RIGHTS - Bianet

RIGHTS

Page 209

"Help" Misinterpreted as Torture?

"Help" Misinterpreted as Torture?

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.

3 December 2010 Berivan Tapan

"Legislative Straitjacket Stifles Media Freedom"

"Legislative Straitjacket Stifles Media Freedom"

RSF criticized the Turkish government for more than 25 articles in the Turkish Criminal Law and the Anti-Terror law that restrict press freedom and free speech. The drafted amendments were only "cosmetic and superficial changes", RSF said.

3 December 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

The Internet's Role for a Participatory Democracy

The Internet's Role for a Participatory Democracy

The 15th Turkish Internet Conference themed "Mobile Life" brought up the subject of the medium's participation in democracy. The three-day event at the Istanbul Technical University is attended by journalist, politicians and experts in the field.

3 December 2010 Emir Çelik

PM Erdoğan Receives Human Rights Award from Libya

PM Erdoğan Receives Human Rights Award from Libya

Prime Minister Erdoğan was bestowed with the Gaddafi International Human Rights Award Libya. Both Turkey and Libya are head to head when it comes to concealing human rights violations, oppressing opposition and occupying the rear places of freedom of expression indexes.

1 December 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

5 Children and 3 Adults Killed in Şırnak in 15 Months

5 Children and 3 Adults Killed in Şırnak in 15 Months

A joint report by the Şırnak Bar Associaiton, the Contemporary Lawyers Association and the Human Rights Association revealed that eight people, five of whom were children, were killed by explosives or in police interventions in the past 15 months.

1 December 2010 Semra Pelek

Second Death Threat against Kurdish Politician Miroğlu in 3 Months

Second Death Threat against Kurdish Politician Miroğlu in 3 Months

A death threat against the Kurdish politician Miroğlu was posted on the website of the HPG, an armed wing of the outlawed PKK. The article signed by Toprak Cengiz read, "If he continues like this, we will put a red line into use! Miroğlu will be dead then!"

30 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Violence Caused by Homophobia

Violence Caused by Homophobia

Turkish and foreign politicians discussed violence caused by homophobia in the "Meeting to Commemorate the Trans Individuals who Became Victims of Hate Crime". Turkish politicians criticized the lack of political support for the struggle of LGBTT individuals.

29 November 2010 Çiçek Tahaoğlu

Deputy PM Arınç: 'Censorship Occurs in Banana Republic'...

Deputy PM Arınç: 'Censorship Occurs in Banana Republic'...

In a meeting on local media organized by the Turkish Journalists Association and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Deputy PM Arınç said, "We think that a media with bans and censorship can only exist in oppressive regimes and i a banana republic".

29 November 2010 Berivan Tapan

Deputy Chief of Police Sued for "Torture"

Deputy Chief of Police Sued for "Torture"

The Beyoğlu Public Chief Prosecution opened a case against five police officers for alleged torture of 2 young people taken into custody on1 May 2009. In an important decision, the Bakırköy Court decided to include former Deputy Chief of Police Özsavaş in the case.

29 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Journalist in Jail for Attending DTP Symposium

Journalist in Jail for Attending DTP Symposium

DİHA reporter Açıkyer received 10-month prison term under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK" because he attended a symposium of the pro-Kurdish DTP. The court handed down various sentences to13 defendants.

29 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Testimonies of "Return to Life" Eye Witnesses

Testimonies of "Return to Life" Eye Witnesses

In the second hearing of the "Bayrampaşa trial" related to the "return to life" operation, the court decided to obtain the results of a previous probe into then Minister of Justice Türk, Minister of the Interior Tantan, Gendarmerie Commander Yalman and other officials.

26 November 2010 Berivan Tapan

First Application in Kurdish to ECHR

First Application in Kurdish to ECHR

Pro-Kurdish DTP member Alınak is tried together with another 93 people under "propaganda" charges on the grounds of a critical press release issued after the ban of the political party. Alınak will apply to the ECHR for the right to a defence in Kurdish as his mother tongue.

26 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Colonel Öz Tried at High Criminal Court?

Colonel Öz Tried at High Criminal Court?

The Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court applied for a merger of the trial against Ali Öz, prosecuted for allegedly disregarding crucial information obtained prior to the Hrant Dink murder, and the trial against 7 gendarmerie officers heard at the Trabzon 1st High Criminal Court.

26 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

IFEX Members Urge UN to Prevent Violence against Women Journalists

IFEX Members Urge UN to Prevent Violence against Women Journalists

44 members of IFEX, among them the Initiative Against Thought Crimes and the IPS Communication Foundation, urged UN Women Head Michelle Bachelet to take measures regarding violence against women who struggle for freedom of expression and are exposed to violence and oppression due to their gender.

25 November 2010 Emir Çelik

Defendants Haven't Got a Clue...

Defendants Haven't Got a Clue...

39 gendarmerie officers are tried in the case regarding the "return to life" operation which left 30 people dead in Turkish prisons in 2000. 27 out of the 28 defendants that appeared at court claimed that they did not remember anything.

25 November 2010 Berivan Tapan

Acquittal of Journalists Durukan, Çakkalkurt, Koçali and Pekgöz

Acquittal of Journalists Durukan, Çakkalkurt, Koçali and Pekgöz

Milliyet newspaper employees Durukan and Çakkalkurt were acquitted of charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of one of their news items and so were Günlük daily officials Koçali and Pekgöz who were tried for the same reason.

24 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

RTÜK Fines CNN Türk

RTÜK Fines CNN Türk

By majority vote, RTÜK imposed a heavy monetary fine to the news channel CNN Türk on the grounds of a statement made by Kurdish politician Özçelik in the program "What's going on". He had described the militant PKK as a "political movement".

24 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Students Convicted for Criticism of Prime Minister

Students Convicted for Criticism of Prime Minister

18 students were sentenced to 1 year and 3 month each behind bars because of criticizing PM Erdoğan at the opening ceremony of the Istanbul Technical University. They had voiced their protest in slogans and banners.

24 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Pro-Kurdish Politicians Sentenced for "Propaganda"

Pro-Kurdish Politicians Sentenced for "Propaganda"

Atalay, mayor of the south-eastern province of Batman, was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail for alleged spreading of propaganda for an illegal organization. Gençdal from the Group for a Peaceful and Democratic Solution received a 20-month sentence.

24 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

"Detention Turned into Punishment"

"Detention Turned into Punishment"

"Custody, detention and oppression do not intimidate us" was written on the banners of 300 protestors who criticized the detention of 13 left wing activities in a demonstration in Istanbul. The members of legal political groups were arrested two months ago and are still in prison.

23 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Legal Procedures against Taraf Journalists Kütahyalı and Miroğlu

Legal Procedures against Taraf Journalists Kütahyalı and Miroğlu

Two Taraf newspaper writers are in the eye of the judiciary once again. The Ministry of Justice issued permission for an investigation about journalist Kütahyalı. Kurdish politician and journalist Miroğlu is tried for expressing his thoughts on the Kurdish question.

23 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Key Figure Güney Benefited from Law of Repentance

Key Figure Güney Benefited from Law of Repentance

The Prosecution announced that no arrest warrant was issued in the name of Tuncay Güney, a mysterious key figure of the Eregenekon trial, because he benefited from the law of repentance.

22 November 2010 Berivan Tapan

Journalist Sevimay Receives Müşerref Hekimoğlu Press Award

Journalist Sevimay Receives Müşerref Hekimoğlu Press Award

Milliyet newspaper reporter Devrim Sevimay is the first laureate of the "Müşerref Hekimoğlu Press Award" issued by İLAD for "female journalists that contributes to a free communication environment with an unbiased journalistic approach".

22 November 2010

Article 19: Thorough Press Freedom Reform Indispensible

Article 19: Thorough Press Freedom Reform Indispensible

The human rights organization Article 19 called on the Turkish government to "lead by example" during the chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and take immediate steps to improve freedom of expression in Turkey.

22 November 2010

Prosecutor Şanal Sues Journalist Saymaz

Prosecutor Şanal Sues Journalist Saymaz

Former Special Authority Prosecutor Osman Şanal filed a compensation claim against Radikal newspaper reporter İsmail Saymaz because of the journalist's book "The Postmodern Jihad". Saymaz faces a total of 97 years behind bars in twelve different trials.

22 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Bosporus University Protests Police Violence on Campus

Bosporus University Protests Police Violence on Campus

212 faculty members and lecturers of the Bosporus University in Istanbul issued a written statement to condemn a police blockade and police violence during a campus visit of Prime Minster Erdoğan and five ministers.

15 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Conscientious Objector Süver to be Hospitalized on Compulsion

Conscientious Objector Süver to be Hospitalized on Compulsion

Conscientious objector Süver will have been detained for four months by the coming hearing in December. The Military Court decided again to issue a medical report and to transfer Süver to a military prison.

15 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Letter "Q" Constitutes Element of Crime

Letter "Q" Constitutes Element of Crime

Sociologist Beşikçi and Layer Şimşek are accused of "spreading propaganda for the PKK". In the second hearing of the case, the prosecutor saw an element of crime in the use of the letter "q", which is not part of the Turkish but of the Kurdish alphabet.

15 November 2010 Berivan Tapan

Prison Threat for Sports Journalist Uluç

Prison Threat for Sports Journalist Uluç

Sports journalist Uluç might face two years in prison for an alleged insult of Galatasaray football club sports director Adnan Sezgin. The indictment has not been accepted yet.

12 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

"Ağar Would Receive that Sentence if He Had Stolen a Hen"

"Ağar Would Receive that Sentence if He Had Stolen a Hen"

The Ankara Prosecution demanded a 1-year prison sentence for Mehmet Ağar who had connections to the victims of the so-called "Susurluk scandal" which revealed connections between politicians and the mafia. The Contemporary Lawyers Association criticized the plea.

12 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu

Court and Defendants Obstinate on Language Dispute

Court and Defendants Obstinate on Language Dispute

The Diyarbakır court trying the KCK trial once more insisted on hearing the defendants' defence speeches in Turkish and again dismissed the request for a defence in Kurdish. The defendants are equally determined. Hundreds of people protested the case before the Thursday hearing.

12 November 2010 Erhan Üstündağ

Journalists Düzel and Adnan Prosecuted over PKK Interview

Journalists Düzel and Adnan Prosecuted over PKK Interview

Taraf newspaper journalists Düzel and Demir are facing imprisonment of 7.5 years for an interview with executives of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party. Düzel rejected the charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization" and claimed to have made "political propaganda".

12 November 2010 Erol Önderoğlu