu is being accused of "acting in an insulting and derisive manner aimed at undermining relations between junior and senior officers and destroying the trust in superiors or commanders". Talu gave a statement to the Press Prosecutor Ismail Onaran in Istanbul on 7 August. Talu’s article, which expressed common complaints of lower ranking soldiers, included a call for "human treatment when alive for noncommissioned officers and the totally excluded sergeants by the high-ranking officers who attend their funerals", as well as "their admission to army leisure centres". The Initiative against The Crime of Thought has protested against Talu's prosecution, saying, "Civilians are still being tried by Military Penal Law, which is incongruous with the promises made in the EU reform packages."
Mustafa Koyuncu, the responsible director of the local “Emirdag” newspaper in Afyonkarahisar has been accused of insulting local authorities in the press. He was arrested on 13 March and held for a week. His trial, now without detention, will continue on 3 October. In the 12 March 2007 issue of the newspaper, Koyuncu had criticised the police in Emirdag in an article entitled “Should We Enter the EU Like This? They Are Abusing Their Positions”. The article quotes claims from people who had been arrested in Emirdag. The journalist was stopped when driving and arrested. 44 police officers have filed complaints against him.
Nurdan Acur, the Human Resources Manager of the Merkez Newspaper Magazine Group, is suing the publishing companies of three news websites, www.superpoligon.com, www.celiknet.com, and www.haberciler.com, for 6,000 YTL compensation. The websites had reported on the suit which the Turkey Journalists’ Syndicate (TGS) has filed against Acur for pressurising trade union members to resign from the trade union. She is said to have handed out pre-prepared Trade Union Resignation Forms to employees of the Merkez Newspaper Magazine Press Publishing Company, whether they were members of the trade union or not. Acur said in her complaint of 25 July that her personal rights had been attacked. The editor-in-chief of the website Gercekgündem (Real agenda), Baris Yarkadas was told on 12 August to attend the hearing at the Sisli 1st Court of First Instance on 21 November.
On 9 August, “Hürriyet” newspaper’s reporter Sebati Karakurt was told by the Istanbul 10th Heavy Penal Court to pay a preliminary fine of 455 YTL. Karakurt is being tried for a feature on the Kongra-Gel (popularly still known as the PKK) miltiants on the Qandil mountain in Northern Iraq. Responsible editors Hasan Kilic and Necdet Tatlican have been sentenced to pay 40,000 YTL and 20,000 YTL fines respectively. The feature had been published under the title “In Kandil feminism has gone beyond Kurdish nationalism" on 10 October 2004. Karakurt and Kilic are accused of “spreading the statements of a terrorist organisation”. Should the fines not be paid, the court case will continue on 13 November with a possibility of prison sentences.
On 8 August, the prosecution in Sarköy (province of Tekirdag in Thrace) demanded ten years imprisonment for journalist Yakup Önal of the local "Sarköy'ün Sesi" ("The Voice of Sarköy) newspaper for insulting mayor Can Gürsoy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and two municipal council members, Olcay Yücel and Ercan Yücel. The case will continue on 31 October. The case had initially been handled by prosecutor Tamer Soysal. On his transferal to Diyarbakir, the case had been taken over by prosecutor Hüseyin Kocaslan. Soysal had appealed against the acquittal of the journalist in an earlier case (14 March), related to an article entitled, "Beer drinkers in blue-flagged Sarköy, beware!" In that case, Önal had been on trial for "violating the secrecy of an investigation" and "attempting to influence the judiciary".
The Bagcilar Prosecution conducted investigations into “Radikal” newspaper’s columnists Perihan Magden and Yildirim Türker at the beginning of August. Prosecutor Ali Cakir conducted a formal investigation into Magden after she wrote an article entitled “Tonight your paint is everywhere, state”, but dismissed proceedings on 29 June. Magden had criticised the ban on news coverage of the weapons Arsenal found in a home in Ümraniye (Istanbul) in her article. Magden was also investigated for “harming the public image of the military” in the same article. Following a complaint by a Recep Akkus, there is also an investigation against Türker under Article 301/2 for “degrading the state’s armed forces”. The investigation is related to an article entitled “Invisible Attack”, published on 8 July 2007 in the Radikal supplement. Türker had written about the process which led to Hrant Dink’s murder, including the indifference of media and state authorities in the face of racism.
On 3 August it was reported that the Supreme Court of Appeals ratified the decision of the Sisli Penal Court to drop its case against writer Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk had been on trial under Article 159 of the old Penal Code after saying in an interview with weekly Swiss magazine “Das Magazin” that “One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds have been killed on this soil”. Up to three years imprisonment had been demanded, but when the Ministry of Justice had refused permission for trial, the Sisli court had dropped the case.
On demand of the Ministry of the Interior, Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the Sur municipality in Diyarbakir lost his post in June and the municipal council was dissolved. The Sur municipality had offered its services in Kurdish and Arabic as well as Turkish. Now the 8th Chamber of the State Council has opened a case against Demirbas and council members for “abusing their position” and “violating the law on insurgency”. In the indictment, prison sentences ranging between one and three and a half years are demanded for the council members deciding on the multilingual services and Osman Baydemir, the mayor of Greater Diyarbakir. A total of 21 persons will be tried at the Diyarbakir 2nd Penal Court on 7 November for “abusing their position” and “violating the law on Turkish letters”. Demirbas has been acquitted in another case concerning an article entitled “Local Government in Light of Multilingual Municipal Services” which he had presented to the European Social Forum.
At the end of July, the Ankara 13th Civil Court of First Instance partially accepted the complaint of a Sükrü Elekdag against “Agos” writer and historian Taner Akcam and decreed that Akcam should pay compensation. Akcam had written an article entitled “Gündüz Aktan and the Saik Issue in the Genocide” and it was published in the weekly newspaper on 6, 20 and 27 January and 3, 10, 17 February 2006. Elekdag, an MP, had claimed that his personal rights were attacked and he was insulted. He had demanded 20,000 YTL compensation. It was decided that Akcam and the newspaper should pay 10,000 YTL and legal interest. Lawyers have appealed against the decision, arguing that it violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
After saying in a speech, “We will count an attack on Kerkük as an attack on Diyarbakir”, DTP province chair Hilmi Aydogdu was detained for one and a half months. Since 5 April, he has been on trial without detention. The court has listened to journalists who interviews Aydogdu and it has been decided that local journalist Abdülselam Tayfun’s statement also be taken. Now the Diyarbakir 8th Penal Court is going to evaluate CD recordings. At a hearing on 26 July, Aydogdu’s lawyer Hayrettin Güzel had been given time to examine the analysis of the recording. Aydogdu is being tried under Article 216/1 of the old Penal Code for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” and up to 4.5 years imprisonment are being demanded. The case will continue on 2 October.
Lawyer Ferhat Bayindir had taken on the case of Hasin Is, who had been killed in front of the Batman Municipality building two years ago, on 27 August 2005. Bayindir himself was put on trial after a press statement he made on 16 June 2005. He was accused of "insulting the police force". The case will continue at the Batman Heavy Penal Court on 4 October.
In the case against Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir, the expert report has been questioned. Baydemir is said to have told the “Tempo” magazine in an interview that “Turks and Kurds cannot live together”. On 24 July the Bagcilar 2nd Penal Court (Istanbul) accepted Baydemir’s lawyer Özcan Intas’s claim that the expert had confused the utterances of Baydemir and DTP Siirt province chair Murat Avci and the lawyer’s demand for correction. The court has ordered the correction, and, if recordings of Baydemir exist, their analysis. Baydemir has been on trial under Article 216 of the old Penal Code for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility”. The case will continue on 6 December.
Eren Keskin, lawyer and former president of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), will not be tried for “inciting to hatred and hostility” after a speech she made in the Bulanik district of Mus, in which she used the term “Kurdistan”. The Bulanik prosecution decreed that “however unacceptable it was, it consisted of expressing an opinion” and dropped proceedings. In the justification it said that the suspect had used the term Kurdistan to refer to the area mostly inhabited by Kurds. However, she will be tried for the use of the same term used at a panel entitled “Woman, Society and Family” at the Viransehir Culture and Arts Festival two and a half years ago. Keskin has said that there are 15 trials open against her under Articles 159 and 301.
Ali Riza Vural, editor of Doz Publications, is being tried for “degrading and ridiculing the Republic in print” after publishing Mesut Barzani’s two-volume book entitled “Barzani and the Kurdish National Freedom Movement”. The Beyoglu 2nd Penal Court decided on 18 July to postpone the trial of Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu, who had initally been tried in relation with the book. The case was opened under Article 301/2 on 5 October 2005 and three years imprisonment is being demanded for Vural. The book was initially published in February 2003 and then withdrawn after a change in law. The second edition came out in May 2005. Vural will appear in court on 28 November.
The case against Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan, editor and licence holder of the Agos newspaper respectively, continued on 17 July. The two journalists are being tried for an interview which murdered Hrant Dink gave the Reuters News Agency and for an article entitled “A Vote against 301”. The trial was opened after Recep Akkus of the nationalist Great Lawyers’ Union filed a complaint. The trial, brought under Article 301/1 continues on 11 October. Up to three years imprisonment are being demanded.
Durmus Sahin, a student of the Ankara Gazi University Education Faculty, was arrested on 11 July when he refused to shake hands with Minister for Health Recep Akdag. Sahin had said, “I do not shake hands with those in government who do not provide services to the citizens”. After five days detention, he was brought before the Olur Criminal Court of Peace. There Sahin said, “Although I did not want to shake hands, the minister persisted in wanting tos hake my hands. Because I did not give my hand, he sent me to prison.” Sahin was released from detention but will be tried. A prison sentence from six months to two years is being demanded.
The Ankara 14th Civil Court of First Instance has rejected the complaint of Prime Minister Erdogan against “Sabah” columnist Hincal Uluc. After the murder of Hrant Dink, he had written an article entitled “Sects and Presidential Candidacy”, which was published on 7 February. Erdogan had demanded 20,000 YTL compensation for “serious atttack and slander”, but on 12 July the court rejected the complaint. Uluc had claimed that the positions of Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah and Minister of the Interior Abdülkadir Aksu were being protected after the murders of priest Andrea Santoro and journalist Hrant Dink because of their connections with religious sects and that the Prime Minister was closely linked to sects.
On 8 July, the Ankara 14th Civil Court of First Instance also rejected the 20,000 YTL compensation case which the KOZA gold mining company (which uses cyanide in its extraction) opened against the “Günlük Evrensel” newspaper. The complaint had been made when the newspaper reported on events which took place between KOZA goldmine employees and municipal officials on the one hand and the public on the other at the “Cyanide-Gold Environment Panel”. The Izmir 2nd Civil Court of First Instance had rejected two complaints of the same company against the “Birgün” newspaper’s editor Ibrahim Cesmecioglu and reporter Elcin Yagiz after the publication of two articles entitled, “Road of Acid” and “Closure Trial for Ovacik Gold Mine”.
