RIGHTS - Bianet

RIGHTS

Page 207

Facebook Censored PurpleHand LGBT Group

Facebook Censored PurpleHand LGBT Group

The facebook administration closed down the PurpleHand Eskişehir LGBT facebook group. Members of the PurpleHand initiative criticised, "This is an intervention against freedom of expression and communication of LGBTT individuals".

10 January 2011 Burçin Belge

Author Akhanlı Expelled

Author Akhanlı Expelled

Writer Erdoğan Akhanlı was expelled from Turkey when he was about to leave for Germany on 6 January. He was released pending trial in December regarding his alleged involvement in an armed robbery committed 20 years ago.

10 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Sentenced for Comment at a Barber Shop

Sentenced for Comment at a Barber Shop

Businessman Akyüz from Antalya was sued and convicted because of a comment on a television news report he watched at a barber shop. The news was about the closure case of the ruling AKP. Akyüz will be on probation for five years since the sentence was postponed.

7 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Sledgehammer Coup Plan Trial Starting from Scratch

Sledgehammer Coup Plan Trial Starting from Scratch

The prosecution of 196 defendants tried for their alleged involvement in the "Sledgehammer Coup Plan" started on 6 January with the third hearing of the trial. The defendants' second demand for the recusal of three judges was dismissed again.

7 January 2011 Burçin Belge

Caricaturist Baruter Threatened

Caricaturist Baruter Threatened

Caricaturist Baruter said that he received threats via the internet because of a deck of cards he designed with Ottoman figures resembling insects. He argued, "I am not concerned about myself but about our country and a perception of conservatism".

7 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Water Bills Issued in English but not in Kurdish

Water Bills Issued in English but not in Kurdish

Deputy Prime Minister Çiçek remarked that signs in both languages, Turkish and Kurdish, can be put up at the market stalls, whereas a municipality is not allowed to issue their water bills in Kurdish. At the same time, the Didim Municipality offers services in English.

6 January 2011 Erhan Üstündağ

2,200 Policemen Intervened against 500 Students

2,200 Policemen Intervened against 500 Students

The police intervened with tear gas and combat cars against a group of students that was going to carry out a protest march from the ODTÜ campus to the central office of the Justice and Development Party in Ankara. The students threw stones in response.

6 January 2011 Erhan Üstündağ

Pornographic Movie - A Slightly Different Graduate Thesis

Pornographic Movie - A Slightly Different Graduate Thesis

Three members of the Bilgi University (Istanbul) teaching staff were suspended after a pornographic movie produced as part of a graduate thesis made the headlines. The issue is being discussed controversially in the Turkish media and academic environment.

6 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Lawyers Criticize Judiciary's Approach on Period of Arrest

Lawyers Criticize Judiciary's Approach on Period of Arrest

Turkish lawyers discuss the judiciary's narrow interpretation of the recent amendment of article 102 of the Criminal Procedure Law. According to Istanbul Bar Association President Kocasakal, defendants should be released after a period of arrest of four years.

5 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu,Erhan Üstündağ

'Rainbow' LGBT Association Closed Down by Court Decision

'Rainbow' LGBT Association Closed Down by Court Decision

A court in Bursa decided for the closure of the Rainbow LGBT Association. The case was opened two years ago upon the complaint of the Bursa Governorship. Association President Özen commented, "This is a deplorable decision, but our struggle will not cease".

5 January 2011 Emir Çelik

"A Fence Does not Protect the Border"

"A Fence Does not Protect the Border"

UNHCR spokesman Çorabatır emphasized that border security should include mechanisms that allow people to claim for asylum. In his opinion, a fence between Greece and Turkey does not solve the problem.

5 January 2011 Erhan Üstündağ

"Bilingual Life" Project Fuels Interest in Kurdish Language

"Bilingual Life" Project Fuels Interest in Kurdish Language

Besim Baykal, President of the Kurdish KURDİ-DER association, sees education in the mother tongue as a key to a solution of the Kurdish question. In the course of the recent discussion on the "bilingual life" project, applications for language courses rocketed.

4 January 2011 Berivan Tapan

Judiciary Restricts Amendment on Period of Arrest

Judiciary Restricts Amendment on Period of Arrest

Lawyer Kanar criticizes the judiciary's narrow interpretation of the recent amendment of Article 102 of the Criminal Procedure Law. According to Kanar, not only defendants detained for ten years should be released pending trial but also people detained for more than four or six years.

4 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Supreme Court Quashed Verdict for Acquittal of Kurdish Singer

Supreme Court Quashed Verdict for Acquittal of Kurdish Singer

The Court of Appeals quashed the verdict for Kurdish singer Tunç's acquittal of charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization". Tunç was initially tried for referring to the death of 17 MKP members in the course of a military operation in 2004 during a performance.

3 January 2011 Erol Önderoğlu

Turkey Fails in Human Rights

Turkey Fails in Human Rights

The Human Rights Association (İHD) issued the Human Rights report 2010 for Turkey and graded the country with "0". İHD Istanbul Branch President Boğa said that a total of 480 people applied to the association during the past year because of rights violations.

3 January 2011 Berivan Tapan

Kurdish Journalists and Politicians Sentenced to 167 Years

Kurdish Journalists and Politicians Sentenced to 167 Years

Journalist Emine Demir is one of the Kurdish journalists sentenced by High Criminal Courts in the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakır. The courts decreed for prison terms of 167 years in total handed down to journalists of Kurdish papers and Kurdish politicians.

National Security Council Targets Kurdish Demands

National Security Council Targets Kurdish Demands

At the last MGK meeting of the year, it was stated that "instigations that target the indivisible integrity, would not come through." "Single flag, single nation, single country, single state, single language," were emphasized.

PKK Should Apologize for Their Losses, Victims' Families Urge

PKK Should Apologize for Their Losses, Victims' Families Urge

On the 16. anniversary of the deadly bomb attack by PKK militants when prominent writer Onat Kutlar and archeologist Yasemin Cebenoyan lost their lives, relatives urged the PKK apologize: "We may only forgive should the guilty apologise," said Mumcu of the Social Memory Platform. "We are not here for revenge."

1 January 2011 Berivan Tapan

Allegations of Torture at Tekirdağ Maximum Security Prison

Allegations of Torture at Tekirdağ Maximum Security Prison

Medical treatment for prisoners and convicts are ignored and they are subjected to torture says former prisoner Ergezer, who was released after completing a six-year prison sentence. Similar allegations have been recorded in previous reports by Human Rights Association.

29 December 2010

Court of Appeals Reduces Killer Police's Penalty

Court of Appeals Reduces Killer Police's Penalty

The Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a prison sentence handed to a police officer, who killed 18-year-old Gemik for not complying with the "Stop" warning. Gemik family lawyer Ermis stated that the decision by the Supreme Court of Appeals is unlawful and said that they will go to the ECHR if necessary.

28 December 2010

Pınar Sağ: Double Standards in Judiciary?

Pınar Sağ: Double Standards in Judiciary?

Folk singer Pınar Sağ rejected the accusations put up against her in the trial regarding her utterances about revolutionist İbrahim Kaypakkaya. Sağ is facing imprisonment of up to five years.

23 December 2010 Burçin Belge

Freedom of Expression Defendants Name by Name

Read here a list of journalists, writers, politicians and media institutions that are being tried on charges regarding freedom of thought and expression. This list was compiled according to the report on the third quarter of 2010 prepared by the BİA Media Monitoring Desk.

23 December 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Judiciary Persecutes Different Opinions on Kurdish Question

Judiciary Persecutes Different Opinions on Kurdish Question

Six journalists are in jail because of their writings. The number of people tried under the Anti-Terror Law is on the rise. Turkey was sentenced by the European Court of Human Rights. 190 people, including 67 journalists, are prosecuted for their thoughts and writings.

22 December 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

"RTÜK's Input for Discrimination of LGBT Individuals"

"RTÜK's Input for Discrimination of LGBT Individuals"

The LGBT organization LambdaIstanbul criticized RTÜK for fining the Habertürk TV channel for a discussion on homosexuality and protested the RTÜK President for saying that "showing homosexuality as normal violates the Turkish family structure".

22 December 2010 Burçin Belge

Criminal Complaint against Chief of General Staff

Criminal Complaint against Chief of General Staff

A group of seven intellectuals filed a criminal complaint with the Chief of General Staff on the grounds of a statement that allegedly targeted the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party in the context of the recent discussion on bilingualism.

22 December 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

Provocation During Commemoration of Maraş Massacre

Provocation During Commemoration of Maraş Massacre

Alevi Bektashi Federation President Balkız said that the recent provocation of a group of nationalists was encouraged by the government's discriminative attitude and the fact that the perpetrators of the Maraş massacre remained unpunished.

21 December 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

Parliament President Sceptic on Kurdish Proposal

Parliament President Sceptic on Kurdish Proposal

After the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress on "Democratic Autonomy", Parliament President Şahin emphasized, "We do not recognize any other congress or assembly. [...] The parliament is to be addressed in Turkish by law".

21 December 2010 Ertuğrul Kürkçü,Berivan Tapan

Protests 10 Years after "Return to Life" Operation

Protests 10 Years after "Return to Life" Operation

An explosion occurred in Diyarbakır during the demonstrations that marked the 10th anniversary of the violent "Return to Life" operation. Protestors all over the country demonstrated against the operation and the way the state dealt with it afterwards. The police intervened with tear gas and water cannons.

20 December 2010 Berivan Tapan

Campaign for Hate Crime Law

Campaign for Hate Crime Law

"Raise your voice" was one of the topics of the campaign against hate crimes by the Association for Social Change and the SayStop Initiative. The beginning of the campaign was marked by a symposium in Istanbul. Main aims are a draft bill and raising public awareness.

20 December 2010 Berivan Tapan

"Democratic Autonomy" Model Takes Shape

"Democratic Autonomy" Model Takes Shape

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress organized a workshop with Turkish journalists, academics, politicians and rights defenders to discuss their suggestion of a "Democratic Autonomy". Two days of discussion shed light on many aspects of the model.

20 December 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

Trial against bianet and Lawyer Tanay Postponed

Trial against bianet and Lawyer Tanay Postponed

The case filed by former General Head of Prisons and Detention Stations Ertosun against lawyer Tanay and bianet website co-ordinator Kürkçü was postponed to January 2011. Tanay and Kürkçü are facing a heavy compensation claim.

20 December 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

A Woman's Right and Obligation to Carry her Husband's Name

A Woman's Right and Obligation to Carry her Husband's Name

Sırma Oya Tekvar Geray opened a case in order to abolish her husband's surname and bear her maiden name only. The court dropped procedures in the first hearing. "No one can object to carrying her husband's surname since it is the right of a women", the court reasoned.

17 December 2010 Berivan Tapan