Attacks and threats
A busload of journalists who were following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a party rally in Nigde on 26 June, claim that they were stopped by prime ministerial bodyguards, who held a gun to the bus driver's head and stopped the bus from following the prime minister's vehicle. Journalists Yalcin Bayer (Hurriyet newspaper), Hadi Ozisik (Star newspaper) and Sedat Simsek (Bugun newspaper) were witnesses of the threats. The Prime Ministerial Press Centre rejected their accounts and said that the journalists had ignored warnings and were acting threateningly themselves.
Omer Perperik, founder and columnist of the local Ekspres newspaper in Mudanya (a district of Bursa, western Turkey), was punched by Mudanya mayor Erol Demirhisar at a municipality meeting. The Mudanya Journalists' Association condemned the attack.
In May, Dogan News Agency head clerk Ahmet Ertan was trying to film a wedding convoy in Edremit (a district of Balıkesir, western Turkey). Erhan claims that police stopped him from filming, insulted him in a police vehicle, and forced him to delete recordings. The Balıkesir Journalists' Society has condemned the incident as a "blow to the freedom of speech".
Mehmet Eser, licence holder of Bingol's local Ab-i-Hayat newspaper, and editor Faysal Sonakalan, are suing the regional director of education Mehmet Ali Hansu for threatening them at his office. They say the threats stem for their article on a local primary school which is not earthquake proof. Bingol, in the east of Turkey, has witnessed the deaths of many children in earthquakes.
Many journalists observing the trade unions' 1 May rally in Taksim, Istanbul, claim they were targeted by police although they were obviously journalists. Alper Turgut, Vedat Arik, Aynur Colak and Berat Guncikan of the Cumhuriyet newspaper were injured or affected by tear gas. Bulent Ergun of the Vatan newspaper was attacked and threatened with arrest. Demet Bilge Ergun, Timur Soyka, Umay Aktas, and Ismail Saymaz of the Radikal newspaper and Ihsan Yildiz of television channel Kanal D were also attacked. A camera of Su TV was broken.
In Izmir, the office of local newspaper Yeni Asir was attacked and damaged by football hooligans (supporting Goztepe football club) on 17 April. One person was later arrested.
Yuksel Mert, a TV presenter at the local Akdeniz TV station in Adana (southern Turkey), and his guest, Zeki Kizilkaya, editor of the regional Cukurova Merhaba newspaper, were attacked by three people after they discussed corruption in a programme aired on 14 April. The three attackers, said to be involved in corruption, were later arrested for the attack.
Dogan Sonmez, reporter for the Venus radio station in Manavgat, Antalya (southern Turkey), was attacked by an unknown person who came to the station on 11 April. An investigation is underway.
Turkan Pampal, reporter for the 4 Temmuz newspaper in Karamursel (district of Kocaeli, western Turkey), claims that she has been threatened by leaders and members of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) youth branch after criticising the government's health policy. She has had no reply to her complaint to the prosecution, and water supplies to her home have been cut. Furthermore, a cafe owned by the newspaper's owner, Salih Kandir, has been visited by fiscal inspectors every day since the threats.
Arrests and detentions
Adem Ozkose, formerly of the Vakit newspaper and now employed by the Gercek Hayat magazine, was arrested by on 26 June by police officers of the terror branch in an operation targeting al Quaida-suspects. Ozkose was later released.
Sait Bayram, news director of Soz TV channel and newspaper in Diyarbakir (south-eastern Turkey), and Firat Avci, reporter for the same employer, were arrested on 18 June for alleging that a judge had been transferred because he had been taking bribes. They have been accused of "insulting through the media" and are being held in a Diyarbakir prison. Their appeals have been rejected and their trial begins on 20 July at a penal court in Diyarbakir.
23 people, among them journalists and writers, were arrested in September 2006 in an operation targeting the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Their trial begins on 26 October at a heavy penal court in Besiktas, İstanbul. Among them are Fusun Erdogan, broadcast coordinator of Ozgur radio station, Ibrahim Cicek, editor-in-chief of the Atilim newspaper, and Sedat Senoglu, publishing coordinator of the same newspaper. Life sentences of over 40 years are demanded for them and some others. The reason for their arrest is being kept secret.
After the same operation, 10 out of 16 people have been released from detention pending trial. Among those still to be released are news director Halis Dinc and Sinan Gercek, both of the Ozgur radio station.
Journalist Sinan Kara, former owner of the Datca News newspaper (in the West of Turkey), was arrested when in Batman (eastern Turkey) in order to write a guide book on the city. He has been detained for the last two months because he had been sentenced in absence to 146 days imprisonment for insulting through the media.
Court cases and interferences
Kemal Bozkurt, editor-in-chief of magazine "Revolution is the Only Way", is on trial for "praising crime" in an article he wrote about young revolutionary leaders who were killed in the Kizildere Killings in 1972. In the event, ten revolutionary youth leaders and three foreign hostages they were holding in order to prevent the execution of student leaders were killed. Bozkurt is awaiting his trial on 18 October.
The case against 56 Kurdish mayors was continued on 26 June at a Heavy Penal Court in Diyarbakir (south-eastern Turkey). The mayors had appealed to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen not to close the Kurdish Roj TV satellite channel which is broadcast from Denmark but banned in Turkey. 54 of the mayors are of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), while two are of the Social-democrat People's Party (SHP). They are being accused of aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation. For 53 of them, 7.5 to 15 years imprisonment are demanded, while three may be acquitted.
Ersen Korkmaz, owner of the Demokrat Iskenderun newspaper, is on trial for writing an article entitled "The Kurdish Leader was Taken and Surrendered to the Fascists", commenting on a panel organised by the Turkish Communist Party (TKP). TKP leader Necmettin Salaz is also being tried for insulting and deriding the army and police force. The case has been continuing for the last 4,5 years and was not concluded at the latest hearing (22 June) either. The trial has been postponed until 14 November.
The trial of Publisher Ragip Zarakolu (Belge Publications) for having George Jerjian's book "The Truth Will Set Us Free" translated into Turkish, was continued on 26 June. The trial has been postponed until 3 October for more evidence to be examined. The court had acquitted Zarakolu in a previous trial where for publishing Prof. Dr. Dora Sakayan's book, "The memoirs of an Armenian Doctor: Garabet Haceryan's Izmir Diary". In the same case, translator Atilla Tuygun is being tried for "insulting and deriding the state and the republic" and "insulting the memory of Ataturk", with 7.5 years imprisonment being demanded.
Haci Bogatekin, owner of a district newspaper in Gerger (district of Adiyaman, South-east Turkey), is facing a second trial for an article. In an unsigned article published on 10 March 2007 and entitled "Turkey Has Made a Mistake", Bogatekin had said: "The government has made a mistake. Where and when? Yesterday, in the East and South-East. And then in Istanbul. In Maras, in Sivas. Today in Trabzon, Istanbul, Mersin and the South-East..." The journalist is now on trial for "degrading the state" and the court case will begin on 25 July at a penal court in Gerger.
He had previously been aquitted by the same prosecution for another article.
Huseyin Aykol, editor-in-chief of the Ulkede Ozgur Gundem newspaper, has been acquitted of being a member of a criminal organisation. In 2003, he had gone to the Kandil Mountain in Northern Iraq and interviewed PKK/Kongra Gel leaders. A heavy penal court in İstanbul decided on 21 June that he had gone to Northern Iraq with them aim of doing interviews. The journalist had been accused because of statements of confessor Hakan Bazu, and 10 years imprisonment had been demanded. The trial was based on Articles 314/2 and 53 of Law 5237 of the Turkish Penal Code and Article 5 of Law on Terrorism, No. 3713.
Former Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim had sued Birgun newspaper and writer Saruhan Oluc for "attacking personal rights" and had demanded 50,000 YTL compensation. The compensation was refused on 20 June by a civil court in Ankara. This was the third court to hear the case. The first had awarded 10,000 YTL in compensation, but a court of appeals had overturned the ruling. The final court decided to follow the ruling of the second court. On 13 August 2004, Birgun newspaper had published an article by Oluc entitled "Commercial Politics and Impudence".
Magazine writer Emin Karaca was on trial for insulting and degrading the armed forces after writing an article entitled "Write in Turkey and in Europe", criticizing the army in relation to the execution of Turkish communist leader Deniz Gezmis and his friends. The case had been dropped for procedural reasons, but was reopened on 20 June and will continue on 5 October. In the same case, editor Mehmet Emin Sert was aquitted. The case of the magazine's editor-in-chief Dogan Ozguden, living in Belgium, has been separated.
A case against sociologist Ismail Besikci, the owner of the magazine Populer Kurtur Esmer, Ferzende Kaya, and editor Mehmet Ali Izmir will continue on 10 December. The trial is based on an article by Besikci entitled "We did not talk, we had it printed". After a complaint by the General Staff, the three are accused of "inciting hatred and hostility" (Article 216) and between 4 and 6 years imprisonment are demanded.
The case against Agos editor-in-chief Hrant Drink for "degrading Turkishness" and "attempting to influence the judiciary" was dropped after his murder, but four other employees of Agos were in court again on 14 June. The case was closed to the public and the press for security reasons. The case is based on an interview which Hrant Dink gave to the Reuters News Agency last year and in which he expressed his belief that an Armenian genocide happened. The prosecution is demanding that Agos licence owner Serkis Seropyan, responsible director Arat Dink (son of Hrant Dink) be punished. Karin Karakasli, editor at Argos, had been aquitted for her article series "Armenian Identity" (in which she had initially been sentenced to a delayed six-month sentence). In a case against writer Aydin Engin, Arat Dink and Seropyan for an article entitled "The Judiciary Needs to Be Disturbed" by Engin, Dink and Seropyan have been aquitted. Aydin Engin has been found guilty of "insulting the court" in his article and his case will continue on 18 July.
Because of an interview he gave in the Tempo magazine, KURD-DER spokesperson Ibrahim Guclu is on trial together with reporter Enis Mazhar Tayman and responsible director Neval Barlas for "degrading Turkishness and the Republic" and "inciting the public to disobeying laws". The case against Barlas was dropped on 8 June as the author of the article was clear. The case will continue on 16 October.
Three representatives of the Human Rights Association (IHD) in Adana (southern Turkey) have been sentenced to 2 years 8 months imprisonment for protesting against the "Return to Life" military operations conducted in prisons in 2000, in which many prisoners died, and for demanding the prosecution of those responsible.
The sentences of Ethem Acikalin, Mustafa Bagcicek and Huseyin Beyaz were not delayed, "based on a consideration of the country's current situation". Another case against Acikalin began on 7 June in Adana. He had taken part in protests to find those responsible for the murder of 16-year-old Feyzi Abik and 11 people murdered in Diyarbakir. He is being accused of "degrading the state's police force".
At the beginning of June, the Iskender Chief Public Prosecution rejected a demand by mayor Mete Aslan for compensation from local newspaper owners Ersen Korkmaz and Erdal Yilmaz and journalist Dogan Suslu, arguing that the news was true, current and of public interest. The articles in question covered an attack on Suslu and two knife attacks on Korkmaz, arguing that all the attacks had happened during Aslan's time in office and that the perpetrators had not been found.
On 31 May, an Istanbul Heavy Penal Court prosecutor demanded that Nuri Aykon, owner of the Anadolu'da Vakit newspaper, and responsible editor Harun Aksoy be punished for offering the members of the 2nd Department of the State Council as a target in their newspaper. On 13 February 2006 the newspaper had published an article entitled "Who are the members who want to forbid the headscarf even in the street? These are the members". The prosecution is demanding a fine of 23,671 YTL for Aykon and 12,102 YTL for Aksoy. The State Council was attacked by Alparslan Arslan and one judge was killed. The lawyer for the two journalists has argued that Arslan's statements need to examined by the court in order to judge whether he was influenced by the article, but the request was refused. The case has been postponed.
After an article in Guney Ege, a local newspaper in Mugla (Aegean part of Turkey), in which paper and carton company MOPAK was accused of polluting the environment and ignoring employee's rights, newspaper owner Hasan Karacelik, editor Nuri Timbil and columnist Yuksel Sari were tried for insulting, and a demand of 300,000 YTL compensation was made. The demand for compensation has been rejected.
On 31 May, the prosecution of Erguder Oner, owner and responsible director of Dersim'de Iklim newspaper and editor Emrah Oner in Tunceli (eastern Turkey) started. After they published an article entitled "Ocalan Statement in Dersim" and used the term "leader of the Kurdish people", they are being accused of "praising crime and criminals" under Article 215. A sentence of up to two years is possible.
The trial of editor Ali Riza Vural of Doz Publishers for publishing the two-volume "Barzani and the Kurdish National Freedom Movement" will continue at a penal court in Istanbul on 18 July. He is accused of "insulting and degrading the Republic in print".
A trial against lawyer and former Human Rights Association (IHD) president Eren Keskin started on 31 May. After the murder of Hrant Dink, he had written an article entitled "Special Organisation at Work", published in the Birgun newspaper on 26 January 2007. He is accused of "degrading the state's armed forces in the media". His case will continue on 27 September.
The demand of Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan and daughter Zeynep Basutcu Unakitan for 40,000 YTL compensation from the Sabah newspaper was rejected by a civil court in Ankara on 6 June. On 23 February 2006 the newspaper had published articles relating to the daughter's visit to the TELSIM company, parts of which had been taken over by the Saving Deposits Insurance Fund (TMSF).
After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had called PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan "esteemed" in a speech in Australia on 14 January 2000, 232 people had filed complaints against him for "praising crimes and criminals" and "inciting people to hatred and hostility". He was aquitted because the prosecution found no other evidence of praise or incitement in his speech.
Writer Yalcin Ergundogan's trial continued on 23 May. After his article entitled "The disciples have rebelled against Haydar Bas", published in Birgun newspaper on 26 April 2005, Haydar Bas, leader of the Independent Turkey Party (BTP) filed a complaint. The case will continue on 15 October. A connected trial in which the women said to be Haydar's wives are claiming 15,000 YTL compensation continues on 26 September.
Hasan Cakkalkurt, responsible director of Milliyet newspaper, and owner Aydin Dogan and politician Mehmet Hatip Dicle were acquitted of spreading terrorist propaganda at a heavy penal court in Istanbul on 23 May. They had covered reactions on Kurdish websites to a speech by Dicle, co-founder of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). The court found the coverage of public interest and and argued that there was no criminal intent.
Abdurrahman Dilipak, previously convicted of "insulting the president" and acquitted of "insulting and degrading state institutions" is now on trial for an article entitled "My country is something else", published on 27 April 2001 in the Akit newspaper. He is accused of "inciting hatred and hostility". His case started on 22 May and will continue on 9 September.
On 21 May, the rejection of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's demand for 25,000 YTL compensation from the weekly caricature magazine Leman was announced. On the 6 July 2006 issue, Leman had written "Reco [Recep] the Kongo tick is making Turkey's mother cry", referring to the high petrol prices and high taxes in Turkey. The court in Ankara decided that as a politician, Erdogan had to accept criticism.
On 18 May, representatives of the Istanbul "Anadolunun Sesi" radio station announced that the decision of RTUK (High Commission for Radio and Television) to withdraw the broadcasting licence of the station had been supported by an administrative court in Ankara. The court argued that the decision wsa legal and that there would be no compensation for financial losses during closure. On 30 January, RTUK had closed the station indefininitely, based on temporary article 6 of Law 3984 on Radio and Television Foundation and Broadcasts. The station had also been closed for 30 days on 17 October 2006 for playing a song by Ahmet Kaya and for covering the discussion of the Kurdish issue in a newspaper, for criticising the "Return to life" operations of December 2000 and the then Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk.
Writer and director Umur Hozatli's trial under Article 301 continued on 16 May. He had written two articles for the Ulkede Ozgur Gundem newspaper, entitled "Irritating Men" and "The Good Father Has Started Work". Former editor-in-chief Irfan Ucar and writer Sinan Kara face five trials under Article 301 for their articles, but they have beenpostponed until a statement can be taken from the newspaper's owner, Hasan Bayar, who lives abroad.
On 15 May, Muammer Karabulut, president of the Father Christmas Foundation was aquitted in his 301 trial. He had said that the Orthodox Greek Patriarchate was managing the court and and the Regional Directorate of Foundations.
Five human rights activists in Batman (south-east Turkey) are on trial for preparing a report into the killing of 11-year old Mizgin Ozbek by law-enforcement guns on 5 September 2006. Saadet Becerikli of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Mehmet Sat and Ahmet Sevim of MAZLUMDER, Sedat Ozevin, president of the Batman Bar Association, and lawyer Bengi Yildiz are being tried under Articles 288 and 301/2 ("attempting to influence the judiciary process" and "degrading the armed forces"). The case has postponed in order to seek permission from the Ministry of Justice to try the lawyers in the case.
Security expert Lale Sariibrahimoglu and reporter Ahmet Sik of the magazine Nokta (forced to close) are being tried under Articles 301/2 amd 53/1 for an interview entitled "The amry must stay out of domestic security", published on 8 February. Their case began on 7 May with a demand for up to 3 years imprisonment with both and will continueon 24 October ata penal court in Bakirkoy, Istanbul.
Journalist Gokhan Gencay of Birgun newspaper and responsible editor Ibrahim Cesmecioglu are on trial under Article 318 for an interview with conscientious objector Erkan Bolot, entitled "Let us take the source of humans away from war" and published on 30 October 2005. The case has been taken to a court of appeals after a penal court and a heavy penal court had both decided they were not responsible for the case. Now the court of appeals will decide which court is to rule.
District governor Mahmut Agbal of Karliova district (province of Bingol, south-eastern Turkey) is suing a weekly local newspaper, Bingol Ab-I Hayat, for a series of articles entitled "Villagers Claim Corruption". Editor-in-chief Faysal Sonakalan and Karliova representative Mustak Eroglu have been accused of "spreading slander about a person and an institution". The articles had deal with accusations of corruption in road making contracts.
Singer Ferhat Tunc is on trial for "spreading propaganda for the PKK". At a concert in Alanya (province of Antalya, southern Turkey) on 22 July 2006, he had said "Just as the soldiers dying in this country are counted as this country's children, so those who die as guerrillas are children of this country. For every dead soldier your heart burns, for every dead guerrilla my heart bleeds...". The singer will appear at an Izmir heavy penal cout on 6 June and from 1.5 to 15 years imprisonment can be demanded under changes of the Law on Terrorism.
Eren Keskin, lawyer and former president of Istanbul's branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), previously convicted under Article 301, is on trial for using the term "Kurdistan" at a panel on sexual violence against women. He is accused of "inciting hatred and hostility" (under the old 312/2) for his comment on 2 October 2004 and up to three years imprisonment are being demanded.
Mustafa Koyuncu, responsible editor for the Emirdag newspaper published in Afyonkarahisar (northern Turkey), is on trial for "insulting an officer on duty" after spending a week in detention. The newspaper had published an article entitled "Should we enter the EU like this? They are abusing their position", criticizing the police force in Emirdag. The journalist was stopped in his car, arrested and kept in prison for a week. Dozens of police officers are suing Koyuncu, who appeared at a penal court in Emirdag on 24 May.
Namik Duran, journalist for the Milliyet newspaper was acquitted of spreading PKK propaganda on 10 May by an Istanbul heavy penal court. The court decided that an interview with Osman Ocalan, a former leading figure in the PKK, and his newborn child, entitled "Osman is rocking a cradle" and "The PKK should retreat" did not go beyond informing the public and that there was no evidence of a crime.
Aydin Budak, mayor of Cizre (province of Sirnak, south-eastern Turkey) was aquitted of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" and "praising crime and criminals" at the first hearing of his case. Budak had been in detention and up to 5 years imprisonment had been demanded under Articles 215, 216/1 and Article 218 for a speech he had made at the spring festival of Newroz, which has been appropriated by Kurds as a day of political protests. Although Budak has been released in this case, he will still be detained because of a trial against him at a Diyarbakir penal code.
The trial of writer Osman Tiftikci, author of "The evolution of the army from Ottoman times until now", and Sirri Ozturk of Sorun Publications was continued on 8 May. They are being tried for "degrading the army". Because Tiftikci lives abroad, the trial has been postponed until 4 July, awaiting his summons.
Prosecutor Mustafa Turhan, who had been convicted nine years ago for having a Kalashnikoff gun in his home, is now on trial under Article 301 for saying "I have never trusted the justice system" last year.
Mahmut Alinak, Kars province leader of the pro-Kurdish DTP has been sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for saying that "the Semdinli contraguerrillas were bombed by the republic's gunmen". He was tried for "degrading the armed forces and the Turkish parliament". He is appealing against his sentence.
On 3 May, Nezahat Alkan, journalist for Birgun newspaper, was acquitted of offering a public prosecutor as a target for a terrorist organisation. In an article "Insistence on Bomb in Spice Market", published on 29 December 2005, she had mentioned the name of the prosecutor when covering the deliberations in the case. She had been tried under Article 6/1 of the Law on Terrorism.
The trial against Prof. Dr. Atilla Yayla of Gazi University under Law 5816 ("Law on Crimes against Ataturk") began on 30 April. Yayla had spoken of Ataturk as "that man" in a panel on November 2006 and up to three years imprisonment are demanded. His case will continue on 2 July at an Izmir penal court.
The case of Sebati Karakurt, journalist at the Hurriyet newspaper, has been taken to the heavy penal court for the third time. There had been disagreement about which court was responsible for the case. The case was reopened on 30 April. Karakurt had been sentenced to imprisonment for "publishing statements and propaganda of a terrorist organisation" after the publication of an interview with Kongra-Gel militants on the Kandil Mountain (Northern Iraq). Responsible editors Necdet Tatlican and Hasan Kilic are being tried under Article 7/2.
The case of Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir, who had said in an interview with the Tempo magazine that "Turks and Kurds cannot live together", continued on 17 April. He is accused of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" (Article 216). The case has been postponed until 24 July in order to allow the defence to examine an expert report. Another case against Baydemir for sending New Year greeting cards in Kurdish has been stopped because there was no permission of the Ministry of the Interior.
Erol Ozkoray, journalist for the Idea-Politka magazine has been acquitted after the prosecution realized that he had been tried in the same case before. Ozkoray had written two articles, entitled "What use is the army?" and "The new barbarians are the Taliban with epaulets", published in 2001.
Alper Gormus, editor at the Nokta magazine, is being tried for publishing extracts of retired navy vice admiral Ozden Ornek's diary on 29 March, commenting that Turkey narrowly escaped two military coups in 2004. He is being tried for insult and slander, with a sentence of 6 years and 8 months demanded. The case will continue on 19 September.
Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, are on trial for "degrading Turkishness and inciting hatred and hostility" and "collecting data illegally" (Articles 301/1, 216/1 and 135/1). They are said to have engaged in protestant missionary activity in Silivri ( a district of Istanbul). Their case has been postponed to 18 July.
A demand by Prime Minister Erdogan for 10,000 YTL compensation to be paid by Tuncay Ozkan, who had prepared a political programme for Kanal Turk channel, was refused by an Ankara civil court on 10 April.
Ibrahim Yildiz, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, has been sentenced to 23 months 10 days imprisonment, later converted into a 14,000 YTL fine. The newspaper had reported the comments of Haluk Koc of the opposition CHP when Erdogan had refused to declare his financial assets. The Radikal newspaper, who had also reported the comments, was acquitted.
Bekir Coskun, journalist for the Hurriyet newspaper, is on trial for calling for a coup in an article called "Testing...testing...", published on 6 April. The suit has been brought by the Kocaeli branch of the Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed Association (MAZLUMDER).
Corrections and Seeking Justice
A heavy penal court in Ankara which is investigating the attacks on the 2nd department of the State Council and on the Cumhuriyet newspaper has decided to widen its investigation after 27 hand grenades, TNT explosives and detonators were found in a house in Umraniye, Istanbul. It is possible that the weapons arsenal is related to the case.
The case of four suspects, Kamil Saglik, Dursun Kaya, Figen Arslan and Kezban Kilic, who are on trial for sending Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran threatening emails, began in Ankara on 16 May. Baskin Oran was a member of the Human Rights Advisory Board which prepared the "Minority Report". The case will continue on 19 September, after statements of two suspects in Istanbul and Bodrum are taken.
After insulting Sabah newspaper reporter Aliye Cetinkaya at a Happiness Party (SP) rally, Halil Yilmaz was sentenced to 6 days imprisonment, convertd to a 300 YTL fine. Cetinkaya had additionally been verbally abused and attacked with stones by a group at the rally in February 2006 because she had not covered her hair and was wearing jeans. She has filed a complaint against the attackers.
The case against 18 suspects (12 of them detained) in the Hrant Dink murder trial started on 2 July at a heavy penal court in Istanbul. Reporters Without Frontiers has declared its satisfaction that a trial is taking place, but warned that the role of public institutions in the murder needs to be investigated thoroughly.
A Law on Preventing Crimes Committed on the Internet was passed by parliament on 4 May. It was ratified by president Sezer on 22 May. Acording to the law, the Telecommunications Board will prevent crimes against Ataturk, following law No. 5816. 20 NGOs of the computer sector reacted strongly to the new law, saying that "The Internet needs to be fast, not censored!".
Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukanit is being sued by the employees of the newspaper because he had referred to it as the "PKK's media organ" in a press conference on 12 April.
Emrullah Ozbey, licence holder and editor-in-chief of the local Haber 49 newspaper in Mus (eastern Turkey) is sueing three relatives of AKP MP Medeni Yilmaz for threatening him. The threats started after he wrote and article "Where is Equality?" on 1 December 2006. At the hearing on 4 April, Mahsum, Ferit and Fatih Yilmaz rejected the accusation.
Censorship and Reactions to Monopolisation
Internet sites, among them bianet.org, alinteri.org and atilim.org, are being blocked in Internet cafes. They are on police lists of "forbidden websites" which Internet café owners adopt in order to avoid being punished by the police. Although it is illegal to prepare such lists, Yusuf Andic of the All Internet Cafes association (TieV) said that district officials and police units had these lists.
Yasemin Congar, who had written about the scenario meeting of the General Staff at the Hudson Institute, is being accused of "writing intentionally untrue news". She had written that at the meeting, which was joined by a group from the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), several scenarios had been imagined and planned: An attack on the president of the Constitutional Court, A bomb attack with 50 dead in central Istanbul and a cross-border operation of the TAF into Northern Iraq. The Modern Journalists' Association has expressed its disappointment that the General Staff has joined the targeting of journalists.
The Turkish Armed Forces Southern Coastal Command in Northern Cyprus did not allow Genc TV, Kibris newspaper, Kibris Tv, Bayrak Radio and TV Board, Yeniduzen and Afrika newspapers to watch a search-and-rescue drill in open water near Gazimagusa. The Cyprus Press Syndicate and the Cyprus Turkish Journalists' Union criticised the ban.
A broadcasting and publishing ban was put in place in Bingol on 1 June, relating to speculations that the Tatvan-Elazig freight train which was derailed by a PKK attack on 25 May was carrying weapons. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said that no radio, TV or print media was allowed to comment on the event or any goods which were found.
At the celebration of the 145th anniversary of the Audit Court on 29 May at the Bilkent Congress Centre in Ankara, invited media (Kanal B, ART and Kanal Turk) were stopped from entering by Prime Ministerial bodyguards because they were not accredited by the Prime Ministerial Office. Although officials of the Audit Court insisted that the media were guests, they were not allowed in.
At the 5th Istanbul Meeting for the Freedom of Thought, Communication lawyer Fikret Ilkiz and Gercek Gundem website editor Baris Yarkadas criticised the continuing censorship of the Internet. Nadire Mater from bianet criticised the mindframe that anyone who did not concur with Ataturk's "How happy am I to be Turkish" was automatically declared a traitor. Journalist Perihan Magden called for the closure of channels were hate discourses were being spread. Journalist Ragip Duran pointed out that the closure of websites in China made the news but that the closure of Kurdish websites was ignored. At the same meeting, representatives of the International Press Association (IPA), PEN and Amensty Intenational also called for the abolishment of Article 301.
After the bomb attack on a commercial centre in Ankara on 22 May, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office declared a ban on all broadcasts and photographs of the bomb site in order to prevent physical or psychological damage. 8 people died and more than 100 people were injured in the attack.
Around 100 journalists marched from the Turkey Journalists' Syndicate (TGS) building to the Istanbul governor's office on 4 May to protest against the maltreatment of reporters and journalists on the hands of the police when they were covering the 1 May march. The protesters called for the resignation of governor Muammer Guler. Several of the journalists attacked by the police have filed complaints.
The Turkey Journalists' Society (TGC) published a statement on 3 May, International Freedom of the Press Day, saying that in 2007 Turkey had not achieved freedom of expression and variety of opinions.
3 Mayıs Dunya Basın Ozgurluğu Gunu dolayısıyla bir açıklama yapan TGC, "2007'de de ifade ozgurluğu ve çok sesliliğin ozlenen duzeye ulaşamamasının, yasa yapma yetkisine sahip siyasetçilerin içten olmayan yaklaşımından kaynaklandığı ortadadır" dedi. The G9, which is a union of 10 professional press organisations, called for a path "between the threats of coup and sharia" and also emphasised that the murder of journalist Hrant Dink showed once again how threatened journalists were. The G9 also recorded with worry the increase in court cases against people using the right of free expression.
In protest against the police's heavy handedness and the intensive use of teargas on 1 May, journalists and reporters staged a "put down your cameras" protest in the Istiklal pedestrian precinct in central Istanbul. Journalist Musa Agacik made a statement in which he declared that the police was obstructing their public duty of informing people. On 1 May, live broadcast vehicles of TV channels had been held in a car park until 11 am.
Alper Gormus, editor of Nokta magazine announced the closure of the magazine after pressure from the army at a press briefing on 21 April. The decision to close had been made by magazine owner Ayhan Durgun, who it is speculated, was put under intense pressure. Gormus criticised the fact that no politicians had condemned the way the magazine had been pressurised.
TV channel Klas in Manavgat (a district of Antalya, southern Turkey) has been forced to broadcast using a generator, after its electricity supply was cut off on 9 April. Cengizhan Demirkaya, chairperson of the managing board claims that the ruling AKP is losing votes and is trying to silence opposition with pressure and threats.
The website www.antoloji.com, a self-claimed "culture and art centre on the Internet" was closed with a court decree on 17 April. Web manager Cengiz Ekrem Teymur was not informed of the reason of the closure. After an appeal, the site was reopened on 27 April.
On 12 April, access to the popular Internet dictionary Eksisozluk was blocked by court decree because of claims that it was violating the personal rights of Adnan Oktar, the leader of an Islamic sect. Basak Purut, lawyer representing the site, said that the blocking of access was similar to that of the blocking of Youtube in terms of disproportionality". Oktar also managed to get access to the Superpoligon news website blocked.
On 7 April, Gundem newspaper, reopening after a month's closure, was again closed by decree of a heavy penal court in Istanbul. The court decided that the editions of 7 and 8 April 2007 represented "PKK/Kongra-Gel propaganda" and closed the newspaper for 15 days. The decision is based on the last paragraph of Article 6 of the new Law on Terrorism.
European Court of Human Rights
Milliyet journalist Meral Tamer and editor Eren Guvener, imprisoned after criticising President Suleyman Demirel after the 1999 earthquake, won their case at the ECHR on 26 June. Accused of "insulting the president", they had been imprisoned in September 2000. They are now to be paid a total of 6,000 Euros in compensation.
Historian Taner Akcam, professor at Minnesota University and known for his insistence that an Armenian genocide took place in Turkey, has applied to the ECHR because his academic research is threatened by Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. Akcam said that Article 301 is incongruent with articles 7,10 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
On 14 June, the ECHR decided that the freedom of speech of Yedinci Gundem editor Hunkar Demirel had not been violated. In June 2002, Demirel had been sentenced to 3 years and 9 months imprisonment after writing an article discussing "reasons for joining the organisation" [i.e. the PKK]. The ECHR agreed with the Turkish court that the article incited the use of violence.
On 14 June, the ECHR sentenced Turkey to a total of 5,250 Europs compensation for violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in three separate cases. Mehmet Colak, editor at Yeniden Ozgur Gundem, had appealed because the newspaper had been banned from provinces under emergency rule in September 2002. Mehmet Selim Okcuoglu had appealed against a prison sentence and fine for an article he wrote for a brochure of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP). He had been convicted of spreading "separatist propaganda" and "inciting hatred and hostility". Tuncay Seyman and Fevzi Saygili, editor and owner of Evrensel newspaper also won their appeal at the ECHR.
Publisher Saim Ustun has won his appeal to the ECHR for compensation from Turkey. He had published a book on director Yilmaz Guney's life and political attitudes in 1992 and had been tried for "spreading separatist propaganda" in 2000, ending a six-month stay in prison, then a conversion of the sentence into a fine, and then acquittal. The ECHR has awarded him 3,000 Euros compensation, arguing that the book did not call for a revolution or armed resistance and did not praise violence.
On 3 May, the ECHR decreed that the right of freedom of expression of Ilyas Emir, editor of magazine Guney Kultur-Sanat-Edebiyat, of his drama "Enemy of Justice" and of the theatre group Teatra Jiyana nu (Kurdish for: New Life Theatre) had been violated by Turkey under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Turkey has been sentenced to paying a total of 61,000 Euros compensation and legal expenses.
On12 April, the ECHR decreed that Hunkar Demirel and Hidir Ates, editor and owner of the Yedinci Gundem newspaper be paid 3,000 Euros compensation and expenses. The two had been sentenced to two fines each for publishing statements by PKK members and conducting an interview with a PKK leader. The ECHR decreed that there were no expressions of hatred.
The Gundem newspaper, which was closed for a month in March for "spreading terrorist propaganda" is complaining against the Law on Terrorism and demanding that particularly the last paragraph of Article 6 of the law be examined.
RTUK Penalties
The High Commission for Radio and Television has decided to penalize 13 television channels for ignoring the ban on broadcasting images from the bomb site of Ankara's 22 May bombing. Flash TV, Haber Turk, Ulusal 1, Kanal Turk, Kanal 1, NTV, TV5, Kanal D, Star, CNN Turk, STV, Sky Turk and Kanal 24 will all be penalized under law 3984, Article 33. (EÖ/AG)