RIGHTS - Bianet

RIGHTS

Page 261

International Protest at Cartoonists' Investigation

Both the International Press Institute and the Cartoonists' Rights Network have protested against preliminary proceedings against cartoonists Kart and Temocin who stand accused of insulting the President.

4 February 2008

Eight Hostage Soldiers Released from Custody

Eight Hostage Soldiers Released from Custody

At the first hearing of the eight soldiers taken hostage and then released by the PKK, the court decided to release them all pending trial. After more than two months, the soldiers are reunited with their families.

4 February 2008 Tolga Korkut

HRW Report: Human Rights Trend is “Retrograde”

The annual Human Rights Watch Report on Turkey is pessimistic about developments. The report condemns freedom of speech violations, harassment of the DTP, violence against minorities and civilians.

31 January 2008

Turkish Academic Warns of Government Clampdown

31 January 2008 Liz Ford And Agencies

Headscarf Debate Diverts Attention from Kurdish Issue and Economic Crisis

Headscarf Debate Diverts Attention from Kurdish Issue and Economic Crisis

Prof. Dr. Narli predicts that the proposed constitutional change will reduce social tension. Yet the current debate is also diverting attention from the Kurdish issue and the global economic crisis, she believes.

31 January 2008 Erhan Üstündağ

The Gang: Usual Trouble Makers in Intellectuals' Trials

The Gang: Usual Trouble Makers in Intellectuals' Trials

Veli Kücük, Kemal Kerincsiz, Sevgi Erenerol, now under arrest for charges of "conspiracy" had already come into notoriety for the part they played in the provocative shows in the trials opened upon their own complaints against liberal intellectuals.

28 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

Kurdologist van Bruinessen: Turks and Kurds Should Trust Each Other

“The DTP, as the elected representatives of the Kurds must be allowed space; the PKK must be taken seriously,” warns reputed sociologist Prof. van Bruinessen pointing out that the Kurdish problem arises out of inequality and denial of cultural rights.

28 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

How Far Will Ultra-Nationalist Organisation Be Unmasked?

It is clear that the USA, the Turkish General Staff and the ruling AKP have agreed to break the back of the Ergenekon organisation. The question now is whether this operation will be used to shed light on cases like the Hrant Dink murder.

28 January 2008 Cem Özatalay

Rights Activists Protest Against Militarism

IHD members gathered in Taksim on Saturday to protest against the rise in militarism and nationalism in Turkey: “Don’t kill anyone and don’t make anyone else kill."

27 January 2008 Emine Özcan

The Gang Could Be The Tip of The Iceberg

The Gang Could Be The Tip of The Iceberg

So far, thirteen alleged members of the ultra-nationalist Ergenekon gang have been arrested, among them three retired army officers. If the investigation is carried out in a serious manner, light will be shed on many events of the last years.

27 January 2008

Youtube is Back... Access Should Not Be Blocked Again!

RSF and OSCE release general recommendations for internet use in the OSCE member states. "Filters can only be put in place by Internet users themselves" they recommend.

25 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

Turkey Commemorates Journalist Mumcu, Killed 15 Years Ago

Turkey Commemorates Journalist Mumcu, Killed 15 Years Ago

It has been 15 years since Cumhuriyet journalist Ugur Mumcu was murdered. The “Hope” trial, which is related to his murder and that of three academics, has been going on for eight years. There is only one person detained.

25 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

A Portrait of a Nationalist Lawyer: Kemal Kerincsiz

Kemal Kerincsiz, the nationalist lawyer taken into custody in relation to a secret weapons arsenal found in Ümraniye, Istanbul in June 2005. Kerincsiz is a brand name among nationalists.

24 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

“Chief of Istanbul Police Negligent in Dink Murder”

“Chief of Istanbul Police Negligent in Dink Murder”

Istanbul police was receiving plentiful intelligence warning of a planned attack on slain journalist Hrant Dink, but neglected to act on it, according to the inspectors attached to the Ministry of the Interior.

24 January 2008

Access to Youtube Blocked

Two Turkish judges successively impose categorical ban on access to Youtube.com, for the content of one single video clip.

23 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

"Turkey's Public Debate Issues Obsolete" Says PM

"Most of our public debate agenda are older than the fall of the Berlin Wall…Most of our issues, are remnants from the days of 12 September 1980 military coup of 1980", says Prime Minister Erdogan.

23 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

"I Regret Never Meeting Dink" Says Roy

She had to live with the misfortune of never having met Hrant Dink, says Arundhati Roy, speaking at the Hrant Dink, Human Rights and Freedom of Expression Conference in Istanbul.

23 January 2008 Kudret Çobanlı

Ex-Anti-terror General Charged with Coup Attempt

Ex-Anti-terror General Charged with Coup Attempt

Retired army officers Kücük and Kardag, nationalist lawyers Kerincsiz and Turgut arrested for charges of plotting against the government. The operation embracing 33 pople relates also to unresolved murders.

23 January 2008 Tolga Korkut

Journalists Targeted for Anti-Militarist Articles

Perihan Magden and Ece Temelkuran have been made targets by a nationalist newspaper for expressing their anti-militarist opinions. This is a frightening repeat of what happened to Hrant Dink.

22 January 2008 Erhan Üstündağ

Somali Refugees’ Marriage Not Recognised

Because Somali refugees Mahad and Zehara had no passports and could not prove their unmarried status, their marriage has not been recognised in Turkey.

22 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

Chronology II: Hrant Dink’s Murder

On the anniversary of Hrant Dink’s murder, the murder trial is still in its beginnings, yet the investigation is deeply flawed. This updated chronology reminds the reader of the complicated connections found in the course of the investigation.

21 January 2008 Mehmet Güc/express

Hrant Dink – Commemorated Around The World

Hrant Dink – Commemorated Around The World

From Frankfurt, Germany to Budapest, Hungary and to Berlin, Cologne and London hundreds across the globe joined the ten thousand people in Istanbul in memory of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, in the first year of his assassination.

20 January 2008 Anna Grabolle

Ten Thousand Gathered in Istanbul in Memory of Hrant Dink

Ten Thousand Gathered in Istanbul in Memory of Hrant Dink

On the first anniversary of the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, more than ten thousand people gathered in front of the Agos newspaper office, the place where he was shot.

19 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

Police and Gendarme Should Be Brought To Justice, Say Dink Family

The family of murdered journalist Hrant Dink wants all those responsible for the murder to be prosecuted and has filed a complaint against Istanbul Police Chief Cerrah and other officers, as well as the officers of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command.

18 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

Remembering Hrant Dink

Remembering Hrant Dink

Vartan Oskanian is the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Armenia. His commemoration of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper who was killed by nationalists, was published on the first anniversary of Dink's murder.

18 January 2008 Vartan Oskanıan

BIA 2007 Media Monitoring Report: A Sad Year For Free Speech

BIA 2007 Media Monitoring Report: A Sad Year For Free Speech

Of 254 people tried, 55 were on trial under Article 301; six of them were convicted. 83 people were accused of supporting terrorism, 23 of inciting to hatred and hostility. 34 journalists and 12 media institutions were attacked; Turkey had to pay a total of 123,912 Euros compensation in ECHR cases.

18 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

Heavy Punishments for Newspapers Reporting on Hostage Soldiers

The Sisli prosecution in İstanbul has fined six major Turkish newspapers for violating the publishing ban on the soldiers taken hostage by the PKK in October 2007.

18 January 2008 Erol Önderoğlu

IPI Condemns Ongoing Censorship under Article 301

Before the anniversary of Hrant Dink’s Murder, IPI criticises the Turkish government's failure to reform Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

18 January 2008

Expert Report Charges "Istanbul Police As a Whole" for Negligence

Expert Report Charges "Istanbul Police As a Whole" for Negligence

Istanbul Police Department as a whole may be responsible for negligence in the Dink murder, says expert report. Yet only one officer is permitted to be brought under investigation, in one year.

17 January 2008 Tolga Korkut

Malatya Murders: More People Involved?

More people were involved in the murders in Malatya believes Orhan Kemal Cengiz of the lawyers team of the victims' families argued that

16 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

"Killer of 3 Protestants Tied With The Police"

"Killer of 3 Protestants Tied With The Police"

Defendants, in the second hearing charge the main suspect Emre Günaydin with having ties with the local police chiefs. The court refuses lawyers on both sides access to certain evidence, in the files.

16 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü

Who Accompanied Hrant Dink's Killer in Istanbul?

An informer, the day after journalist Hrant Dink's murder, called local gendarme in Trabzon and told that suspect O. S. went to Istanbul to kill the journalist "with friends", says family lawyer Fethiye Cetin.

15 January 2008 A. Nilüfer Zengin Kürkçü