The first service in 95 years was held in the Church of the Holy Cross on the island of Akdamar. Archbishop Ateşyan said that many people did not attend the mass because the cross had not been installed atop the dome.

Musician Pınar Sağ is facing imprisonment of a total of four years for allegedly praising leftist revolutionary İbrahim Kaypakkaya and for criticizing the killing of 17 people by security forces. Sağ said in her defence: "I advocated for peace".

Turkish journalists striving to reveal facts about the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink are prosecuted at special authority high criminal courts whereas officials who failed to prevent the murder are tried at magistrate courts. Journalist Göktaş now stands accused of "severe crime".

10 minibus passengers died in an explosion in the south-eastern province of Hakkari, four people got wounded. The Kurdish KCK blamed the "counter guerrilla" for the attack. PM Erdoğan said the attack would "not remain unanswered".

Şevki Uluçam, lawyer of defendant Colonel Öz, insists on his request to recuse the judge in the Trabzon case on "neglect" regarding the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Dink. The recently pronounced conviction of Turkey by the ECHR will be considered on 24 November.

Mijatovic from the OSCE appreciated Minister Davutoğlu's initiative for legal amendments to avoid trials on freedom of expression at the European Court of Human Rights and offered her assistance. She said that critical reporting is hindered by prion threats in Turkey.

The Diyabakır 5th High Criminal Court acquitted the 54 mayors who were tried for calling the militant PKK the "Kurdish opposition". The mayors had been facing prison sentences but the court followed the final plead of the prosecution.

The European Court of Human Rights unanimously convicted Turkey in the murder case of Hrant Dink, then chief editor of the Armenian Agos newspaper. The court ruled for violations of freedom of expression, the right to life and to an effective remedy.

CHP municipality member Bayraktar threatened journalist Önal in a meeting of the Şarköy (Thrace) municipality because of an article about his conviction on the grounds of beating his wife. Önal criticized the lack of intervention by the mayor.

The MAZLUMDER human rights association in Ankara filed a criminal complaint against the coup instigators from the military coup 1980 one day after the referendum approved the lifting of provisional Article 15. The EDP filed complaints in Izmir and Bursa.

Radikal newspaper reporter Ismail Saymaz will be tried for his article "Love games in Ergenekon" and faces imprisonment of 11.5 years. The 1st hearing is scheduled for 2011. This is the 8th case filed against Saymaz who faces prison sentences of a total of 70 years.

The Court of Appeals approved monetary fines imposed on 54 mayors, members of the shut-down Democratic Society Party, who had been convicted on the grounds of a letter sent to former Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen to protest the closure of the Kurdish Roj TV.

The compensation claim filed against Nurgün Balcıoğlu from the Gaziantep Sabah newspaper was rejected. She was tried for criticizing retired judge Dilsizoğlu who had said, "Of every 10,000 murder trials, 9,000 are due to women."

An unknown person voiced a death threat via the phone against Taraf newspaper writer and politician Orhan Miroğlu. In his column the writer commented that he had no intention to take a step back because of the threat.

Without a related court decision, the Telecommunication Communication Presidency banned access to the Playboy website because of a technical inspection. The ban comes right before the religious holidays. YouTube.com is banned in Turkey since 5 May 2008.

A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress and the Peace and Democracy Party met Kurdistan Patriots Association leader Talabani to talk about cooperation in solving the Kurdish question with all Kurdish parties involved.

The former president of the Contemporary Lawyers Association in Adana, Rişvanoğlu, is on trial for reading out a press release related to the suspicious death of Metin Alataş, distributor of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat Newspaper. The trial starts on 16 September.

With the support of environmentalist Perdikis from Cyprus, last Saturday's meeting of the relatives of the disappeared focussed on the whereabouts of disappeared Acar. Hanım Tosun once more asked for the fate of her husband Fehmi before the concert of U2 who mentioned Fehmi Tosun in their album "Pop" in 1997.

Mustafa Özbek, defendant of the Second Ergenekon Case, was removed from the courtroom in the 78th hearing after he said, "What right do you have to keep me here? Fear Allah!" Journalist Balbay criticized, "This is advanced punishment, you are dispensing the law in instalments".

"Arrested for organized crime" was Thursday's headline of the Güney Marmara'da Yaşam newspaper, whose editorial manager Cihan Hayırsevener was killed in December 2009. The trial opened by the Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court will start on 15 October .