"This workplace is on strike" said 600 workers in Eskişehir who kicked off a series of strikes organized by the United Metal Workers Union, the first such action of the union in 21 years. 15,000 workers are going on strike against flexible employment and low wages.

The trial against police offer Ergin who was handed down prison terms of more than 16.5 years for killing 18-year-old Gemik is being retried after the Court of Appeals quashed the verdict. Gemik was killed with a single bullet shot through his neck.

TÜBİTAK eventually issued a report on the footage of a bank's security camera that supposedly captured the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalists Hrant Dink. Plaintiff lawyer Halavurt described the report as "contradictory" and "incomprehensible".

Alınteri newspaper readers Serdar Ben and Mürüvvet Küçük and their friend Ulaş Ömür were arrested on charges of "membership in an illegal organization". In a press release issued at the İHD Istanbul branch, the Alınteri chief editor criticized the arrest.

The Platform for a Liberal Constitution called for the removal of the ten percent election threshold as a crucial step for the preparation of a first civil constitution. It is also essential to include NGOs in the procedure to prepare a new constitution, the platform claimed.

About 500 members of the Istanbul Bar Association demonstrated against custody and arrests of journalists on Tuesday and called for an independent judiciary. Their motto was "Rule of law instead of police state". They laid down a wreath in front of the Atatürk bust.

Journalist Necip Çapraz, owner of the local Yüksekova News daily, is one of ten people who were taken into custody on 21 March in Hakkari upon the directive of the Van Special Authority Public Chief Prosecution. The journalist's home was searched by the police.

An electorate of 50 million people will be able to vote in the general elections on 12 June 2011. 27 Political Parties take part. For the first time, propaganda can be made in Kurdish. The application fee for independent candidates was increased by factor 17.

Journalist Murat Aktaş of the local Objektif newspaper asked Chief Advisor of the Prime Minister, Turan Erol, about freedom of journalists. Erol's reply: "Don't make this kind of news, your newspaper might be closed".

A trial was opened against nine juveniles who are alleged of having thrown stones and explosives at the police in the course of a demonstration in Adana. The young defendants are facing 24 years in prison in total.

EFJ President König deplored the lack of freedom of expression and press freedom in Turkey. He also claimed a lack of democracy and emphasized that the violation of press freedom and freedom of expression could not be seen as an "internal affair".

Hundreds of thousands of people came together in Istanbul and Diyarbakır for this year's Newroz celebrations. The Kurdish politicians had clear messages for the government. They urged for a peaceful solution of the Kurdish question and for a democratic constitution.

20 people were taken into police custody in the course of the recent operations related to the murder of three people at the Zirve Publishing Company in Malatya in 2007. Plaintiff lawyer Cengiz calls for a merger of the case with the Ergenekon trial.

The application of Kurdish politicians Aysel Tuğluk and Ahmet Türk to restore their status as members of parliament was dismissed. Both politicians were subjected to a five-year political ban after the ban of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in 2009.

The Freedom for Journalists organized a demonstration in Ankara with their demands to "release detained journalists from prison" and "amend laws that restrict press freedom and freedom of expression.

Chambers and associations of Turkish engineers, architects and physicians issued a joint statement against planned nuclear power plants in Turkey. They said that they were not going to allow a power plant to be built in south-eastern Turkey. A protest action is scheduled for Saturday.

Dicle News Agency reporter Çiftçi has been detained at the Bitlis E Type Prison for 10 months since she was arrested as part of the KCK operations in Hakkari last year. An indictment has not been prepared yet. Three appeals against her detention were dismissed.

Ergenekon Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz gave the directive for an operation in nine different provinces all over the country. The searches are related to the murder of three people at the Zirve Publishing Company in Malatya in 2007. 20 people have allegedly been taken into custody.

The appeals against the detentions of journalists Ahmet Şık and Nedim Şener were rejected by court. Both were arrested on 6 March in the scope of the Ergenekon investigation. The decision does not mention a concrete reason. Turkey is facing national and international criticism.

According to a report of the Human Rights Association, 46 women were killed by men in 2010 for reasons of "honour". 281 women and children applied to courts because of sexual harassment; 182 women and children were raped.