RIGHTS - Bianet

RIGHTS

Page 173

Internet Wars: Mainstream Journals Clash with News Websites

Internet Wars: Mainstream Journals Clash with News Websites

Some 20 mainstream daily newspapers in Turkey issued a declaration against the publication or airing of their news reports by internet sites, news portals and broadcasting stations. Such a move would push internet publications back into the underground, the Federation of Internet Media and Informatics (İMEF) cautioned however.

IPA Calls for Ragıp and Deniz Zarakolu’s Acquittal

IPA Calls for Ragıp and Deniz Zarakolu’s Acquittal

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has called on Turkish authorities to drop the charges against Ragıp Zarakolu, a publisher and a Nobel Peace Prize candidate nominee, as well as his son Deniz Zarakolu who is currently serving jail time.

Anthropologist Tuzcuoğlu and Eight More Released

Anthropologist Tuzcuoğlu and Eight More Released

A court in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır ruled to release anthropologist Müge Tuzcuoğlu and eight more suspects pending trial in the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) suit. Tuzcuoğlu criticized efforts to garner support against such trials through the use of personal imagery and emphasized the institutional nature of such crackdowns.

28 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Court Acquits Cartoonist Accused of Defaming Religion

Court Acquits Cartoonist Accused of Defaming Religion

A court in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak ruled to acquit Ayhan Kiraz yesterday, clearing him of charges pertaining to a cartoon he had drawn in response to a spat between the Education and Science Workers’ Union (Eğitim-Sen) and the religious establishment in the district of Çaycuma.

27 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Kurdish Mayor Restored in Office

Kurdish Mayor Restored in Office

The Council of State stayed the execution of a verdict to relieve Siirt Mayor Selim Sadak of his duties after he received a prison sentence on terrorism related charges. The Kurdish mayor believes the court’s latest decision was influenced by public pressure.

26 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez

Explosion Rocks Dersim, Killing Six Troops and One Bystander

Explosion Rocks Dersim, Killing Six Troops and One Bystander

An explosion took place in the southeastern province of Dersim at 18:00, killing six troops and one bystander.

25 September 2012

Police Raid İHD Offices, Detain Nearly 40 People

Police Raid İHD Offices, Detain Nearly 40 People

Law enforcement officials took nearly 40 people under custody in raids conducted across Turkey this morning, including the offices of the Human Rights Association (İHD) in the southern province of Mersin.

25 September 2012 Yüce Yöney

Kurdish Journalist and Deputy Mayor Released

Kurdish Journalist and Deputy Mayor Released

A court in the eastern province of Van decided to release Murat Aydın, a reporter for the Dicle news agency (DİHA,) and Bulanık Deputy District Mayor Ali Topçu on Tuesday. Aydın and Topçu had entered prison on October last year within the scope of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials.

20 September 2012

Torture and Ill-Treatment on the Rise, TİHV Report Cautions

Torture and Ill-Treatment on the Rise, TİHV Report Cautions

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) published its annual report for the year 2011. Law enforcement officials subjected some 724 prisoners to torture and ill-treatment during the aforementioned period, the report said. That figure represents an increase in the frequency of such human rights violations.

20 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez

Police Tortures Left-Wing Band Members

Police Tortures Left-Wing Band Members

Law enforcement officials took 27 people under custody on Sept. 14 while they were waiting to retreive the funeral of İbrahim Çuhadar before the Forensics Institute. The police savagely battered and injured the suspects including members of the left-wing music band Grup Yorum who were placed under house arrest by court order on Tuesday.

20 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez,Rüya Yüksel,Tomris Alvala Abisel

Courts Release Four Journalists in KCK, OdaTV Trials

Courts Release Four Journalists in KCK, OdaTV Trials

A court in Istanbul released Çağdaş Ulus and Cihat Ablay in the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trial on Thursday, while journalists Barış Terkoğlu and Barış Pehlivan were also released pending trial in the OdaTV probe the next day.

17 September 2012

Press Freedom Associations Call for Journalists' Release

Press Freedom Associations Call for Journalists' Release

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement calling for the release of imprisoned journalists in Turkey, while the Brussels-based European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) also said they were closely monitoring the press trials in Turkey.

13 September 2012

Terminally Ill Prisoner Dies Before Coming Out of Jail

Terminally Ill Prisoner Dies Before Coming Out of Jail

Terminally ill cancer patient Muhlis Barut died in hospital before he could get out of jail to spend his final days with his family. President Abdullah Gül had reportedly intervened to fulfill his request, but that did not stop the Justice Ministry from rejecting his plea to speed up the bureaucratic process for his release.

13 September 2012

General Staff: 88 Troops, 373 PKK Militants Die in 2012

General Staff: 88 Troops, 373 PKK Militants Die in 2012

The Turkish General Staff announced that 373 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had died as a consequence of military operations during the past six months, while 88 troops also lost their lives within a period of nine months.

13 September 2012

Report: Suspect Liable for Misconduct in Balıkçı Case

Report: Suspect Liable for Misconduct in Balıkçı Case

The expert report on the death of Turkish-Armenian soldier Sevag Balıkçı found suspect Kıvanç Ağaoğlu responsible for engaging in wrongful conduct. The court also accepted the plaintiffs’ demands to send evidence materials to the Forensics Institute.

13 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Judge Censures Defense Lawyers’ Pleas in Press Suit

Judge Censures Defense Lawyers’ Pleas in Press Suit

Demands for pleading in Kurdish marked the first hearing of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trial of 44 journalists on Monday. Chief Justice Ali Alçık also filed a complaint against the court audience during the second hearing on Tuesday and refused to enter the defense lawyers’ pleas into the court records.

12 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez

Court Decides to Release Journalist after Six Years of Arrest

Court Decides to Release Journalist after Six Years of Arrest

A court in Istanbul ruled to release Sedat Şenoğlu, the executive coordinator of Atılım newspaper who remained under arrest for six years. The court decided to keep journalists Fusün Erdoğan and Bayram Namaz in jail, however.

11 September 2012

Climbing the Mountain of Truth and Justice

Climbing the Mountain of Truth and Justice

Actress Arsinée Khanjian and lawyer Fethiye Çetin spoke about what it means to be an Armenian in Turkey and in the Diaspora in a series of programs called “Climbing the Mountain” launched by the Civilitas Foundation and Anatolian Culture.

10 September 2012 Nilay Vardar

“The Government Has Taken Over the Judiciary and Parliament”

“The Government Has Taken Over the Judiciary and Parliament”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said they had spoken to the judiciary to lift the parliamentary immunity of BDP deputies in connection with their encounter with PKK militants on Aug. 17. BDP Deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü said those remarks illustrated how far the government had gone to concentrate all the power in their hands.

8 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Demonstrators Protest Release of Turkish-Armenian Soldier’s Killer

Demonstrators Protest Release of Turkish-Armenian Soldier’s Killer

Human rights activists spearheaded by the Nor Zartonk Initiative gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest the release of Kıvanç Ağaoğlu pending trial, prior to the deliverance of the final verdict. Ağaoğlu had shot Sevag Balıkçı, a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, to death while they were performing their mandatory military service.

6 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Reassignment of Judges and Prosecutors Sparks Controversy

Reassignment of Judges and Prosecutors Sparks Controversy

Authorities reassigned two judges and two prosecutors in the case of the Zirve Publishing House Massacre. The decision constitutes an intervention in a fair trial, according to case lawyer Erdal Doğan, while his colleague Ali Koç offered a different view on the matter.

6 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Children of War Shaken and Overwhelmed in Şırnak

Children of War Shaken and Overwhelmed in Şırnak

Following the fierce clashes that took place between government forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Şırnak over the weekend, Fırat Ataman, a native of the district Beytüşşebap, told bianet that children of the town were overwhelmed by the experience of war.

5 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez

“The State is Feeling the Waters to Censor Social Media”

“The State is Feeling the Waters to Censor Social Media”

Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım referred to social media a “threat” that needs to be contained. Minister Yıldırım later denied allegations that they were working on measures to censor social media, but Dr. Özgür Uçkan from Istanbul’s Bilgi University expressed doubt about his statement.

5 September 2012 Ekin Karaca

Hatay Governor Announces Ban on Demonstrations

Hatay Governor Announces Ban on Demonstrations

Hatay Governor Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz yesterday announced they would no longer permit demonstrations or press statements in the southern border province for the stated purpose of “upholding social peace.”

5 September 2012

Time Ticking for Unresolved Murders and Disappearances of the 1990s

Time Ticking for Unresolved Murders and Disappearances of the 1990s

Emma Sinclair-Webb from the Human Rights Watch (HRW) cautioned that the statute of limitations would begin to apply to cases of unresolved murders and disappearances that took place in the 1990s within three years, while speaking at a meeting in Istanbul.

4 September 2012 Nilay Vardar

Ending Impunity for Killings and Disappearances

Ending Impunity for Killings and Disappearances

Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a press release calling for the removal of the hurdles that lie before the investigation of security forces and civil servants for their roles in murders, disappearances and acts of torture that took place in the 1990s.

4 September 2012

Hatay Locals Feeling the Squeeze under the Shadow of War

Hatay Locals Feeling the Squeeze under the Shadow of War

As the Syrian conflict continues raging on across the border from the southern province of Hatay, many locals have grown weary of the presence of Free Syrian Army (FSA) troops in the area and are deeply worried about the impact of the war on the local economy, Ayça Söylemez reports.

3 September 2012 Ayça Söylemez

University to Offer Hebrew and Syriac Courses in Mardin

University to Offer Hebrew and Syriac Courses in Mardin

The Department of Living Languages in Mardin Artuklu University is set to launch two courses to teach Hebrew and Syriac. Assistant Prof. Mehmet Sait Toprak said their aim was to train researchers who could conduct scientific studies in their own languages.

31 August 2012 Nilay Vardar

Police Shoots Man to Death in Ankara

Police Shoots Man to Death in Ankara

Police officers shot Cem Aygün to death in Ankara’s Keçiören district on Thursday on the grounds that he did not comply with their orders to stop. The victim’s father İsmet Aygün told bianet that the police did not even provide him with an explanation.

31 August 2012 Ekin Karaca

Roboski Villagers: Incensed, Disillusioned and Aggrieved

Roboski Villagers: Incensed, Disillusioned and Aggrieved

Eight months on after the Roboski massacre, the People’s Democratic Congress (HDK) paid a visit to the village where the ill-fated bombing took place and shared their impressions on how the locals felt about the incident.

30 August 2012 Zehra Akıdan

“Until Death We Do Not Part”

“Until Death We Do Not Part”

The Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER) launched a campaign for the victims of last week’s lethal blast in the southeastern province of Antep. Campaign volunteer Birgül Aktar, however, noted the difference in people’s reactions to last year’s Roboski massacre.

30 August 2012 Serhat Korkmaz

“Parliament Speaker’s Kurdish Document is Too Ambiguous”

“Parliament Speaker’s Kurdish Document is Too Ambiguous”

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek presented an 11 point document intended to solve the Kurdish issue during a press meeting on Tuesday. Prof. Büşra Ersanlı, who spent 8.5 months behind bars in connection with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trial, told bianet that the contents of the document were too murky, however.

28 August 2012 Nilay Vardar