The defence lawyers of the "Sledgehammer Coup Plan" trial left the court room to protest the criminal complaint filed against lawyer Ersöz after the last hearing in March. Meanwhile, the Ankara Public Chief Prosecution decided for a lack of jurisdictions regarding the "Coup Diaries".

35 people were taken into custody in an operation regarding the investigation into the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK). About 20,000 people took the street for a protest march from Hakkari to Van. They continued the demonstration in a sit-down protest.

Dicle News Agency Diyarbakır representative Kadri Kaya, Batman reporter Erdoğan Altan and two other people were arrested by a Batman Court on Duty under allegations of "membership in an illegal organization". Batman Post newspaper reporter Mehmet Karabaş was released.

The procedures of the KCK trial heard in Diyarbakır were once more jammed upon the court board's decision not to permit a defence in Kurdish. The microphone was switched off for two defendants. About 100 defence lawyers protested the court.

The Supreme Election Board excluded twelve independent candidates from running for the general election in June. The candidates support the pro-Kurdish BDP. Political parties and NGOs criticized the decision, thousands of people protested all over the country.

According to Assoc. Prof. Altıparmak, the "Draft Bill on Rules and Procedures of the Safety of Internet Use" clearly violates the law and will create damage difficult to repair. bianet brought the draft bill before the Council of State last week.

Reporters without Borders Secretary General Juillard holds a press conference in Istanbul on Monday to draw attention to the arrests of journalists in Turkey and violations of press freedom. Journalist Saymaz and TGC Secretary General Güneş will join the conference as well.

Journalist Nedim Şener was taken to court for the first time since his arrest on 6 March. The trial was opened on the grounds of a news article written by Şener. He was supported inside and in front of the court house by his family, friends and colleagues.

The International Conference on Hate Crimes drew attention to the role of the media for hate crimes. The participants emphasized the immediate need for a law on hate crimes that is going to protect all individuals of society.

27 people, among them members of the press, are standing trial under allegations of "membership in the Marxist Leninist Communist Party because they attended the funeral of revolutionary writer Kutsiye Bozoklar. The case was postponed to September.

Records proved that the order for the Return to Life operation came from the Ministry of the Interior. The same documents revealed that then Prisons and Arrest Stations General Manager Ertosun forwarded the order to the gendarmerie on the phone.

The IPS Communication Foundation/bianet brought a compulsory filter program for all internet subscribers in Turkey before the Council of State. The new regulation enables the Council of Information Technologies and Telecommunication to ban access to websites according to their own unpublished list of forbidden sites.

"We touch even if we get burned" was the motto of demonstrators who protested the trial against journalists Ahmet Şık and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu. The hearing was postponed to 13 May because Şık was not brought to court by the authorities of the Silivri Prison.

The compensation claim filed against Tanay from the Contemporary Lawyers Association and bianet website co-ordinator Kürkçü by former Prisons and Arrest Stations General Manager Ertosun was rejected by an Ankara court.

Ferzinde Abi, one out of 17 defendants of the KCK Trial in Van, was released pending trial due to health reasons. The President Judge had five-year-old Argeş removed from the courtroom because he 'disturbed his conscience'. The boy stays in prison with his detained mother.

Prime Minister Erdoğan replied to the questions of the Members of Parliament of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He emphasized the independence of the Turkish judiciary from the executive and compared journalist Şık's unpublished book to a bomb.

BİA Project Coordinator Kürkçü is the Mersin MP candidate for the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block affiliated to the Peace and Democracy Party for the general elections in June. Read here the second part of an interview with Kürkçü held by bianet reporter Nilay Vardar.

BİA Project Coordinator Kürkçü is the Mersin MP candidate for the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block affiliated to the Peace and Democracy Party for the general elections in June. Read here the first part of an interview with Kürkçü held by bianet reporter Nilay Vardar.

In 2010, a total of 15,200 applications filed against Turkey were pending before the European Court of Human Rights. Only Russia has more files pending. Turkey is the country with the highest number of convictions regarding violations of rights at the ECHR.

"Nobody who commits a crime gets away with it any more. Unsolved murders are not an issue", President Gül recently announced. The Turkish Human Rights Report 2010 prepared by TİHV draws a different picture. 522 unsolved murders were registered in the past four years.