At a conference in London, President Gül announced that legal reforms are on their way regarding detained journalists in Turkey. 23 professional press organizations had recently urged the government for legal reforms and the release of 50 journalists.

"Abolish Compulsory Religious Education" was one of the main demands in the demonstration of Alevi organizations in Istanbul. A sit-down strike was continued all night long and had previously been carried out in Ankara. It will be repeated in Izmir next year.

The defence lawyers of the defendants of the KCK trial in Diyarbakır applied to the superior court for the right to a defence in the mother tongue. More than three weeks of the beginning of the trial, procedures have not yet advanced beyond the reading of the indictment.

The Special Authority Public Chief Prosecution decided for a "lack of jurisdiction" regarding the prosecution of the people responsible for the military coup in 1980. Chief Prosecutor Kuriş is expected to appoint a prosecutor without special authority to the investigation.

An Istanbul Court handed down a monetary fine of TL 14,000 in compensation to journalist Kütahyalı from Taraf newspaper. The journalist was sentenced because he called Republican People's Party deputy Arıtman the "racist-fascist CHP deputy from Izmir".

The new media was considered as especially problematic at the meeting on "Hate Speech and Hate Crime" in Ankara on 6 November. It was mentioned that raising awareness in the local media and education system is an important part of the struggle against hate crime.

The Freedom for Journalists Platform announced that 50 press employees are currently imprisoned and that 1,200 trials against journalists are pending. Delegations of the platform are going to monitor the cases against sociologist Beşikçi and journalist Koçali.

Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunc was acquitted regarding his statement ""After 25 years you are opening a new window to peace and brotherhood from Eruh". Tunç was facing imprisonment of up to 15 years under charges of propaganda for a terrorist organization.

In the third week of the "KCK trial", procedures reached the presentation of the defence. 152 defendants are tried for their alleged affiliation with the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan. When the defendants spoke Kurdish, the microphone was switched off.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons announced on their website that the suicide bomber who blew up himself and injured 32 people in Istanbul last Sunday was a member of their organization. The organization declared not to support the PKK's decision for a ceasefire.

HaberinYeri.com website official Büyükçakır received a prison sentence on the grounds of a reader comment posted on the site. The comment referred to the statement that President Gül supposedly descended from an Armenian family. Büyükçakır will file a complaint.

Defendant Mustafa Balbay requested a “new evaluation” of the “Coup Diaries” after an investigation into ret. Generals Örnek, Yalman and Fırtına resulted in the separation of the file form the Ergenekon trial.

Publisher Sancı received the International Publishers Association special award; at the same time he is being tried for publishing books acknowledged as world cultural heritage. In Turkey, 27 publishers have been standing trial, sentences were issued for 30 books in the past two years.

Tanay from the Contemporary Lawyers Association and bianet co-ordinator Kürkçü stand trial upon a complaint by former Prisons Director Ertosun. The first hearing was held on 2 November. Lawyer Kozağaçlı also faces a compensation claim from Ertosun.

"The Language Wound: The use of the mother tongue in education and experiences of Kurdish students", a study from the Political and Social Research Institute of Diyarybakır, suggests bilingual and multi-lingual education models and courses to support the literacy of Kurdish-speaking parents.

Journalists Semra Pelek and Mustafa Dolu are facing up to eight years in jail. They are sued by ret. General Fırtına, former Air Force Commander, for a news item related to his statement given at the prosecution in the scope of the Ergenekon investigation. The trial was postponed to March 2011.

The Istanbul Governorship announced the identity of the suicide bomber who caused the injury of 32 people in Istanbul on 31 October. His name was Vedat Acar, a 24-year-old male from the south-eastern province of Van.

The German Human Rights Commissioner, Markus Löning, warned that Turkey is constantly losing ground on press freedom. In a meeting with journalists on press freedom in Turkey, he criticized PM Erdoğan's targeting of journalist Ekşi.

Prime Minister Erdoğan filed a TL 100,000 (€ 50,000) compensation claim against Hürriyet newspaper and its former editor-in-chief Ekşi on the grounds of a column entitled "We have not been as critical as we should".

In their latest Turkey report, Human Rights Watch calls on the government to stop treating demonstrators as "armed militants" and to amend anti-terror laws. Author of the report Sinclair-Webb warned that restricting free speech and association "makes armed opposition more attractive".