15 people were taken into police custody on 15 June. The operation that was still going on on Wednesday afternoon was allegedly connected to a press release regarding the death of retired teacher Lokumcu after a massive police intervention in Hopa.

The website of the Fırat News Agency is subject to a cyber attack that made access temporarily impossible. The site can currently be reached under www.firatnews.ws.

Eleven people who stood trial in the scope of the KCK case in Ağrı were sentenced to imprisonment of 91 years and eleven months in total. The court did not hear their defence speeches because the defendants requested to speak Kurdish at the hearing.

Two days after Prime Minister Erdoğan's party won the elections, six people in Çorum were taken into police custody on the grounds of their participation in the 1 May celebrations 45 days ago. They were released the same day.

Newspaper distributor Karahan was sentenced to imprisonment of two years on charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization". The sentence was based on certain terms posted on a Facebook account registered in Karahan's name.

"Freedom for Zengin" as demanded by the journalist's supporters was the decision of the court at the hearing on 14 June. Journalist Zengin was released pending trial after two years in prison. She is charged with "membership in an illegal organization.

Journalist and academic Baskın Oran received his fourth death threat signed by the Turkish Revenge Brigade. The message was sent to the Armenian Agos newspaper and read "your time has come to die".

For the fifth time, the IPS Communication Foundation will give graduate students the chance to be trained in rights journalism. From 9 to 16 July, journalists, academics and human rights advocators will share their knowledge and experiences with the participants.

The OSCE Election Monitoring Delegation stated that the general elections on 12 June were done in a pluralistic and secure environment. The delegation criticized the 10-percent electoral threshold and urged the state to "establish a media distant of political pressure".

Azadiya Welat, the only nation-wide newspaper in Turkey publishing in Kurdish, has been banned for the duration of 15 days. This is the ninth publication ban for the daily. Its printing house in Diyarbakır was searched by the police.

The editor-in-chief of the Midyat Habur newspaper, Mehmet Halis İş, was stopped by the police when he took footage of an incident. The newspaper claimed that this sort of intervention became systematic in recent times.

The first two issues of the Özgür Halk ve Demokratik Modernite magazine were seized. The publication was suspended twice and a Diyarbakır court decided to confiscate all copies under allegations of "propaganda for an illegal organization".

By 31 March, 5 journalists were in prison for their writings, another 42 press members in the context of operations like "Ergenekon" and other major trials and investigations. Within 3 months, 13 people were sentenced to monetary fines and almost 22 years in jail on the grounds of their opinions on the Kurdish question.

Prime Minister Erdoğan gave an account on topics such as press freedom, internet censorship, military service and the recent incidents in Hopa in the course of a Q&A session with journalists in a broadcast of CNN Türk.

Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block candidate Dicle will not be able to stand in the general elections on Sunday because a conviction decided by the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court in 2009 was finalized now. Mayor Güler was deposed from office for the same reason.

16 members of the Beyoğlu Troupe of Actors were acquitted of charges of "insult of a public official". The actors were sued by Prime Minister Erdoğan on the grounds of the lyrics of a song they performed.

The Radio and Television Supreme Council issued a warning to the series "Behzat Ç." because of "using poor Turkish and slang". The use of alcohol in the series was criticized too. Screenwriter Serbes said that the format of the series would not change.

Journalist Atay from Batman was sentenced to jail for 1 month and 7 days for a news item about KCK leader Karayılan. "We were punished for a statement that was published by everybody", Atay criticized. News about Karayılan brought also other journalists to court.

A report prepared by the two main Turkish human rights organizations, the Turkish Medical Association and a major national trade union centre gave an insight into the background and the aftermath of the massive police intervention in Hopa last week.

University students will start a three-day vigil in Istanbul on Wednesday. They demonstrate against unemployment and sordid business in politics. The young people invite everybody who agrees with the criticism to join and make their voices heard.