The 23 defendants tired for their alleged membership of the MLKP communist party insisted on presenting their defence in Kurdish as their mother tongue but the court refused permission. Defendant Çelebi claimed that the detention period of 4 years turned into torture.

Almost 4 years after the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink, the court is still evaluating the request for a joint plaintiff status of the Dink family lawyers. The Trabzon High Criminal Court is waiting for defendant Öz's lawyer, the Magistrate Court awaits the High Court's decision on merging the files.

Tores Dinçöz from the Union of Architects and Engineers criticized university rectors for not showing any reaction on the recent clashes between students and police forces. The TTB Women Physicians condemned the killing of an unborn baby. İHD spoke of "inhumane torture".

The Initiative for Reforms in Education underlined the need for research and preparation regarding "Bilingual Education". The perception of languages needs to be changed and primary education should be improved urgently, the initiative claimed.

Lawyer Kabataş filed a complaint against the police on behalf of the Students Youth Union members who were exposed to police violence in the course of a protest in Istanbul on 5 December. Several organizations condemned the incident.

Batman Post executive Çelik is indicted for an interview with the family of PKK member Korkmaz who was killed in 1986. Journalist Atay from the Batman newspaper is tried for publishing a PKK announcement regarding an explosion in Batman that killed 4 rights activists.

The prosecutor of the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court demands prison terms of up to 21years for Berivan Eker, former chief editor of the Renge Heviya Jine magazine. If the court dismisses the appeal against her detention, Eker will be in prison till 25 January 2011.

Writer Akhanlı was released pending trial in the first hearing after 113 days in detention. Akanlı was arrested this August when he entered Turkey from his home country Germany because of his alleged involvement in an armed robbery 21 years ago.

Publisher Sancı and interpreter Yerguz were acquitted even after the Prime Ministerial Board evaluated the three books on subject as "harming the public's sense of shame". An expert report by the Galatsaray University had previously assessed the books as "works of literature".

Ruken Yetişmiş, Mayor of Yüksekova in south-eastern Turkey, went to jail after the 6-month postponement of her sentence elapsed on 5 December. She will probably be released after 7 months and 10 days. The Kurdish politician considers her sentence a "political" punishment.

No further releases were decided in the third hearing of the "Revolutionary Headquarters" trial. Customs officer Öncü and Captain Öztürk have been detained for 18 months now and will remain in prison for another 5 months until the next hearing on 12 April.

The German author Günter Wallraff will be one of the observers at the trial against Erdoğan Akhanlı who has been detained for 5 months because of an armed robbery allegedly committed on behalf o an illegal organization in 1989. Wallraff supports Akhanlı who is facing a life sentence.

International and local non-governmental organizations took an important step for the recognition of freedom for homosexual individuals in Cyprus. President of the Northern Cyprus Assembly Bozer promised to amend the laws that define homosexuality as a crime.

The police violently intervened against students who had gathered to protest the Higher Education Council (YÖK) during PM Erdoğan's meeting with university rectors. The students were exposed to tear gas and beating. 40 of them were taken into custody but released later on.

Berivan Eker, former editor-in-chief of the Renge Heviya Jine women magazine, was arrested on 5 December. Her predecessors Gurbet Çakar, Sultan Sonsuz, Ruken Aktaş and Sibel Esmer are either convicted or facing prison terms.

Assoc. Prof. Adaklı from Ankara University believes that initiatives like WikiLeaks could influence the "establishment of a new class order of the oppressed". She describes WikiLeaks founder Assange as the "Napoleon of our times".

The lack of co-operation between countries in south-eastern Europe was deplored at the round table meeting of the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner on rights organizations in Turkey and the Balkans as well as at SEEMO's 4th Media Forum.

Renowned Turkish and Kurdish writers, journalists, academics and artists initiated a signature campaign to protest the death threat voiced by an armed wing of the PKK against Kurdish politician Orhan Miroğlu.

The ECHR called on Turkey for the implementation of the Istanbul Protocol and the principles as defined by the CPT. The court sentenced Turkey to a €12,000 fine in compensation for Musa Doğan who applied to the international court because of ill-treatment in custody.

Riot Forces Branch Sergeant Damgacı, one of the police officers indicted with alleged "torture", stated that he actually wanted to help the demonstrator who sued him. The court decided to prosecute both the high-rank officials and their subordinates.