"Media Freedom and Independent Journalism Monitoring and News Network"-BİA 2009 April-May-June Media Monitoring Report

According to the quarterly report of the BİA Media Monitoring Desk published for April, May and June 2009, a total of 125 people, 57 of them journalists, were on trial in 80 cases for expressing their opinions during that period.

The report cites the trials and struggles of a total of 475 people under the headings Attacks and Threats, Detentions and Arrests, Trials and Attempted Trials, Corrections and Legal Redress, European Court of Human Rights, Reactions to Censorship and Penalties by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK).

While it is impossible to cover all incidents, it aims at giving an impression of the various and frequent ways in which press freedom and the freedom of expression are targeted.

Attacks and Threats

Ozan Kılıç, license owner and editor of the daily Azadiya Welat newspaper has, applied to the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecution because he has been receiving death threats via SMS messages on his mobile phone. On 18 June, he told the prosecution that he had been told via the phone that if he did not stop publishing the newspaper, his life would be in danger. He further told the prosecution that he received another message from the same number the next day, reading; "Did you get my warning? TİT". TİT is known to be the abbreviation of the ultranationalist Turkish Revenge Brigade, which became known after an armed attack on Akın Birdal, president of the Human Rights Association (İHD) in 1998. Kılıç said in his criminal complaint that the two messages have left him in fear for his life. The TİT organisation has also in the past threatened singer and activist Ferhat Tunç, lawyer and former İHD activist Eren Keskin, as well as the İstanbul Özgür Radio. Furthermore, in October 2008, Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran, former member of the Prime Ministerial Human Rights Advisory Board, had received a threatening email signed by the organisation.

Major Metin Yıldız, Trabzon Province Gendarmerie Command Intelligence Unit Manager, on trial for negligence in the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, was asked whether he had informed the police and the secret service (MİT) of intelligence relating to Dink. He said, "It was not clear whether the information received was true. If the source and the truth had been confirmed, I would have informed the relevant institutions...Because they were not and because they were not clear and trustworthy, I did not inform MİT or the Trabzon police intelligence unit." Yıldız made this statement at the Bolu Criminal Court of Peace on 8 June. He further said that Colonel Ali Öz, then Gendarmerie Regiment Commander and himself on trial for negligence, did not order any disclosure of information relating to Dink to any other intelligence units. Hakan Bakırcıoğlu, a lawyer for the Dink family, said that Yıldız' statement was worthless, pointing out that when Öz gave a statement to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecution on 18 November 2008, he handed over a document which outlined the authorities and responsibilities of Yıldız' position.

On 15 May, the Bursa 3rd Criminal Court of Peace heard the statement of Colonel Ali Öz, the highest-ranking of eight gendarmerie officers on trial for negligence in the murder of Hrant Dink. Öz said, "I did not receive any information that Dink was going to be killed." Following the statements of gendarmerie officers Okan Şimşek and Veysel Şahin, both also on trial, the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of Peace had prepared an indictment on Öz and five officers, and then decided to merge the cases. Öz has rejected accusations of negligence, saying that intelligence on a planned murder that gendarmerie informant Coşkun İğci spoke about did not reach him. Öz was then asked about the bomb attack on McDonald's in Trabzon in October 2004, in which later Dink murder suspect Yasin Hayal was involved: "Trabzon is a small place, and Yasin Hayal was known. Did you not have any information about his activities?" Öz said he did not. However, Ramazan Akyürek, then Trabzon Chief of Police and now head of the intelligence unit of the Police General Directorate, told the Parliamentarian Investigating Committee that he had met with the governor and Öz on a weekly basis and that Hayal had been talked about several times. When Öz was asked if he did not receive information through those channels, he said "no".

A group of hackers describing themselves as nationalist sabotaged the website of the Günlük newspaper, www.gunlukgazetesi.com on 14 May, publishing racist and uncouth messages on the site. Under the name "by The hacker&fatih&suskun&", the hackers caused the site to crash. Not long before, hackers had put a video clip of the song "My homeland" onto the site of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Calling themselves "AYYILDIZ TEAM- Siber Savunma Ordusu" (Crescent Star Team - Cyber Defence Group), they also added a text opposing the DTP and excerpts from the Qur'an.

On 8 May, reporter Sedat Şahinler for the Mahmutlar News newspaper was attacked by Abdullah Pişkin, member of the AKP's municipal council in the Mahmutlar town in Alanya district, province of Antalya. Şahinler had entered the municipal building and briefly talked to Pişkin, and was later kicked by him. The attack was also recorded by municipal security cameras. The journalist said that prior to the attack, Pişkin had reminded him of an article he had written about a fight between former AKP mayor Alaattin Çakır and a market woman: "He said 'here, this is for what you wrote', and started to punch me. If a municipal counsillor beats a journalist, how can he serve the public? I invite him to resign." Şahinler's camera was damaged and he was injured in the face, necessitating treatment in the Alanya State Hospital. He filed a criminal complaint against Pişkin.

On 6 May, the case of two gendarmerie officers on trial at the Trabzon 2nd Criminal Court of Peace for negligence in the Hrant Dink murder was merged with that of Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Öz and five other gendarmerie officers.Gendarmerie Sergeant Major Okan Şimşek and Gendarmerie Sergeant Veysel Şahin have been on trial at the Trabzon court since 22 January 2008. Following their statements, Colonel Öz and five gendarmerie officers stand accused of having been warned about murder plans and not having acted on the warning. Öz and the five others face between six months and two years imprisonment.They are being tried not for "abusing their position", but for "negligence", an offence which will result in a lower sentence. The other five officers are from the gendarmerie intelligence unit: Captain Metin Yıldız, Noncommissioned officers Gazi Günay and Hüseyin Yılmaz, and Sergeants Hacı Ömer Ünalır and Önder Araz. The Trabzon court hearing was attended by Şimşek, Şahin, Ünalır and Yılmaz, all of them being tried without detention. Dink family lawyers demanded that Öz and his junior officers be tried for faking documents as well, but this demand was rejected. The four gendarmerie officers questioned at the hearing said that they had been given information by gendarmerie informant Coşkun İğci, but that they had not received any orders, despite being aware that the issue was important. Lawyers for the Dink family asked Ünalır and Yılmaz whether they were active in far-right political groups. When they asked the defendants whether extreme nationalist activities were not far-right activities, the defendants negated this. They said that far-right activities for them meant al Qaida, Hizbullah and other reactionary activities. The trial will continue on 24 July.

On Monday, 20 April, was the 9th hearing of the Hrant Dink murder case at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. Journalist Hrant Dink, editor-in-chief of the weekly Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper, had been shot dead in front of his office in Şişli, Istanbul, on 19 January 2007. The court decided to continue the detention of suspects Ogün Samast, Erhan Tuncel, Yasin Hayal, Ersin Yolcu and Ahmet İskender. It rejected demands by lawyers to listen to Istanbul Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah, former Istanbul intelligence unit head Ahmet İlhan Güler, Police General Directorate intelligence department head Ramazan Akyürek, former Trabzon Chief of Police Reşat Altay, and former Trabzon Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Öz, saying that their statements would bring "nothing new to the case". The court has asked the police to transcribe a speech by Ergenekon detained suspect Sevgi Erenerol which she gave at a conference entitled "Missionary Activities in Turkey". The court also decided to take a statement from Ertuğrul Balcı, son of former Istanbul Chief of Police Şükrü Balcı and convicted of murder, based on the statements of prisoners Volkan Eryedi, Şinasi Erşentürk, Veli Halis Çelik, Orçun Cülek and Adil Orhan, who are in the same prison in Silivri. The court has also accepted the demand of third party lawyers for Murat Güneş to be listened to as a witness. Further, the court demanded a copy of the indictment against Colonel Ali Öz and the other gendarmerie officers on trial, and decided to ask the prosecutors in the Ergenekon investigation for Öz' telephone records and bank transactions again. A report by the Intelligence Department, sent to the court on 22 January 2009, yet also containing information about people not in the trial, was included in the proceedings by judge Rüstem Eryılmaz. The court further called Assoc. Prof. Yavuz Tekelioğlu of the Black Sea Technical University to attend the court as a witness concerning the relationship between Erhan Tuncel, accused of being an instigator to the murder, and Ercüment Ovalı. The court has also renewed its demand for reports on the physical pursuit of Yasin Hayal when he went to different provinces, among them Van, Elazığ and Erzurum. It has also demanded msn and email transcripts of the communications of Erhan Tuncel between 1 January 2006 and 20 January 2007 from Microsoft. Following the demand by third party lawyers, the court has also asked the Ankara Telecommunications Directorate to identify the users of three mobile phone numbers at the time of the murder and to list the numbers that called or were called. The court case continues on 6 July.

On 11 April, far-right Great Union Party (BBP) Istanbul youth branch chair Mustafa Kayatuzu physically attacked Taraf daily columnist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı.  During a television show the journalist mentioned BBP leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu's involvement in the Maraş massacre. Yazıcıoğlu died in a recent helicopter accident. Kütahyalı was leaving a talk show at Kanal 7 when Kayatuzu attacked him. He fainted and was taken to a hospital. Following a complaint Kayatuzu faces legal action.   Kütahyalı's lawyer Ergin Cinmen argues that this assault should be taken as "an attempt to debar someone from expressing political of philosophical ideas" as described in Article 115 of the Penal Code. If accepted by the court, this crime carries a heavier penalty than sole physical assault. Kayatuzu said he was sorry after attacking Kütahyalı. The columnist said he knew Kayatuzu previously and received a blow as he was greeting him after the TV show.

Yasin Hayal, a suspected instigator of the Hrant Dink murder in 2007, has been tried for the second time in the case regarding the bombing of a McDonald's branch in Trabzon in 2004. The Trabzon 1st Heavy Penal Court today (9 April) sentenced Hayal to three years and four months imprisonment, as well as a 183 Lira fine, for his involvement in the bombing that injured six people.  The Northern Express newspaper in Trabzon reported on its website that Hayal had not been brought to the hearing from the prison in Tekirdağ, western Turkey, where is currently held. The judges found Hayal guilty of using explosives in a way that spread fear, worry and panic among people, of injuring six people by throwing an explosive, and of damaging a person's car with explosives. After the bombing on 24 October 2004, Hayal had been arrested. On 17 April 2006, he had been imprisoned to a total of six years and eight months imprisonment for making an explosive, injuring people and damaging the environment. However, he was released from prison after 11 months. The 8th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals had approved the punishment for producing an explosive, but had reevaluated the punishment given for injury and damage to the environment. In the Hrant Dink murder case, Hayal stands accused of creating an armed criminal group, instigating a premeditated murder and violating Law 6136 on guns. The trial at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court continues on 20 April.

Lawyer and writer Hüseyin Aygün filed a criminal complaint with the Tunceli Chief Public Prosecution on 7 April, saying that a video entitled "Famous Informants of Dersim" on youtube.com and news items on the websites rojamunzur.com and neweddersim.com were insulting to him and his family. The former president of the Tunceli Bar Association believes that he has been targeted because he supported independent candidate Murat Kur and not the DTP in the local elections of 29 March.

The second indictment in the Ergenekon investigation, published on 25 March, speaks of retired general Veli Küçük as the "person pressing the button" in the Hrant Dink assassination. This information is based on notes said to have been written by Sinan Aygün, president of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce and an undetained suspect in the Ergenekon trial. A person only identified as "X" is said to have been in contact with Küçük since 1978 and points to Küçük as having planned an attack on Dink for a long time. Fethiye Çetin, lawyer for the Dink family, says that the statements in the indictment are not legally sufficient to solve the murder. Rather, the suspects' relations to the murder need to investigated. She announced that they would make all the relevant applications to court.

The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecution has reopened the case into the murder of Kurdish journalist Musa Anter seventeen years ago, following statements by former JİTEM member Abdülkadır Aygan, now living in Sweden. The prosecution has issued warrants of arrest for the JİTEM members said to be involved in the murder. After Turkey has renewed its demand for Aygan to be extradited to Turkey, the Swedish government has asked the Ministry of Justice's General Directorate for International Law and Foreign Affairs for the reason of the demand. The Ministry then cited the arrest warrant for Aygan issued by the Diyarbakır prosecution. His previous statements make him a suspected perpetrator and witness in many extrajudicial killings, including that of Anter. His extradition, so the ministry, would allow other perpetrators to be identified and for cases to be solved before they reach a statute of limitations. Police and gendarmerie departments in all of Turkey's provinces have ordered the arrest of Mahmut Yıldırım, Cemil Işık, Ali Ozansoy and Hamit Yıldırım, all suspected of involvement in the murder. The prosecution has started an investigation into the PKK informants-turned JİTEM members Cemil Işık, Ali Ozansoy, Abdulkadir Aygan, Hamit Yıldırım, and Mahmut Yıldırım (code name "Green"), as well as into JİTEM commander Major Ahmet Cem Ersever, who was himself killed in an unsolved murder in Ankara in 1993. Aygan has announced that he will resist extradition to Turkey. "If I cannot prevent it, I will kill myself. I prefer to join my family in a grave to going to Turkey and being killed there."

Emin Bal, reporter for the DHA news agency, says that he was threatened by village guards related to AKP candidate Kamil Durmuş, who lost the local elections in the Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak, specifically Reşit Durmuş, brother of the candidate and leader of the guards, as well his sons and other relatives who were also village guards. Bal notified the police by telephone. He said, "As members of the press, we cover everything we see, be it positive or negative. Unfortunately those who cannot stomach their loss and who trust their village guard weapons can approach those carrying out their journalistic duties with arrogance and target us personally."

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) supports a request which the family and lawyers of slain Turkish- Armenian journalist Hrant Dink have addressed to an Istanbul court asking it to seriously consider the possibility that the clandestine ultranationalist group Ergenekon was involved in Dink's January 2007 murder. The court is trying a group of men accused of the murder and is due to hold its next hearing on 20 April. "The court must examine the links that may have existed between certain Ergenekon members and Dink's murderers," Reporters Without Borders said. "If the court takes account of this evidence, the trial could enter a new phase that could lead to an impartial verdict in the weeks ahead."

On 1 April, members of the Istanbul Students' Collective were handing out information about a planned protest in front of the Greater Istanbul Municipality. They were then attacked by a group which called itself "religious". The attack happened at around 12.30 pm and one of the five injured students had to be taken to hospital. The attacked students told bianet that they were handing out information about a planned protest the day before when they were threatened by a group of self-labelled "religious" people. They were told not to hand out any more flyers. The threatening group had taken issue with a sentence in the flyer, which read, "The sects and religious communities of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) have created reactionary attitudes in society." Despite the threats, the collective members handed out flyers in front of the canteen of Istanbul University's Beyazit campus. Then the group who had threatened them attacked them with bottles and sticks. At 13.30 pm, the students held a press briefing in front of the Faculty of Letters, condemning the attack. The Turkish Communist Party (TKP) also condemned the attack in a written statement.

Detentions and Arrests

The Istanbul 10th Heavy Penal Court continued its hearing in the trial against 23 people accused of membership in or leadership of the illegal Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) on Friday, 26 June. The defendants were arrested during operations in around 10 provinces, including Manisa, Istanbul and Antalya, between 8 and 11 September 2006. They face up to 40 years imprisonment, some of them standing accused of "attempting to change the constitutional order by force". Those detained include Füsun Erdoğan, the broadcasting coordinator of the Istanbul Özgür Radyo ("Free Radio") station, and editor of the Atılım newspaper, İbrahim Çiçek. Others are Bayram Namaz, Ziya Ulusoy, Arif Çelebi, Sultan Ulusoy, Adem Serkan Gündoğdu, Ali Hıdır Polat, Seyfi Polat, Mehmet Ali Polat, Erkan Özdemir and Naci Güner, the last being accused of being the General Secretary of the organisation. Of the 23 defendants, 17 have been in detention. 22 of the defendants attended the hearing. At the hearing on Friday, the court decreed the release of Erkan Salduz and Arzu Torun, who will be tried without detention. The court heard witnesses from the Ocaklı village in the Nazilli district of Aydın, western Turkey, where defendant Naci Güner owns a house. Village administrative official Ali İhsan Demiralay and neighbours Şükrü Tanrıverdi, Ufuk Öztürk and Mehmet Beşir Çiftçi said that they knew Güner as "Ali Taş" and Fatma Siner as his wife "Hanım Taş", and that both were known as helpful people not related to any suspicious events. Demiralay said that he had been called to the house in order to monitor the search, which around 30 police officers took part in. He said that he had seen around six people lying on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their backs, that he had seen part of the search, but not of all the rooms, that the police were still in the house when he left, and that he signed the police report without reading it in detail. Two witnesses identified Seyfi Polat as the person they knew as the nephew of Güner. Joint attorneys argued that their clients have been held for 2 years and 8 months. They accused the police of deliberately trying to draw out the case, as four officers called to the hearing did not appear. The next hearing will be on 6 November. Lawyer Mihriban Kırdök said, "The police continues its old habit of writing reports the way it wants...They are documents that are well-known to be produced against dissident individuals. Why did the police not, as they claim, raid a congress, but caught people in different places?" Arif Çelebi said that the reports on the search and arrests were prepared later, citing as evidence the fact that some reports were signed by up to 30 officers, while others had fewer signatures. He has filed a criminal complaint against officers for producing fake documents. Lawyer Müslüm Akkuş emphasised that it was not clear from which computer a 40-page print out claimed to belong to the MLKP had been taken. He pointed out that a Supreme Court of Appeals decree ruled that photocopies could not be used as evidence, a point also made by other lawyers. The lawyers further said that Erdoğan and Çiçek had not, as is being claimed, been arrested in Nazilli, but had been arrested in Izmir and then brought to Nazilli district.

On 11 June was the 100th hearing of the Ergenekon case. The court meets not in central Istanbul, but in Silivri, a district far outside the centre. On 20 October 2008, the Istanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court started hearing the case of the clandestine ultranational Ergenekon organisation, said to have planned to overthrow the government and to create chaos in the country with murders and attacks. There are 86 suspects, 31 of them in detention. The case began with 46 detained suspects, but fourteen have been released: Gazi Güder, Muammer Karabulut, Vedat Yenerer, Orhan Tunç, Sami Hoştan, Serhan Bolluk, Abdulmuttalip Tonçer, Vatan Bölükbaşoğlu, Hüseyin Gazi Oğuz, Bekir Öztürk, Abdullah Arapoğulları, Rasim Görüm, Oğuz Alparslan Abdülkadir and Halil Behiç Gürcihan.Businessman Kuddusi Okkır, who had been arrested as part of the investigation and sent to prison in Tekirdağ, Northwestern Turkey, died on 6 July 2008, before the trial began. Ayşe Asuman Özdemir was released on 17 July 2008, and Ferit İlsever on 29 August 2008, both for health reasons. General Şener Eruygur, who had been in Kocaeli prison, was released after suffering a brain haemorrhage on 21 September 2008. Retired General Hurşit Tolon was taken to a military hospital in Istanbul after falling ill in Silivri prison, and he was released on 6 February 2009. Prof. Dr. Erol Manisalı, who had been arrested on 17 April, also fell ill in prison. He was operated on in hospital and then released for health reasons. Following the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Ankara 11th Heavy Penal Court has decided to merge the case of the attacks on the State Council and the Cumhuriyet newspaper with the Ergenekon case. Furthermore, the Malatya 3rd Heavy Penal Court has asked the prosecution to investigate whether there is any relation between Ergenekon and the murder of three Christian men in Malatya in 2007. Defence Lawyer Metin Çetinbaş, whose client is Prof. Kemal Alemdaroğlu, a defendant accused of "forming and leading an illegal organisation and incitement to armed rebellion against the government", has defended recorded telephone conversations in which possible assassinations of people like writer Orhan Pamuk and journalist Fehmi Koru were discussed, saying: "Can you try someone for killing someone just because they thought about killing someone? Precautions can be taken to ensure someone is safe, but showing these telephone chats as assassination attempts is either prejudice or ignorance." Other defendants are İlhan Selçuk, license holder of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, Vedat Yenerer, Güler Kömürcü, Ulusal Kanal's general broadcasting editor Ferit İlsever, Aydin magazine's editor-in-chief Serhat Bolluk, journalist Adnan Akfırat and writer Ergün Poyraz. Selçuk faces two life sentences and between 217 and 500 years imprisonment for "founding the armed terrorist Ergenekon organisation", "attempt to force an overthrow of the government" and "incitement to armed rebellion against the government." Yenerer, Kömürcü and Akfırat face up to 15 years imprisonment for "membership in an armed organisation", while İlsever and Bolluk are accused of membership in Ergenekon and "incitement to armed rebellion", facing up to 35 years imprisonment.

The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court will begin the second Ergenekon trial, based on a second, 1,909-page, indictment, on 20 July. Retired General Hurşit Tolon, former commander of the First Army and retired General Şener Eruygur, former general commander of the gendarmerie, are accused of leading the Ergenekon organisation and attempting a military coup. The prosecution is demanding 1,047 years imprisonment and 14 life sentences under severe conditions for each. Cumhuriyet newspaper's Ankara representative Mustafa Balbay, Tercüman newspaper's editor-in-chief Ufuk Büyükçelebi and journalists Tuncay Özkan, Erol Mütercimler and Merdan Yanardağ are accused of membership in the organisation. Büyükçelebi, Aygün, Eruygur and Tolon had been taken into custody on 1 July 2008 and later arrested. Aygün was released after objecting to the arrest, as was Balbay, but Balbay was rearrested on 6 March 2009.

After being taken into custody on 26 December, Erdal Güler, owner and reponsible editor of the Devrimci Demokrasi (Revolutionary Democracy) newspaper, has been kept in Amasya prison ever since. He is on trial in over 30 cases, accused of "spreading propaganda for the PKK or the Maoist Communist Party (MKP). Güler had been sentenced to a total of 21 months imprisonment by the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court and he has to pay a total of 60,000 TL in fines. Güler's lawyer Ümit Hambayat said that they had applied for his client to be taken to a prison closer to Istanbul so that transportation to the hearings would be easier, but they had not received any reply. He hopes that his client will be released on 11 December 2009, but as there are more trials, this is not clear.

On 18 August, the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court will start trying İlker Ekiz, İbrahim Karataş, Mustafa Doğan and Elbil Çınar from the Gençlik Federasyonu (Youth Federation). They had organised a caricature exhibition entitled "The common enemy is the USA". They are accused of "organising a caricature exhibition", "reading the Tavir magazine" and "membership in the Youth Federation". The five are being kept in Sivas prison and will be tried for "membership in an illegal organisation", "spreading organisational propaganda", and "violating the law on meetings, protests and demonstrations". Lawyer Taylan Tanay from the Istanbul branch of the Contemporary Lawyers' Association (ÇHD) said that the arrests came after an attack at the university and after democratic organisations expressed their opposition to the attack.

The Cihan News Agency has said that its news team was attacked and insulted by police on 11 June when they were trying to report on a planned human chain of students on the Bosphorus Bridge. The agency claims that cameraman Muharrem Özder and reporter Uğur Öztürk were attacked by around 10 police officers, including an inspector, and that the officers used unrepeatable swear words. The police are said not only to have confiscated the camera and equipment, but also to have bent Özder's arm and have tried to handcuff him. When the journalists protested, the police gave up on handcuffing him, but took the two journalists to the Bridge Protection Branch, where they were held for two hours before being released. Öztürk said that their tapes had recorded the swearing, but that Bülent Kurt, head of the Bridge Protection Branch did not give the tapes back as promised. The agency accused the Ministry of the Interior and the Istanbul police of remaining silent. Öztürk said that a second team's camera was also confiscated.

On 15 May, Seferi Yılmaz, owner of the Umut Bookstore in the Şemdinli district of Hakkari, was arrested for referring to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as "leader of the Kurdish people" at a panel discussion in Bursa. The bookstore had been bombed on 5 November 2005. Yılmaz was sent to prison in Hakkari, accused of "praising a crime and a criminal". He had been sentenced to one year imprisonment. Because Yılmaz has already spent 9 months and 20 days in prison in Van, he will be released after 79 days.

Ahmet Abakay, president of the Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD), has called for the immediate release of Aylin Duruoğlu, editor of the website gazetevatan.com belonging to the daily Vatan newspaper. She was taken into custody on 27 April and arrested three days later, following the operation against an organisation called "Revolutionary Headquarters". A militant member, a police officer and a young bystander were killed during part of the operation in Bostancı, Istanbul. Duruoğlu was arrested by decision of the Istanbul Duty 12th Heavy Penal Court and sent to the Bayrampaşa Women's Prison in Istanbul. Other journalists have protested against her arrest by gathering in front of the Vatan newspaper's office. Abakay told bianet that Duruoğlu should be released immediately, and that she could still be tried without detention if necessary. "Our greatest wish is the release of our friend. These kind of confusions sometimes happen, and as a result, we have colleagues who are arrested or lose their jobs. Even if she is acquitted, she faces the risk of losing her job or moving away from her profession. If a journalist is released months later, and even if she is acquitted, this leaves indelible marks and that kind of danger has to be prevented now." Naile Kılıç, Duruoğlu's lawyer, told bianet that the file was classified, and that her client and herself had not been able to find out any more apart from what they were told during the questioning. She said that her client had said all that she knew. She said that they were continuously objecting to the arrest, but that the first one had been rejected on the grounds that evidence was still being collected and that the public had been shaken by the event. Kılıç said that Duruoğlu had studied in the Political Sciences Faculty at Istanbul University with Orhan Yılmazkaya, the militant who was killed in the shoot-out in Bostancı on 27 April. She had met with him because he had written a book called "Turkish Hamam". She added that her client had no knowledge of Yılmazkaya's links to any illegal organisations and that she had made a detailed statement to the police. Nevertheless, her request for a release has been refused.

Ahmet Birsin, broadcasting director of the local Diyarbakır Gün TV station was taken into custody and later arrested during operations in several cities targeting the PKK. The Diyarbakır prosecution announced that it had been monitoring phone calls, interactions and bank transactions of eight PKK members, a "Turkey coordination unit" for a year. The Gün TV office was searched by the police. Birsin is in prison in Diyarbakır.

In April, a demand for the release of journalist Abdurrahman Gök, reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was rejected. He was first harrassed and then taken into custody when covering the Newroz celebrations in Siirt, southeastern Turkey. First the Siirt prosecution had prolonged the time of detention for Gök, who had been taken into custody with others (Bilal Aşkara, Resul Yıldız, Cihan Obuz, Teyfik Yılmaz, Ahmet Tiryaki, Ziyarettin Akın and Yakup Akça), saying that there was a trial open against Gök in Izmir and that his statement was incomplete. On 25 March, he was taken to the Siirt Criminal Court of Peace which ordered his arrest for spreading PKK propaganda. He was taken to the Siirt E-Type prison. Another reporter from DİHA who was at the Newroz celebrations in Siirt, Celal Kalpak, told bianet that there were different accusations levelled at Gök all the time. "First they said that he had thrown stones at the police. When that was not credible, they said that he had manipulated the crowd; finally, they said that he was taken into custody for terrorist propaganda because he had written down the slogans shouted and written down on placards and because he had been linked to Roj TV." Lawyer Servet Özen has argued that Gök suffered torture and mistreatment when being taken into custody. The medical report on Gök, written at the Siirt State Hospital, is currently with the prosecution. As soon as the lawyer is able to examine them, he has announced, he will file a criminal complaint against those responsible. On 26 March, DİHA broadcasting editor Devrim Göktaş called for the release of Gök and four other reporters from the agency under arrest. He called on press organisations and the public to protest against "these illegal and unfair practices." At a press conference organised by the Society of Journalists in the Southeast (GGC), Democratic Society Party (DTP) group vice chair Selahattin Demirtaş held the Siirt governor and police department responsible for Gök's arrest. The DİHA agency had previously called for the release of its reporters Ali Buluş, Mehmet Karaaslan, Faysal Tunç and Behdin Tunç, who are all in prison for alleged connections to the PKK. It is not clear yet whether the arrests are related purely to journalistic activities.

Vedat Kurşun, former editor of the Azadiya Welat newspaper was taken into custody at the airport in Istanbul on 29 January 2009 and later arrested because he had not made a statement in a trial at the Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court. He will be taken to the Diyarbakır court on 10 September. Kurşun faces more than 20 trials, accused of "spreading PKK propaganda and thus aiding and abetting the organisation".

Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Trials

The trial of Yasin Yetişgen, editor at the weekly Çoban Ateşi in Gaziantep, will continue at the Gaziantep 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 1 October. Yetişgen is on trial for an article entitled "Mother, don't send me to the military", written by Berkant Coşkun and published on 8 November 2007. At the hearing on 9 May 2008, the prosecution had demanded punishment under Article 318, for "alienating the public from military service", as well as Law 5816 on Crimes against Atatürk. The sentences "The growing war profiteering must be exposed and conscientious objection must be used in order not to be a part of the dirty war" and "Mustafa Kemal personally ordered the Dersim massacre" were cited in the indictment. Yetişgen is also still on trial for an article entitled "Antep and the Shepherd's Fire" by Hurşit Kaşıkkırmaz, published on 3 August 2007. The sentence "Antep is an industrial city in Northern Kurdistan" was cited as a reason for a trial. Yetişgen is accused of "inciting hatred and hostility", while a warrant of arrest has been issued for Kaşıkkırmaz, who lives abroad. 

Ersen Korkmaz, owner of the Demokrat İskenderun newspaper, is being tried at the İskenderun 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance for "praising a crime and a criminal" after reporting a speech of DTP İskenderun district chair Mahmut Aydıncı, who referred to Öcalan as "honourable". Both Korkmaz and Aydin will appear in court again on 18 October for the sentence "Putting an end to İmralı Prison and its practices must be considered an important contribution to social peace" (published 18 November 2008). The prosecution demands that they be punished under Article 215 of the Turkish Penal Code. The trial began on 24 December 2008. Korkmaz is further on trial under Article 159 of the former Turkish Penal Code, "insulting and deriding the army and police", after reporting on a panel by the Turkey Communist Party (TKP) with an article entitled "The Kurdish leader was taken and surrendered to the fascists". Korkmaz and TKP representative Necmettin Salaz face up to three years imprisonment each. At a trial at the Civil Court of Peace, the former mayor is suing Korkmaz for 10,000 TL compensation. This case will continue on 21 October.

The Supreme Court of Appeals has overruled the acquittal of British satirical collage artist Michael Dickinson, who had been arrested and later acquitted by the Kadıköy 2nd Criminal Court of Peace after portraying PM Erdoğan as former US President George W. Bush's dog. Dickinson has been living in Turkey for 23 years and also worked as a university lecturer for some time. Following the overturning of his acquittal, he left Turkey. On 25 May, the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that someone living in Turkey for 20 years and having worked in educational institutions could not be ignorant of "Turkish traditions and customs" and would have known the effect his action would have on the public. The Kadıköy court had tried Dickinson under Article 125. After the recent overruling, Dickinson told the British Daily Mail, "I was shocked and could not believe it. I collected my stuff and got on the first plane to Britain. I have no desire to experience Turkish hospitality in prison again."

A prosecutor in Izmir has filed a case against the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) Karabağlar mayor Cemal Coşgun and Gaziemir mayor Şehmuz Seyhan on allegations of violating the political party law by "propagating in Kurdish". The two DTP members will stand trial on 31 July at the Bakırköy 10^th Criminal Court. The alleged "crime" took place two days prior to the local elections on 29 March. The prosecutor's office in İzmir stated in the indictment "the accused had owned up to the alleged crime, proposing that the constitution and the current legislation fails to answer the needs of the society, therefore speaking in Kurdish." The prosecution stated that the law on political parties explicitly states that political propaganda in languages other than Turkish is forbidden. Noting that three other inquiries are filed against him, Cosgun expressed his concern to bianet."Existing legislation doesn't cover the needs of the society. The constitution was prepared following the military coup of 1980 and it exerts pressure on the society. Taking someone to court because of speaking in his or her mother tongue is a shame."

On Friday, 26 June, the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court continued the hearing of the case against journalist Nedim Şener, who has written a book about the murder of journalist Hrant Dink. Şener recounts the negligence of police and gendarmerie officers prior to the murder, accusations that have been made by other reports on the case. He stands accused of revealing classified information, of turning people on duty against terrorism into public targets, and of attempting to influence the judiciary. In the case of his book, entitled "The Dink Murder and Intelligence Lies", the journalist faces up to 28 years imprisonment. At the hearing on Friday, the Istanbul court accepted  the demands of police officers Ramazan Akyürek, Muhittin Zenit and Ali Fuat Yılmazer to become third party plaintiffs. The court agreed that they had been damaged by the alleged "targeting" of the book; the court decreed that they had not been damaged under the other accusations. The court declined the demand by Şener and his lawyers to obtain video recordings of murder suspect Erhan Tuncel, saying that the request was unrelated to the book. The court case was postponed until 23 October. Three indictments have been prepared on the book. Following the hearing, Şener made a statement, saying: "We will do everything for the truth to come out. Because of the efforts of journalists and lawyers, eight gendarmerie officers from Trabzon have been put on trial, but there is still no police officer in the defence box."Nail Güreli, former president of the Turkey Journalists' Society, said, "We hope that the court's decision will be made according to the right of the public to be informed, and according to the supremacy of democracy and the law."

Singer Ferhat Tunç is still on trial for an article entitled "Leyla, a revolutionary, and a song", published in the "Yeniden Özgür Gündem" on 19 January 2004. In the article, he wrote about the "Deep Judiciary". The Beyoğlu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance is trying him and Mehmet Çolak, the section editor who lives abroad; both face prison sentences. Tunç has further been on trial at the Izmir 10th High Criminal Court after saying at a concernt in Alanya (Antalya province) on 22 July 2006, "Just as all the soldiers who died in this country are the children of the country, so all the guerillas killed are also children of this country. My heart bleeds for each soldier who dies, and for each guerilla who is killed." After the Izmir court acquitted him of "organisational propanda", the prosecutor took the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals.

On 26 June, it emerged that the court case against Abdulbasit Bildirici, Van branch president of the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER), brought because of what he said in an interview with the local Prestij Haber newspaper, has been dropped. The interview had been published on 2 December 2008, and the court case began in March. The prosecution said that too much time had passed, as the Press Law states that no more than two months may pass from the publication of a text in a daily newspaper to its prosecution. In November and December, the newspaper had prepared a series of articles entitled "A civilian look at the issue". In his interview, Bildirici had said that the Kurdish question had changed from 2004 to 2005, as more people outside of the PKK had become involved; he said that he had realised that "there would be so many people going to the mountains" if the state did not find a solution.

On 25 June, Writer Nedim Gürsel, author of the book "Allah's Daughters", was acquitted of "denigrating religious values" and "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" by the Şişli 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance. Following the complaint of an Ali Emre Bukağılı, the writer had been taken to court, and faced a second trial after a second complaint on 19 November 2008 when the second edition of the novel came out. The two court cases were merged at the hearing on 26 May, and the acquittal followed. The court said that "the novel as a whole does not have any criminal intent and does not represent a crime." Head judge Hakkı Yalçınkaya argued that the excerpts cited in the complaint were misleading. Thus the expression, "Allah's daughters, lying stretched out, completely naked" was to be found neither on page 120 of the book nor anywhere else. The expression "Allah's beloved subjects" on page 120 was wrongly cited as "Allah's lovers" in the complaint. The court further declared that a statement from the Istanbul police showed that the publication of the book had not resulted in any events disturbing the public peace, that the book was generally a novel, trying to represent events experienced by a person living during the time of the Prophet Muhammet and extending to events during the First World War. The court thus decreed that Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which deals with denigration of people based on social class, ethnicity, religious affiliation or region of origin, as well as the denigratiof of religious values held by a section of society, was not applicable. The writer's lawyer, Şeyhnaz Yüzer argued in court that there were no criminal elements in the book according to Article 216 and criticised the fact that a theology professor, İlyas Çelebi, had been asked for an opinion. If the complaining party does not appeal against the decree within seven days, the acquittal will be confirmed.

On 24 June, the Ardahan 2nd Civil Court of First Instance refused to send the files of Fakir Yılmaz, editor at the Northeast Anatolia Newspaper, Semli Yılmaz, owner of that newspaper and the Son Vilayet newspaper, to an expert. The two journalists are accused of insulting a person, after judge Dilek Şen and Ardahan prosecutor Emrah Ünal filed a demand for 40,000 TL after an article entitled "Should I have demanded a different judge?" was published in the newspaper and on its website (www.kuzeyanadolugazetesi.com) on 14 May 2009. The article was about a court case, and Yılmaz said that he had been denigrated by the head judge in front of his wife and sibling after saying that he did not know why he was on trial. He then summmarised the dialogue that passed between him and judge Şen. The compensation claim trial began on 10 June and will continue on 3 July. The two journalists said that they have complained against the two plaintiffs to the President, Prime Minister and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). Yılmaz said that he had been taken to his hearing late, and that the judge had been tense because of a busy court. When he had said that he was uninformed about the indictment, the judge, so Yılmaz, vented against him. The journalist further wrote about "his amazement at the technological equipment of the court room, the beauty of the judge and the hairloss of the prosecutor." The original court case had been opened because of the complaint of Çıldır district governor (Kaymakam) Önder Can, after Yılmaz had written an article entitled "Authorities in Ardahan must have gone mad" in the Taraf newspaper on 11 January 2009.

On 24 June, the trial against the bianet news website continued at the Ankara 25th Civil Court of First Instance. The trial was initiated with the complaint of police officer Muhittin Zenit, who is known for having spoken to Erhan Tuncel, a suspect in the Hrant Dink murder case, right after the murder. Zenit said in the phone conversation, " they shot him directly in the head...the only difference is that he was not going to run away, but this one did." Zenit was an intelligence officer with the Trabzon police at the time. He now demands 25,000 TL compensation from bianet for two articles published in bianet, "It was clear how he was going to be shot", published on 30 September 2007, and "New Evidence in the Dink Murder: We will meet with Muhsin about Yasin", published on 28 April 2008. Head judge Ömer Kızılkaya decided to write to the Beyoğlu police in order to receive a copy of the last balance sheet showing the financial situation of the foundation and to ask the Police General Directorate whether there had been any criminal complaints because of the articles. The court had rejected the application of the İPS Communication Foundation, which had argued that it could not be held responsible for publications and that the court case should be dismissed for lack of standing. The Ankara 1st Civil Court of First Instance has partially accepted a compensation claim by Zenit from NTV. Zenit demanded 90,000 TL, and the court has ordered the TV station to pay 5,000 TL. Lawyers for NTV have appealed.

On Friday, 19 June, the Şişli Criminal Court of First Instance heard the case of the Turkish translatin of Richard Dawkins' "God Delusion". The public prosecutor, Sait Yakışan, demanded that Erol Karaaslan, owner of the Kuzey Publications which has published the book, not be prosecuted. Karaaslan had faced another trial last year, following the criminal complaint of an Emre Bukağılı. Karaaslan had been acquitted. This time, the prosecution was following up the complaint of a Sonia Eskinazi, who argued that the book insulted Judaism, Allah and the prophets. Karaaslan again faced a possible prison sentence, accused of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility or denigration". Prosecutor Yakışan, speaking at the hearing, said that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights also included the freedom of religion and conscience. He added, "In order for science to progress, we accept that every issue has to be approaced critically and with a questioning mind; otherwise, the whole of society is held hostage by dogmas." The prosecutor pointed out that the European Convention protected the rights of both those with religious beliefs and of atheists, and that this had been confirmed in case law. Evaluated as a whole, the book was written as a criticism of religion and God in general, and the author did not target any particular religious group. Yakışan reminded the court that the previous court case had ended in acquittal and thus demanded the case to be dropped. Otherwise, he warned, "publishers and writers wll continuously be on trial, which would lead to personal suffering." Publisher Karaaslan spoke at the hearing, to, saying, "The author of the book says many times in the book that he does not believe in any religion. He has used scientific works to support his claims, his criticism of religions and their irrationality. It is a right to criticise religions and beliefs as part of the freedom of thought and expression." The demand of Karaaslan's lawyer Pervin Bıyıklıoğlu for a different judge to replace presiding Judge Hakkı Yalçınkaya was not supported by the prosecution and rejected. The court case will continue on 7 July. The court will ask the Istanbul  police force whether public peace has been disturbe by any events related to the book. On 10 November 2008, Muhittin Ayata, Şişli public prosecutor, wrote an indictment in which up to four years imprisonment were demanded under Articles 216/1-3 and 54 of the Turkish Penal Code.

On 18 June, the Constitutional Court decided not to make changes to the amendments of the Anti-Terrorism Law made on 29 June 2006, which have led to many temporary publication bans. 10th President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had demanded the abolishment of the amendments, arguing that some of the clauses violated the constitution. The court rejected an abolishment of the amendment which allows the ban of a publication from 15 days to one month if a prosecutor so demands. This means that any publication that "encourages a crime as part of the activities of a terrorist organisation, that praises a crime or a criminal or that spreads propaganda of a terrorist organisation" can be handed a ban by a judge, while prosecutors can order an immediate ban if they feel that any delay would be harmful and only have to inform a judge within 24 hours. Another article, which held owners of publications and broadcasts responsible for articles that "committed the crime of terrorist propaganda" and ordered legal fines from a thousand to ten thousand days, has been amended so that owners of broadcasting institutions are not held responsible.

On 17 June, the Bursa 1st Criminal Court of Peace acquitted Murat Şenol, Hüseyin Sevgi, Mehmet Emre Battal, Taylan Uztürk, İbrahim Koyuncular, Pınar Koyuncular, Ahmet Keskin and Onural Keskin, members of the People's Houses and the KESK trade union confederation. They had protested against university fees and shouted the slogan "Lightbulb Tayyip", referring to the PM and his party logo. The undetained defendants were acquitted after the court decreed that no crime had been committed. Six people, among them two of the defendants acquitted in this case, had previously been sentenced to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment each for shouting the same slogan. The court later suspended the sentences. On 1 April 2008, they had protestse against the reform of the social security system. They were taken into custody and later released. In March 2008, Betül Öztürk, Hasan Özydın, Berna Özaslan and O.K. were taken to the Bursa 4th Criminal Court of Peace for "insulting" the PM after shouting the slogan "Lightbulb Tayyip" at a protest against university fees. On 4 Marcy, the court sentenced Mehmet Emre Battal, Ahmet Keskin, Betül Öztürk, Hasan Özaydın and Berna Özaslan to 11 months 20 days imprisonment, later suspended, while O.K.'s case was taken to a Children's Court.

Lawyer Erdal Doğan has been taken to court by retired General and Ergenekon defendant Veli Küçük, who demands 10,000 TL compensation for statements the lawyer made on the NTV, Habertürk and STV channels on the day that journalist Hrant Dink was murdered, 19 January 2007. The case had initially been dropped, after lawyers of the complainant had not attended the hearing without making their apologies, but it was reopened. Doğan is being tried at the Beyoğlu 1st Civil Court of First Instance, because he said that before his client Dink had been murdered, Veli Küçük had tried to become a third party in the journalist's trial under Article 301. Doğan said, "Veli Küçük wrote an application with his own handwriting to join the case. After that, Hrant told me and his family and friends that he worried much more because Veli Küçük was not just anyone. Everyone knows that." The court case will continue on 5 November.

It emerged on 17 June that Ethem Açıkalın, president of the Human Rights Association (İHD) in Adana, southern Turkey, faces trial. Speaking on satellite channel Roj TV, he had criticised the arrest and punishment of children taking part in demonstrations. He was investigated for "spreading PKK propaganda", but is now on trial for "inciting hatred and hostility." On 29 November 2008, Açıkalın gave information about the legal situation of the children concerned and criticised their trial. His court case will begin on 27 October at the Adana 1st Criminal Court of First Instance. He had criticised the words of Adana governor İlhan Atış, who had threatened to withdraw health care support for the parents of children taking part in protests. In addition, Açıkalin had spoken of a "dirty war." He told bianet that he believes he has been targeted, and that all he did was share is thoughts on an urgent issue. So far 84 children, seven of them arrested, have been sentenced to 382 years and 11 months imprisonment in Adana.  The human rights activists is already on trial for allegedly resistign the police when protesting against a police raid at the province headquarters of the Democratic Society Party (DTP). On 15 June, the Adana Heavy Penal Court sentenced four children to a total of seventeen years and six months imprisonment for "committing crimes in the name of an illegal organisation" and "spreading organisational propaganda". The children have been accused of taking part in protests in support of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on 15 February 2007, shouting pro-PKK slogans and throwing stones. Three children received sentences of 4 years and 8 months each, and one child a sentence of 3 years and 6 months.

It emerged on 15 June that DTP politicians Ahmet Türk and Selahattin Demirtaş face a court case for speaking Kurdish at a parliamentary group meeting on "Mother Tongue Day". The Sincan 2nd High Criminal Court in Ankara overruled the dropping of the case by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecution and demanded an investigation of the two politicians. The prosecution had found in its investigation that the constitution and the parliamentary internal rules do not consider the speaking of a language other than Turkish a crime and thus decided not to prosecute. However, MHP parliamentary group deputy chair Oktay Vural objected to the decision and said they were also looking at the dropping of another case against three DTP members in Digor, province of Kars. The Ankara court said that the prosecution had decided to drop the case without making use of transcripts or knowing what the speech was about. It thus ordered a new investigation.

Ömer Tütüncü, prosecutor in Digor, Kars, dropped an investigation against DTP Dağpınar mayor Ayhan Erkmen, Kars province party chair Veli Müyken and DTP head office politician Cemal Coşğun for speaking Kurdish during the election campaign. The Digor police had filed a criminal complaint against the politicians. Politician Orhan Miroğlu, who has himself been convicted under the Law of Political Parties for addressing voters in Kurdish and who is appealing to the ECHR, welcomed the decision which became public on 12 June but was made on 25 May. Tütüncü said in his argument that although laws banned the use of languages and alphabets other than Turkish, the state TRT 6 channel had officially been broadcasting in Kurdish since 1 January 2009, meaning that highest-level state representatives were using Kurdish to address citizens.

The trial of Ahmet Altan, editor-in-chief of the Taraf newspaper and writer, started at the Kadkıköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 12 June. Altan is on trial for a front page article entitled "Büyükanıt was also a target", published on 28 March 2008. He is accused of violating secrecy and attempting to influence the judiciary. Taraf newspaper journalists Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar, Nevzat Çiçek, Mehmet Baransu, Bahar Kılıçgedik, Başar Arslan, Sibel Hürtaş, Adnan Keskin and Adnan Demir are on trial in over 80 cases, most concerned with articles written about the Ergenekon investigation. They face accusations of violating the secrecy of investigations, attempting to influence the judiciary and those handing out justice. Lawyer Ergin Cinmen said, "There has been no decision yet, but if the courts decide to hand down punishments and the Supreme Court of Appeals ratifies the sentences, these files will go to the European Court of Human Rights. Turkey will return to the Turkey of 1995, which means that it will be back in the category of countries that violate human rights systematically. Judges must definitely respect the clauses of the European Court of Human Rights. Otherwise, the European Union negotiations will be threatened by court decisions, and Turkey will have a difficult time with the Council of Europe. Since the Ergenekon investigation started in June 2007, media institutions that are part of the Doğan Group have been taken to court more than 200 times, facing the same accusations.

On 11 June, the Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court listened to the defense of rights activist Hakan Tahmaz and section editor İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu of the Birgün newspaper which printed articles by Tahmaz. Tahmaz had interviewed leading PKK members on Kandil mountain. Editor Çeşmecioğlu said that no crime had taken place and that the articles were journalistic. He added that they had not spread PKK propaganda but had talked to individuals whom they believed to be able to have a possible effect on a solution. The court is trying Tahmaz, Bürgün license holder Bülent Yılmaz and Çeşmecioğlu for "publishing PKK statements" in the article entitled "Unilateral ceasefire increases problem", published on 9 August 2008. The court case continues on 15 September.

On 10 June, Veysi Sarısözen, journalist for the Günlük newspaper, and the newspaper's license holder Ziya Çiçekçi appeared in the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court for the first hearing of a trial in which they are accused of "spreading propaganda for the PKK". The court case is dealing with an article entitled "We do not spread organisational propaganda, the people do", published on 6 February 2009. Under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, the two journalists face up to 7.5 years imprisonment. The court had told Çiçekçi that it would drop the case if he paid 20,000 TL in fines, the equivalent of 1,000 days of legal fines within ten days, but that the case would continue otherwise. The next hearing is on 26 October, when Sarısözen will be heard.

On 4 June, the Gaziantep 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted journalist Yasin Yetişgen in a case related to the use of Kurdish letters q, w and x in his articles. Yetişgen, who is editor at the Çoban Ateşi (Shepherd's Fire) newspaper in Gaziantep, was on trial under Article 222 of the Turkish Penal Code, which itself is based on two old laws regarding the wearing of a hat and the use of the Turkish alphabet. Prosecutor Mahmut Yalçın pointed out that the original law had been passed in the 1920s to prevent the use of the Arabic alphabet after the alphabet reform. The newspaper had published biographies and poems by Kurdish poet Abdula Pêşew and Ahmed Arif in their 40th and 41st issues, on 17 January and 31 January 2008 respectively. The Gaziantep Chief Public Prosecution had demanded the confiscation of the issues, and the two cases had been merged. The acquittal took place at the third hearing.

It emerged on 29 May that the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecution has prepared a report in order to effect the lifting of DTP leader Ahmet Türk's parliamentarian immunity following a speech he made in the Bağlar district on this year's Newroz festival. The prosecution claims that Türk spread terrorist propaganda and has sent the report to the Ministry of Justice. Speaking on 21 March 2009, Türk had likened imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to Nelson Mandela.

The Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court is trying Kurdish politician Leyla Zana for allegedly spreading PKK propaganda in a speech made at a seminar at London's SOAS University on 24 May 2008. In her speech, she likened the PKK and its imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan's importance to the Kurdish people to the importance the brain and heart have to humans. "They have created a new life for the Kurdish people, so that a people that used to be ashamed of its existence gained a spirit of freedom and resistance."The former MP for the Democracy Party (DEP) is being tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and the prosecution demanded 5 years imprisonment. The police had monitored recordings on the Kurdish satellite channel Roj TV and had filed a criminal complaint against her. In 1994, Zana and several other Kurdish politicians were arrested for using Kurdish at the swearing-in ceremony for MPs. They were imprisoned for 15 years and released in 2004. Supporters of Zana in Turkey and France organised campaigns after she was sentenced to ten years imprisonment last year for speeches she made. The case is currently at the Supreme Court of Appeals. The campaign in Turkey has called for the Supreme Court to overturn the sentence, and on MPs to lift legal obstructions to the freedom of expression. In France, a campaign started on 10 February was signed by many intellectuals. In the report by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, problems regarding the freedom of expression, Leyla Zana's court case under Article 301 was cited. The EU had awarded Zana the Sakharov Prize in 1995. Zana faces around ten court cases.

On 28 May, the Silivri 1st Criminal Court of First Instance decided to widen the scope of its investigation into Hakan Taştan and Turan Topal, both on trial for "spreading Protestantism". The court thus decided to listen to two employees of Istanbul and Beyoğlu courts as witnesses to "the frequency of missionary activity in courts". The court case had been opened after informants had told the gendarmerie in Silivri that Christians wanted "to turn the area into a holy settlement, that missionaries were trying to organise schools there and that there had been conversations denigrating Turkishness, the military service and Islam". The defendants are members of the Taksim Turkish Protestant Church, and they are accused of missionary work and handing out bibles and Christian literature for free, mostly to students. The court case has been continuing for three years and Taştan and Topal stand accused of "inciting hatred and hostility" and "collecting data in an illegal manner". The Ministry of Justice had given permission for the two young men to be tried under Article 301 for criticising state institutions.

DİHA news agency reporters Sertaç Kayar and Yunus Tosun had previously been taken into custody after covering protests in Beyoğlu's Dolapdere neighbourhood in Istanbul. They are now on trial, accused of taking part in the protests. After being released on 20 October, they were accused of "using inflammable materials during an illegal demonstration and damaging public property". The two journalists stated at the Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court that they had been taken into custody when covering the event as journalists, and that their equipment had been confiscated and they rejected the accusation. The trial continues on 1 October. The police claim that they were investigating a Molotov cocktail attack on construction machines in a building site when residents from balconies and windows shouted and indicated a group of people running away. Trainee reporter Tosun and reporter Kayar were behind that group and were taken into custody with their camera, video camera and gas masks.

On 28 May, the Malatya 3rd High Criminal court convicted writer Temel Demirer of "praising an illegal organisation". He was sentenced to five months imprisonment and the sentence was not suspended. In a speech at the Tunceli 7th Munzur Culture and Nature Festival, he had referred to Ökkeş Karaoğlu, who is said to have been a member of the Maoist Communist Party (MKP). Demirer is said to have said, "The last time I sat in this hall, on 30 April 2005, it was in the same place. Next to me was Sinan. Behind me was Ökkeş. You know Ökkeş, he was one of the 17 who were shot in Mercan (a valley in Tunceli, in June 2005). It is impossible not to have goosebumps. First of all I owe it to him to say that I bow before his memory with respect, even though the Turkish Penal Code counts this as a crime." Şiar Rişvanoğlu, lawyer for the writer, said that they have objected to the police transcript of the speech, which says in 74 places that utterances could not be understood and that is, so the lawyer, full of mistakes.

Sakine Yalçın, who faces many trials from the time she was editor of the Alınteri magazine, is now on trial for calling former Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Türk a "murderer". She will be in court at the Şişli 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance again on 4 November for an article entitled "No to Cell-Style Life", published in the magazine on 1 February 2002. When she was first tried for the article, she was fined 884 YTL. Although the case was open for appeal, she was taken into custody in 2006 when she applied for a passport. She paid money to be released, but the court case continues. In addition, she has been on trial in the same court under Article 159 of the former Turkish Penal Code for an article entitled "Continuity of the Coup", published on 16 July 2003, in which she spoke of "soldiers who smear the faces of villagers with excrement and rape women" and described parliament as a "stable". Yalçın said that the Ministry of Justice had not permitted her trial under the new Article 301, but that she was still on trial under the old article. She was last handed a fine, which was not suspended, as the court saw a possibility of her reoffending. The case is now at the Supreme Court of Appeals. Finally, she is also on trial under the old Article 159 for "insulting the army" in an article entitled "Class against class", published on 14 October 2003. She was sentenced to paying an administrative fine of 1,620 TL, but appealed against the sentence.

Diyarbakır Sur district mayor Abdullah Demirtaş is in court for what he said during a memorial to PKK member Burhan Bahtiyar. He is accused of spreading PKK propaganda for saying, "People's eyes have different colours, but the tears of guerilla mothers and soldier mothers are the same. We are grateful for all of those who died in the struggle for freedom."

On 27 May, the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court decided to wait for a reply to a summons sent to the Turkish Parliament before taking a statement from DTP MP Aysel Tuğluk. She is on trial in Istanbul for news in the press during the time when she was one of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers. At a hearing on 30 September, the court will reevaluate the situation. Following the overruling of a previous sentence, the Istanbul 9th High Criminal Court had asked for the order for a statement to be followed. On 27 May, the Istanbul court decided to wait until 6 August. Lawyer Özcan Kılıç said that Tuğluk and other lawyers for Öcalan faced dozens of trials in Istanbul, and that some of them had been merged. As an example he gave a court case at the Istanbul 9th High Criminal Court, merged with cases from the 11th and 14th court, and where DTP MP Ayla Ata Akat and Kanal D producer Mehmet Ali Birand were also defendants. Tuğluk had received a prison sentence of 1 year 6 months and a ban on working as a lawyer, but the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the sentence.

On 26 May, the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court decided to wait until 29 September for the answer of parliament to the order to procure statements from DTP co-chairs Ahmet Türk and Emine Ayna, and Diyarbakır MP Selahattin Demirtaş. The Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court had handed Demirtaş a 1 year 3 month suspended sentence for statements he made on Roj TV on 5 July 2005. In addition, the Ankara court wants the statements of Türk and Ayna on demand of the Istanbul 9th High Criminal Court and the Adana 8th High Criminal Court respectively. Demirtaş had referred to Abdullah Öcalan on Roj TV, calling for "a review of solitary confinement, a sensitive approahc to demands of its abolition by the government and the army, and an end to military and PKK funerals". Both Demirtaş and the prosecution had appealed against the sentence. On 4 February 2008, the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court overturned the decree, saying that rather than using Article 220/8 of the Turkish Penal Code, the court should have applied Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law ("spreading terrorist propaganda"). The Supreme Court further decreed that Demirtaş would not be protected by his parliamentary immunity. Now the Diyarbakır court has asked the Ankara court to obtain an additional statement of defense from Demirtaş.

The Adana 6th High Criminal Court continued to try Şiar Rişvanoğlu, editor of the İşçi Mücadelesi (Workers' Struggle) newspaper on 26 May. The case went to court because of an article entitled "Kurdish People Have Risen up...Listen to them", published in November 2008. The court case started on 30 April. In the 29  March local elections, Rişvanoğlu, who is also a lawyer, was the common candidate of the left for metropolitian mayor in Adana. He is accused of praising the crimes of "children protesting on command of the PKK, shouting pro-PKK and illegal slogans, injuring public officials and damaging public and private property". At the first hearing, the prosecutor demanded that the lawyer be tried for "spreading terrorist propaganda", a charge which would result in a more severe sentence.

On 25 May, the prosecutor at the Diyarbakır 6th Criminal Court of First Instance demanded imprisonment for Diyarbakır's Sur district mayor Abdullah Demirbaş, deputy mayor Hüseyin Kaya, deputy purchasing manager Resül Baran and cultural affairs manager Mehmet Ali Altunkaynak for offering municipal services in Kurdish, Armenian and Assyrian as well as Turkish. The four municipal officials stand accused of "harming the public by abusing their position" (Article 257) and "violating the law on the Wearing of the Hat and the Use of the Turkish Alphabet" (Article 222). They face up to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment. Demirbaş has denounced the trial, saying that it cannot change the fact that Turkey is multi-cultural and multi-lingual. The next hearing is on 30 September.

On 17 May, it emerged that Emrullah Uslu, chief superintendent officer, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Önder Aytaç, who had written an article in the Taraf newspaper, have been taken to court by the Police General Directorate. The police accuses them of having denigrated the army, the police force, the judiciary and state officials in their shared column "Apoletika" and has demanded a trial under Article 301/2 and Article 125 (for insults). Aytaç said that they had examined government decisions on institutions such as the secret service (MİT), the police and the village guard system and said, "At a time that there are projects running to aline the country with the EU, such analyses as ours should be welcomed." He added that he was the main contributor to the column and that Uslu helped him on certain issues.  Should Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin permit a trial under Article 301, they will be prosecuted. They may face up to two years imprisonment.

The Diyarbakır 2nd High Criminal Court is trying former Diyarbakır Bar Association President Sezgin Tanrıkulu and lawyer Nesip Yıldırım for the publication of the 2007 agenda in Turkish and Kurdish. The two lawyers are accused of "praising crime". Yıldırım said in his defence on 15 May, "This is my legitimate right. My mother tongue is Kurdish. This accusation itself violates human rights. The prosecutor argued that the law profession was a public service, and that the bar association was violating the principle of Turkish being the state language by offering public services in a language other than Turkish. In addition, they used letters that did not exist in the Turkish alphabet and thus Tanrıkulu "abused his position". Yıldırım is on trial because he wrote a letter saying "I stand by my Bar Association and my agenda" in response to a local newspaper targeting the publication. The case will continue on 2 October.

On 14 May, the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted DTP members Mehdi Tanrıkulu and Hasan Özgüneş. The two politicians had protested against the ban of the expression "honourable" in connection with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and had been on trial for "praising a criminal". Hanifi Erdoğan, one of two police officers called as witnesses said, "Because we knew the content of hte press statement, we separated Tanrıkulu, but he continued with the statement. When he mentioned Öcalan, we took him into custody. The other officer, Yaşar İnal, said, "We had warned them not to make a press statement. When they said something to the effect of 'If it is a crime to say 'honourable Öcalan', then we denounce ourselves', we took them into custody." Undetained defendant Tanrıkulu said, "As is the right of every citizen, we had gathered for a press statement. There were journalists there. We did not shout any illegal slogans. During the statement the police interfered in an unfair manner. Some of our friends were beaten and constrained. We have been put on trial for something that is not a crime. I demand my acquittal." Public prosecutor Muzaffer Pişirici also asked for an acquittal and head judge Fatih Kapan agreed that there had been no elements of crime and acquitted the two DTP members.

On 14 May, Özkan Tacar, president of the Tunceli Associations Federation, Mehmet Gülmez, general secretary of the European Dersim Association Federation and Tunceli deputy mayor İbrahim Kasun were acquitted at the Tunceli Criminal Court of Peace. The three authorities had been held responsible for a placard hung up at the Kışla Square in Tunceli during last year's Munzur Culture and Nature Festival and had been tried under Article 215, for "praising a crime and a criminal". The placard had shown a picture of Seyit Rıza and the words, "I could not cope with your lies and cheating, that was my trouble. I did not bow before you, let that be your trouble. Seyit Rıza". Seyit Rıza was a leader of the Dersim uprising and was executed in 1938.

On 14 May, the Ankara 10th Civil Court of First Instance began to try AKP Adana MP Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat and the Hürriyet newspaper. Following the complaint of Metropolitan Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek, the MP and the newspaper face compensation payments of 50,000 TL. The court has decided to consult the Turkish Language Institute on the term "şıllık" used in an article published on 19 December 2008 in the newspaper. While the Hürriyet newspaper claims that the word refers to a desert made in the province of Şanlıurfa, made of dough, milk, egg, flour and nuts. However, Gökçek claims that the term refers to a loose woman. He said, "it is clear that Dengir cursed and committed a crime."

It emerged in May that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution has taken the publication of three books to court for their "obscene" content. "The Fairy's Pendulum" by Ben Mila and the Turkish translations of French P.V.'s "Letters of a Well-Mannered and Learned Bourgeois Woman" and Guillaume Apollinaire's "The Exploits of a Young Don Juan" all face trial. The prosecution decided that Juan Manuel de Prada's "Book of Fannies" would not be prosecuted. İrfan Sancı, owner of Sel Publications, criticised the report of the expert who said that "the books cannot be read as a family". Sancı said, "We ask, is there a new criterion of family reading in literature? The expert report insults people's intelligence. It tears a paragraph out of the context of the whole book and adds in parentheses, 'there is a lesbian relationship'. From another page it takes another paragraph and says, "there is an unsuitable relationship". We ask the expert, how do you categorise these?" Literary critic Ömer Türkel said that obscenity was relative and changed over time. "This shows that our freedoms are still being forbidden." Article 226 foresees up to three years imprisonment and up to 5,000 days legal fees.

On 14 May, it emerged that the Supreme Court is leaving the door open for compensation claims against writer Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk faced a trial under the controversial Article 301 after saying "30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians were killed on this soil" in an interview in Switzerland. He was accused of "denigrating Turkishness". The Ministry of Justice withheld permission for prosecution, so the case was dropped. The criminal case was dropped, yet he still faces compensation claims. Pakize Alp Akbaba, president of the Istanbul Mothers of Martyrs Solidarity and Support Association, lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, himself now a detained defendant in the Ergenekon trial, and four other people have demanded 36,000 Liras compensation. The Şişli 3rd Civil Court of First Instance in Istanbul has twice rejected the compensation claims. According to the Radikal newspaper, the Şişli court had decreed that no one could claim compensation for "an attack on personal rights" just for being a member of the Turkish nation. However, the plaintiffs lodged an appeal, and the 4th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decreed that the plaintiffs fulfilled the conditions for making a claim. If personal rights had been attacked, it decreed, the legislation should be applied. The Supreme Court pointed out that according to Article 66 of the Constitution, "Everyone connected to the Turkish State with the bond of citizenship is Turkish", and that just as individuals had honour, feelings of belonging to a nation were also part of personal values. When the Şişli court rejected the compensation claim for a second time, the case was sent to the Supreme Court of Appeal's General Assembly, which again overturned the local court's decree. It now remains to be seen whether the Şişli court will resist the Supreme Court a third time.

Özgür Boğatekin, representative of the local Gerger Fırat newspaper in Adıyaman, southeastern Turkey, has been sentenced to 1 year, 2 months and 17 days imprisonment for an article in which he argued that his father, journalist Hacı Boğatekin, was being held in prison unlawfully.Özgür Boğatekin has now been convicted of insulting prosecutor Sadullah Ovacıklı. On 13 May, the Gerger Criminal Court of First Instance handed down the sentence, without any reducing or suspending the sentence, or turning it into a fine.  Referring to a court hearing to which his father had been brought in handcuffs and where the continuation of his detention was decided, Özgür Boğatekin had written an article entitled "Continuation of Detention". The article, which appeared on 30 June 2008, described prosecutor Sadullah Ovacıklı and policemen "grinning surreptitiously" after the father's continuing detention had been decided on. An expression Özgür Boğatekin used to describe the way the prosecutor was walking, "pegur", is a regional term. As an "expert" witness, the court used a court clerk, Mustafa Erdil, who said: "'Pegur' can mean walking like a wolf, walking with wolves, wolves' tracks, but can also mean other things. What I understand from 'pegur walk' can be interpreted as a way of insulting someone. It can then mean walking behind a wolf, walking like a wolf, stepping into the tracks of a wolf. It depends on how the word was used. The meaning of this word may change from region to region." Özgür Boğatekin pointed out that judge Ayşegül Şimşek, who tried him, had been withdrawn from his father's court case because of lack of objectivity, and that the files had been sent to the Kahta Criminal Court of First Instance. Like his father, he filed a rejection claim of the judge, saying, "there has been animosity between the judge and my father, and thus also between her and me and my family. That is why I demand a different judge." However, the son's demand has been rejected. The court also rejected the application of father Haci Boğatekin, owner and editor of the local newspaper, to take part in the case. Özgür Boğatekin stated that he has filed a symbolic compensation suit of one lira against the judges of his father's court at the Kahta Civil Court of Peace, that he has demanded a change in prosecutor and judge, and that he has demanded a preliminary investigation into these individuals by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. He has further said that he will file an appeal against  the court decision, saying, "I have full faith in higher justice." The journalist father, Haci Boğatekin, was put on trial for "insulting", "slander" and "attempting to influence the judiciary process" after he said that he had been threatened by prosecutor Sadullah Ovacıklı who took his statement about an article entitled "Feto and Apo", an article which contained references to Fethullah Gülen, a religious leader.  Boğatekin has described the prosecutor as a "Fethullah Gülen fan." Haci Boğatekin was kept detained for a total of 109 days, and his demands for a release were refused at three hearings before he was later released from Kahta prison. The Adıyaman 2nd Heavy Penal Court finally accepted his demand for a different judge, and his case has been transferred to the Kahta court.

At the beginning of May, the Kars 1st Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced former MP Mahmut Alınak to one year imprisonment for saying "The government and the General Staff do not fulfil their duty of keeping our children alive." The DTP Kars province chair had said in a press briefing shared with the Kafkas University Students' Association no 12 December 2006: "The denial of the existence of Kurds continues with violence, the state's policy of solving the Kurdish question with arms has created great disaster...the government and the General Staff do not fulfil their duty, which is to keep our children alive. They are doing politics over the blood of the young, and those who die are the children of the Turkish and Kurdish people...We call on all intellectuals, on all mothers and fathers, and on all those who consider themselves human, to raise their voice and stop the blood from flowing." Alınak has been convicted of "inciting hatred and hostility". The words were published in the 13 December 2006 issue of the Çağdaş Kars Haber newspaper. Alınak has announced that he was protesting against the sentence, saying that all of his calls to civil disobedience had been penalised with prison sentences so far. "I am starting a social, political and economic strike against the government."

Judge Arif Atılgan, who was trying three members of the Tursun family for "attempting to influence a trial" and "threatening a public official" after they protested against the police officer who shot their son Baran Tursun being released at the first hearing, has withdrawn from the case. On 7 May, the judge at the Karşıyaka 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance said that because he had been one of the judges at the first hearing of police officer Oral Emre Atar at the Karşıyaka 1st High Criminal Court, he would not be able to take the case. The case will now be sent to the Karşıyaka High Criminal Court. If his request for withdrawal is rejected, the case will continue with Atılgan; otherwise, another judge will be appointed. Former Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin previously refused permission for the Tursun family and rights activists to be tried under Article 301.

On 7 May, the court case against pacifists Mehmet Atak, Oğuz Sönmez, Gürşat Özdamar and Serkan Bayrak continued at the Beyoğlu 2nd Criminal Court of Peace. They are accused of "alienating the public from military service" because they supported conscientious objector Mehmet Bal in a press statement. They had protested at his rearrest by the army after he had spent six months in prison, as well as against torture claims during the second detention. They face up to two years imprisonment under Article 318. Atak said that he has filed a criminal complaint against the prosecutor who is accusing him and said, "The prosecutor who started the case against me said that I was shouting slogans and holding a placard on a video filmed. I demand that the video be watched. I am not easily taken to be someone else. If it is a placard I believe in I gladly hold it, but in this video there can be no such visuals, as I did not hold one. As for shouting slogans, I am a person who does not shout slogans." Sönmez said in his statement that he had protested against the maltreatment of Bal and that he oppposed all militarist practices, mentality and culture, and that in this sense, he approved of alienating the public of military service. Özdamar and Bayrak said that they had taken part in the press statement and had shouted slogans, but that the police "had told lies as always". The police had claimed to need their IDs to do an ID check and had then taken them into custody. Lawyer Eren Keskin said that no permission was needed to make press statements, that shouting slogans was also not forbidden. The real issue, she said, was that Turkey was resisting a change in laws to accommodate conscientious objection, despite decisions of the ECHR. The case will continue on 8 July.

On 7 May, the Constitutional Court refused to abolish the legal ruling that any investigation and prosecution of Article 301 ("denigrating the Turkish nation, the government of the Turkish Republic and state organs and organisations") had to be given permission by the Minister of Justice. This change had been introduced on 8 May 2008. Critics had said that this rule allowed political interference from the Minister in the judiciary. Article 301 had superceded Article 159, which for many years had been used to prosecute dissident opinion holders, on 1 June 2005. Since then, thousands of people have faced up to three years imprisonment in trials. In March 2008, then Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin said that in 2006, a total of 1,533 people (12 of them children) were taken to court in 835 cass. In 2006 and the first three months of 2007, 14 children were on trial. In the first three months of 2007, a total of 1,189 people were taken to court in 744 cases. Answering another question in February 2009, Şahin said that 742 court cases had been opened under Article 301 in 2006 and 2007, and that 1,042 had been taken to court. In that time, 309 people were convicted under the Article, six of them children.

On 5 May, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court sentenced DTP mayor Abdullah Demirbaş from the Sur district of Diyarbakır to 2 years and six months imprisonment for having referred to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as "honourable Öcalan" on Roj TV. In addition, the mayor, who has been tried under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law ("spreading terrorist propaganda"), has been stripped of his public rights. The sentence, as well as the operations against the DTP and convictions for Diyarbakır Metropolitan mayor Osman Baydemir and Batman mayor Nejdet Atalay, were criticised by MAZLUMDER. Demirbaş had said, "I also say 'honourable Öcalan', I denounce myself. Attacks against the Kurdish people, culture, language and identity are increasing, and the ideas and thoughts of the honourable Öcalan are very important for the Kurdish people. His health is not good. [...]Today around 30,000 people sent petitions by post. I believe that when people show the hypocrisy of Turkey and Turkey's laws with actions, this is the right of civil initiative. [...]"

On 22 April, the Adıyaman Criminal Court of Peace decided that it was not in charge of the case of journalist Naif Karabatak, who had criticised the university for refusing to let in students in headscarves after the constitutional amendment. Adıyaman University rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Gündüz had taken the journalist to court for an article entitled "Where are the prosecutors?", published in the Güne Bakış newspaper on 28 February 2008. The journalist is accused of having insulted Gündüz, with an increase in punishment demanded because it happened in the press. The case has been sent to the Adıyaman Criminal Court of First Instance. On 10 March 2008, Karabatak told the prosecution in his statement that he had argued for the right of headscarved women to be allowed into university, and that his criticism had targeted a practice, not a person.

On 22 April, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court had the first hearing of a case against Adnan Demir, section editor at the Taraf newspaper. Demir had written articles claiming that there had been military negligence in the attacks on the Aktütün gendarmerie station that left 17 soldiers dead. He stands accused of having published secret documents of the General Staff. The court rejected the request of Demir's lawyer Ergin Cinmen that the General Staff be asked how many times the PKK had attacked the station up to the date of the article, and whether the station was still being used. The next hearing was scheduled for 15 September. Demir cited Article 12 of the Press Law, saying that he had the right to protect his source. He also argued that it was the duty of the press to reveal that the General Staff knew about the attack: "Press freedom is a human right, a human freedom." Demir is facing trial under Article 329 and faces up to five years imprisonment. The indictment claims that the issues of 14,115, 16, 17, 18, 26 and 28 October 2008 had contained secret information in relation to the attack of 3 October 2008. The indictment further pointed out that the General Staff Military Court had decreed a publishing and broadcasting ban after the first article had appeared on 14 October.

On 21 April, the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court sentenced Diyarbakır Metropolitan mayor Osman Baydemir and DTP province chair Nejdet Atalay to imprisonment for having described PKK members as "guerillas". They were handed 10 months imprisonment each for "spreading terrorist propaganda". The Human Rights Association (İHD) demanded that constitutional change should include a full guarantee of the freedom of expression. Lawyer Muharrem Erbey said that the word "guerilla" did not imply propaganda and that its use did not constitute a crime. Lawyer Meral Danış Beştaş said that the word had been taken out of its context. The relevant utterance had been "No more police officers, soldiers, guerillas or civilians should die in this country. My heart is aching. No one should die anymore."

On 21 April, the Gebze 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted lawyer Eren Keskin, who had used the term "Kurdistan" when introducing her book on sexual violence carried out by the state. She had been on trial for "inciting hatred and hostility" under Article 216. In August 2007, Keskin had said at the Gebze Bilge Culture Centre, "I do not know any judge who is brave enough to punish any soldier or police officer for rape." The prosecution had demanded 3 years imprisonment. Keskin had said that she had only expressed her thougths and that she had used the term "Kurdistan" for the geographical area with a majority population of Kurds.

Three members of the Labour Youth, Şerafettin Gökdeniz, Sercan Bakır and Ekin Can Kınık, are on trial for "insulting the Prime Minister" after they had sent a signature campaign to parliament in protest against the annual national unversity entrance exam and had then protested and shouted slogans on 20 May 2008. On 14 April, there was a hearing at the Beyoğlu 1st Criminal Court of Peace, where there was a change of judge, and undetained defendant Kınık was listened to. The case will continue on 7 July.  An expert witness has said that the slogans do not represent a crime. The three young people had shouted "Born in Istanbul, became a US citizen, Tayyip Erdoğan, son of murderer Bush". They have been acquitted of violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations, but still face this trial for alleged insult.

Mahmut Alınak, former Kars province party chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), is on trial, facing a possible prison sentence, for a letter he sent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kurdish and in which he said, "You have deceived the people of Kars." Alınak has previously been convincted of insulting the Prime Minister and was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days imprisonment. Under Article 231 of the Code of Criminal Procedure the punishment was converted into having to plant 500 trees and look after them for four months. The sentence was handed down on 3 March. Alınak had said, "If he had the least bit of shame, he would not have come to Kars (a province in the east of Turkey). We don't want Erdoğan, the enemy of freedom who has turned the lives of the Turkish and Kurdish people into hell, in Kars. We protest against the pollution of Kars' air and soil by this Padişah of bloody politics." On 7 April, Alınak was again in court, this time for the letter he sent. He said in his defence, "In my letter I wrote that the Prime Minister and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) had deceived the people and that Kars was considered a colony. I don't understand what in those statements represents an insult. You cannot even call it criticism. This means that we have to seal our mouths and walk along the streets like that. What kind of freedom of expression is this, if even the word 'deceive' is a crime. It seems like the only place where we can be free in this country is in prison." Alınak went to prison twice last year because he refused to pay fines he was sentenced to paying after being accused of "praising crime" in several speeches he had made calling for civil disobedience.

"A man born in Turkey cannot have a duty to his fatherland just because he was born in Turkey. This is not only true for Turkey either. People are born naked, without sin, without debt, and most importantly, without guns. No institution has the right to take over the life of a free person for a definite or indefinite time." Mustafa Karayay said these words in a speech in Yüksel Street near Kızılay Square in Ankara on 10 October 2008, when he announced that he was a conscientious objector. He had criticised military service, saying,  "Many young people were taken in the prime of their life and killed in the name of military service. How can anyone pay the rights these people had?"  Karayay face three years imprisonment for alienating the public from military service.  At the first hearing on 1 April at the Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace, Karayay told the court that he had expressed his own opinion during the press release and that they should be evaluated within the framework of the freedom of expression.  The court hearing was monitored by members of the Conscientious Objection Committee of Ankara's Human Rights Association (İHD).  The court acquitted Karayay at the first hearing. The legal article in question, Article 318 of the Turkish Penal Code, came into effect on 1 June 2005: (1) Persons who give incentives or make suggestions or spread propaganda which will have the effect of discouraging people from performing military service shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of six months to two years. (2) If the act is committed through the medium of the press and media, the penalty shall be increased by half.

On 1 April, the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court sentenced former DTP deputy chair Orhan Miroğlu to two months and six months imprisonment for "spreading PKK propaganda" during a speech at a Newroz rally in 2007. He was found guilty under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law; the sentence was reduced by five months under Articel 62 of the Turkish Penal Code. The court case was made up of several cases that had been merged, one of them being his utterance on 25 March 2008, when he said, "People cannot toy with the health of the honourable Öcalan. These claims, which could send Turkey into conflict, need to be investigated." Should the sentence be ratified by the Supreme Court of Appeals, Miroğlu will have to go to prison. His lawyer Can Kayhan has lodged an appeal against the sentence. At the rally, Miroğlu had said, "The PKK is a reality of this country. It will not be solved with cross-border operations. Turkey must face the reality." He had further referred to claims that Öcalan was being poisoned in prison and had called for the Turkish Medical Association and rights organisations to investigate the claims in order to "prevent clashes". Furthermore, he had referred to Mazlum Doğan, one of the founders of the PKK, who had killed  himself in Diyarbakır prison in 1982 in order to protest against prison conditions, as his "prison friend".

On 1 April, the Ankara 28th Criminal Court of First Instance dropped an Article 301 case against academics Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu and Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran after the Minister of Justice had not given permission for prosecution. The two academics had suggested the term "Türkiyelilik", i.e. "citizenship of Turkey" as a replacement for the term "Türk" (Turkish"), which has ethnic associations, when they were part of a Prime Ministerial Human Rights Advisory Board. On 10 May 2007, the court had already decided to drop the case and acquit them under Article 216 (inciting hatred and hostility), but the Supreme Court of Appeals had overturned the acquittal on 28 April. On 17 December 2008, the Ankara court had then sent the file to the Ministry of Justice.

Mustafa Koyuncu, responsible editor at the Afyonkarahisar Emirdağ newspaper is on trial, facing up to six years and imprisonment and 440,000 TL compensation claims. He had written an article entitled "Should we enter the EU like this? Officials are abusing their position", published on 12 March 2007. Four other journalists have told the Emirdağ Criminal Court of First Instance that the allegations in the article are true. The court is dealing with the criminal trial and will decide on 7 July whether to send the file to an expert. The trial concerning compensation claims will continue in October. Koyuncu was arrested on 13 March 2007, accused of "insulting in the press". He was released a week later, on condition that he publish a refutation.

The Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court is trying Cevat Düşün, owner of the Alternatif newspaper, and Ragıp Zarakolu, editor-in-chief, for "spreading terrorist propaganda", "alienating the puplic from military service", and "praising a crime and a criminal". According to the indictment of prosecutor Bilal Bayraktar from 23 September 2008, the issues of 16 and 17 Augst 2008 contained criminal material: an article entitled "I refuse to be a Turkish soldier" by conscientious objector Mehmet Ali Avcı, an article entitled "The first bullet must be debated", which describes Öcalan as "leader of the Kurdish people" and the PKK as "an organisation struggling for freedom for the Kurdish people", the report of celebrations in the southeast of 15 August "with fireworks everywhere", and the coverage of a speech by a DTP MP in Ağrı, entitled "If there is no political solution, Kurds will turn to the mountains".

The Kadıköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance is continuing the trial fo Taraf newspaper reporter Soner Arıkanoğlu, who wrote in an article that police searching the headquarters of the Workers' Party (İşçi Partisi, İP) as part of the Ergenekon investigation on 21 March 2008 found a plan of the layout of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The journalist is accused of "slander" (Article 267), "attempts to influence a fair trial" (Article 288) and "violating secrecy" (Article 285). The journalist had written that one of the CDs found at the headquarters contained a detailed layout plan. He had also claimed that Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu, head of the YARSAV (Union of Judges and Prosecutors), handed the party the part of the indictment on the AKP closure case related to Abdullah Öcalan prior to its publication. Arıkanoğlu was taken into custody on 27 March 2008 and later released. The two articles in question were published on 24 March: "Suspicious Appeal Court Plan at İP" and "They were going to attack the Supreme Court of Appeals". Arıkanoğlu faces a second trial on similar accusations.

The Batman High Criminal Court continues to try six journalists for their coverage of the bullets of security forces that killed 11-year-old Mizgin Özbek in the district of Kozluk. Mustafa Kemal Çelik, owher of the Batman Postası, Batman Barış and Batman Vizyon newspapers, Aytekin Dal, editor at Vizyon, Mehmet Sadık Aksoy, editor at Barış, Mehmet Reşat Yiğiz, editor at Çağdaş newspaper, and Nedim Arslan and Mustafa Seven of the Batman Petrol newspaper are all on trial under Article 301 for "denigrating the military forces". Their files have been sent to the Ministry of Justice. They have been acquitted of "attempting to influence the judiciary". On 16 September 2008, lawyer Sedat Özevin from the Batman Bar Association and Ahmet Sevim, branch president of the MAZLUMDER association, had been acquitted. The ministry had not given permission for their trial under Article 301.

In June it emerged that the Ministry of Justice has not permitted the prosecution of journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak from the Anadolu'da Vakit newspaper for an article entitled "Cloak and Turban", published on 13 February 2008. The case against him under Article 301 has thus been dropped. The indictment of 11 April 2008 had cited part of the article: "They might place a white turban wrapped over a green fez instead of their officer's hat somewhere visible in their houses... Let us remember how the Red Army disappeared over one night...The society in Turkey is scared and controlled through briefings, unsolved murders and files on people...There have been covert action to stir the country, in the east through JİTEM and in the west through non-governmental organizations...The leader of the patriots is accused of his expression "We had four thousand soldiers walk in their  civilian clothes and nobody realized it." The journalist is further on trial for an article entitled "The generals do not listen", published in the 29 August - 3 September 2003 issue of the Türkiye'de Cuma magazine. He faces up to five years imprisonment. His court case began at the 3rd Corps Command Military Court, and he was accused of "damaging relations between superiors and junior ranks" (Article 95/4 of the Military Penal Code) When the Military Penal Code changed, the case was sent to the Bağcılar Criminal Court of First Instance and from there to the Bakırköy Criminal Court of First Instance. Two courts in Bakırköy, the 2nd and 17th Criminal Courts of First Instance, first disagreed on which was to take the case. Together with Dilipak, Mustafa Karahasanoğlu and three retired officers are on trial. The indictment is demanding sentences of between 6 months and 3 years for each of the defendants.

The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court started to try Adnan Demir, section editor of the Taraf newspaper, on 21 April. He is on trial for publications related to the PKK attack on the Aktütün gendarmerie station in Hakkari on 4 October 2008. The indictment was prepared following the complaint of the General Staff. Prosecutor Fikret Seçen accuses Demir of "having published secret military information" and demands up to 5 years imprisonment under Article 329. The Taraf newspaper has claimed that the attack, in which 17 soldiers died, had been due to military negligence.

The Bursa 2nd Children's court is trying 17-year-old O.K. for having insulted PM Erdoğan during a protest of highschool students against the central university exam on 29 March 2008. The trial for the slogans "You are a lightbulb, Tayyip" and "First religious and then pseudo-liberal, selling education" will continue on 31 July, and O.K. may face a prison sentence.

Weekly Atılım newspaper section editor Sibel Bulut is on trial for "praising a crime and criminals" after writing an article in memory of student revolutionaries Deniz Gezmiş, Mahir Çayan and İbrahim Kaypakkaya. The trial against the article entitled "İbo Mahir Deniz, we follow in your footsteps until we triumph" started on 3 November 2008. The Fatih 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance claimed that the article represented a "terrorist crime" and sent the file to the High Criminal Court, from where there have been no developments for months.

The Van 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance is trying DİYA news agency Van reporters Oktay Candemir and Ercan Öksüz for "inciting hatred and hostility" in an interview entitled "Witness of Zilan Massacre Talks", published in 2007. The journalists will be in court again on 16 July. They are also accused of "denigrating Turkishness, the republic and state organs" (Article 301). In September 2007, the reporters had published an interview with 94-year-old Kakil Erdem from Van's Erciş district, who had witnessed the massacre at the Zilan river in 1930 when he was 17 years old. The article reported claims of severe torture. Erdem himself claimed that soldiers killed 35 of his relatives, also giving the examples of a pregnant woman and three relatives being tortured.

Melih Kaşkar, editor of the Milas Önder newspaper, is on trial at the Milas 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance for "insulting the Prime Minister in the press". Kaşkar faces two years and eight months imprisonment in the case that has been merged from two complaints of the PM and President Gül. The journalist is accused of having called them "dishonourable" through a joke. In April, the court rejected the demand of newspaper lawyer Mustafa İlker Gürkan that the file be sent to an expert witness. Coşkun Efendioğlu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, said that the newspaper printed jokes sent in by readers every Saturday: "In fact, we are usually careful. But a joke that escaped our attention is no reason to go to court. The joke is actually quite a good joke. If we are sentenced, we will appeal, and if necessary, go to the ECHR."

Lawyers for Muzaffer Erdoğdu, representative of Pencere Publications, translator Ahmet Güner and historian Taner Akçam (who has written an article in the book in question) have appealed against the compensation fine that the three have been sentenced to for the book "Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916". Şükrü Elekdağ, MP for the CHP and former ambassador demanded compensation, and the Ankara 6^th Civil Court of First Instance sentenced the three to pay 7,500 TL on 17 September. The book contains references to the studies of James Brice and Arnold Toynbee, who were commissioned by the British government to investigate "the recent events in Armenia". The resulting report,  "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire" was published in the blue book series of the British Parliament.

The Ankara 20^th Civil Court of First Instance will continue its trial against the Vakit newspaper on 30 July. An article entitled "The country where those who are not fit for being corporals become generals", written under the pen name Asım Yenihaber, caused four former force commanders and 308 other generals to file compensation claims for having been "insulted". Newspaper owner Nuri Aykon and Mehmet Doğan, a former member of RTÜK who is said to have authored the piece, face a total of 624,000 TL compensation demands.

Corrections and Legal Redress

On 15 June, the Taraf newspaper appealed against the publishing and broadcasting ban decreed by the General Staff Military Court in relation to the alleged "action plan against reactionary forces" it had published three days earlier. Lawyer Ergin Cinmen filed a petition for the lifting of the ban with the Istanbul Duty 9th High Criminal Court, saying that it contravened Article 3 of the Press Law (Press freedom), Article 26 ("Freedom to express one's ideas and publish") and Article 28 (Press freedom) of the Constitution, as well as Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Cinmen said that the military court did not have the authority to decree such a ban.

On 4 June, the Siirt High Criminal Court started to try four detained suspects for the attack on Diyar Yarayan, owner of the Siirt Birlik newspaper. In the night of 17 February, Yarayan had ben attacked by people in ski masks in front of his home, had been beaten with sticks and had to spend months in hospital because of the head injuries he received. A journalist for 23 years, he accused Hifzullah Canpolat, Siirt Social Services province manager, of having instigated the attack. He said that Canpolat had used the defendants in similar attacks in order to ensure that his friends won bids for food and cleaning services in his institution. The journalist also said that after receiving information from the public, he had written an article about Canpolat, entitled "Who is the manager who asks widowed/divorced women for their phone numbers?". Yarayan said, "Even if I did not write his name, he was targeted by the article, and everyone in Siirt knew about the issue. He used the opportunity to have me beaten up." The court case will continue on 23 July. The defendants insisted on their innocence.

On 28 May, The Şişli 1st Criminal Court of First Instance in Istanbul sentenced Muhammet Karay to 3 years 3 months imprisonment for sending an email message containing threats against employees of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos newspaper and Armenians in general on 25 January 2007, six days after the murder of the newspaper's editor Hrant Dink.Karay had threatened employees with death in the email. Following the complaint of former newspaper licence holder Serkis Seropyan, the newspaper's lawyers applied to the court.  The court, headed by Judge Mithat Ali Kabaali, argued that the defendant had "created deep fear and worry" and cited Article 106/2 (b) of the Turkish Penal Code.The court pointed out that Karay had hidden his identity and had threatened anonymously. The lawyers for the newspaper said in a written statement that they were pleased that the court had gone beyond the minimum sentence of two years, thus setting an example. Up to five court cases have been opened because of threats to employees of the newspaper. Before Karay, the Şişli 9th Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Zafer Filiz, who had threatened the newspaper 12 days after Dink's murder, to three years imprisonment on 20 March 2008. The same court sentenced Rıdvan Doğan, who had also sent a threatening message to the newspaper after the murder, to two years imprisonment in October 2007. Because Doğan had no previous criminal record and had expressed regrets, his sentence had been suspended.

The court case against four people accused of torturing and injuring conscientious objector Mehmet Bal continued at the Hasdal 3rd Corps Command Military Court on 22 May. Lawyer Eren Keskin and Gülseren Yoleri, president of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) were called as witnesses. The prosecutor asked Keskin for a definition of torture and then said that "what Bal experienced was a little beating". Keskin said that she had been informed that Bal had been tortured in the military prison and that she and another lawyer went to the prison on 11 June 2008 and spoke to a colonel. When Bal was brought to them, he was wearing military uniform and had to be supported by two people. He was listless and could not remain standing. Keskin added, "I had a brief conversation with him. He said that a non-commissioned officer had forcibly cut his hear, and that another prisoner, Necati Polat, and his friends had beaten him in the cell." Neither the detained suspects Necati Polat, Erhan Öz and Bekir Uğurlu and undetained suspect Mehmet Emin Karadağ nor their lawyers attended the hearing.

On 30 April, the Beyoğlu 3rd Civil Court of First Instance agreed with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeals and refused to close the Lambdaistanbul Association on grounds of freedom of association. Fırat Söyle, lawyer for the association, welcomed the decision as "the result of the struggle of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals in Turkey." The lawyer had objected to statements in the Supreme Court's decision, part of which read: "Should the association go against its own regulations in future by carrying out activities to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite and transsexual orientations and to make them more common, Articles 30 and 31 of the Association Law would apply and an application for the dissolution of the association could be made."

DTP MP Hasip Kaplan filed a question to the Minister of Justice, who had revealed that around 70,000 people were being listened to in Turkey. Kaplan asked whether such a practice was legal. He further asked how many courts had ordered telephones to be bugged, saying "The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecution said that there have been 40,000 buggings related just to our party. Is the bugging just targeting our party?" Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin said that the Telecommunications Directory (TD) was informed of decisions to bug and that this institution organised them. Şahin said that 12,841 recordings had been deleted after "there had been no indications of crimes." Fethi Şimşek, head of the TD, told the parliamentary investigation committee in December 2008 that they only carried out the recordings of the numbers sent to them, but that the listening, transcribing and destruction of these recordings was done by the secret service (MİT), the police or the gendarmerie. It emerged last year that a Diyarbakır court had issued a "general bugging authorization" which allowed police, gendarmerie and MİT to listen in on anyone. Journalists reporting on this had been put on trial, but were later acquitted.

The Ministry of the Interior has been told by court to pay Cumhuriyet newspaper reporters Esra Açıkgöz and Ali Deniz Usli 3,500 TL compensation for their exposure to police violence on 1 May 2008. Açıkgöz was beaten by police officers when she was covering Labour Day protests from in front of the newspaper office; she is to receive 2,500 TL. Ali Deniz Uslu's arm was broken in a police attack and he is to receive 1,000 TL. The journalists have not been able to have a criminal case opened against officers. Furthermore, Cumhuriyet newspaper reporter Alper Turgut, who was awarded 1,000 TL in compensation on 21 April 2008 for similar maltreatment by police on Labour Day 2007, has yet to receive the money. In 2007, more than 10 journalists suffered from police attacks. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution evaluated the complaints of 38 people, including Turgut, as unsubstantiated and said that the police used legitimate force.

The attack on six journalists by police after they had covered the death of a Newroz celebrant by a police bullet in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari on 23 March 2008 has remained unpunished. İhlas News Agency (İHA) reporter Senar Yıldız was hit on the head with a hard object and had to undergo medical tests, while DHA reporters Hamit Erkut and Erkan Çobanoğlu, Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter Necip Çapraz, Cihan News Agency (CHA) reporter Şevket Yılmaz and DİHA reporter Sami Yılmaz were beaten up by riot police.

On 21 April the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) declared solidarity with the ongoing strike at Sabah daily and ATV television channel. In a written statement from Brussels, EFJ condemned Turkey for insisting on an approach of limiting basic labor rights. "The government should declare its determination to protect basic rights. Organizing in a labor union and the right to collective bargaining are basic rights, as clearly stated in a recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights," said EFJ chair Arne Konig. If the government fails to act upon the strike, which began on 13 February, problems would arise in Turkey's membership negotiations with the EU, Konig noted. The federation will bring issue to the agenda of the European Parliament and the European Commission. Turkey's Trade Union of Journalists (TGS) Ercan İpekçi urged the government to intervene against "unlawful practices of employers". "Regarding the right to collective bargaining and to strike as outmoded is not tolerable." The union asked the PM to act as an intermediary to restart the bargaining between them and the employer at Sabah and ATV, Turkuvaz Holding. Several trade unions, socialist political parties and groups gathered on April 18 to express support for the 10 workers on strike. 

In a written statement, the state television and radio corporation TRT has announced that Radio 6 started its 24-hour Kurdish broadcast on 1 April. The "Turkey's Voice" radio station has added Armenian to its language choice, broadcasting in that language from 7-7.30 am and from 6-6.30 pm every day, as of 2 April. Radio 6 can be received on the FM band, and both Radio 6 and "Turkey's voice" can be received via the TÜRKSAT satellite via the Internet. TRT also started a Kurdish TV channel, TRT 6, on 1 January of this year.

The Diyarbakır Criminal Court of First Instance has acquitted a police officer of having attacked nine journalists who had been researching allegations that a uniformed police officer had swapped a ballot box during the local elections in March 2004. The defendant, said to have been in plain clothes, was accused of "deliberate injury" and "damaging property". However, the case was only opened four years after the event. Nevzat Bingöl of SKY Türk said, "The only defendant has been acquitted. Although we were plaintiffs, we were not called to the hearing. We have been left with the beating we got and our broken cameras." Şaban Boz (Show TV), Beşir Arız and Faysal Karadeniz (Söz newspaper and Söz TV), Ahmet Bulut and Bayram Bulut, Mehmet Şirin Hatman and Bahire Karataş (DİHA) and Fırat Düzgün (Gün TV) had all been attacked. Hatman, Boz and Karataş required medical treatment. The damage to the cameras cost 27,000 dollars and was never compensated. The police chief who visited the journalists in hospital at the time promised to follow up the case, but nothing happened.

The attackers of the Bizim Kocaeli newspaper have remained unpunished. On 1 February, around 15 people came to the newspaper office and wrecked the place, breaking furniture and windows in reaction to an article entitled "Armed clash in Suadiye". The fifteen were taken into custody but later released. Newspaper editor Ahmet Tükenmez said, "We have not heard about a court case. In addition, when we tried to get a private security company to work for us, we were told that this was illegal. Who will protect us?"

Censorship and Reactions to Monopolies

According to a report published by the World Bank, Turkey ranks 122^nd among 212 countries as far as freedom of expression, press and association and participation in elections are concerned. In the last 12 years, Turkey ranked best in 2005, but has been in decline since. Madagascar, Indonesia and Tanzania all ranked higher than Turkey in 2008.

Ferai Tınç, president of the IPI National Committee, and Ahmet Abakay, president of the Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD), have criticised Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ for saying, "An asymmetrical psychological operation is being carried out via the media". The utterance was made in a press briefing, in which Başbuğ had criticised the publication of an alleged "plan against reactionary forces". Tınç and Abakay both criticised the general for targeting the media.

On 18 June, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, asked Turkish authorities to drop charges against journalist Nedim Şener for his investigative book on the murder of fellow journalist Hrant Dink, and called for urgent reform of laws that restrict freedom of expression. "Şener is prosecuted in defiance of freedoms that both OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards grant to critical publications," wrote Haraszti in a letter to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. "What he did was critically assess the events leading up to Hrant Dink's murder, and the deficiencies afterwards in the handling of the case and in the prosecution of the perpetrators." "Justice must not be degraded into an act of revenge by the criticized authorities," said Haraszti. Şener, a journalist for newspaper Milliyet, faces up to 28 years of imprisonment for writing a book, entitled The Dink Murder and Intelligence Lies. The book alleges that security forces failed to stop the murder of the well-known Turkish-Armenian writer in 2007, and cites alleged incidents of negligence by gendarmerie, police and national intelligence officers working on the case. "Media freedom commitments may be complied with only if fact-finding journalism receives the full backing of the law, and inaccuracies, if any have occurred, are not criminalized," wrote Haraszti in the letter. "There exist legal provisions in Turkey that could be misused to curb freedom of expression and information," he added. "The Criminal Code, the Press Law, the Anti-Terrorism Law, and the recent Law No. 5651 on Internet regulation all need to be modernized so that they cannot be used to restrict speech rights." "By dropping the charges against Sener, Turkey could now stop punishing the messengers of unwelcome news, and instead carry out much-needed legal reform to ensure freedom of expression." Hrant Dink had publicly discussed the killing of Armenians in 1915 in terms that went against the official Turkish interpretations of history. For this, he was convicted in 2005 based on Article 301 of the Criminal Code, "denigrating Turkishness', and murdered in January 2007 by radical activists. The trial of the persons accused in his murder still continues.

Prior to a visit by PM Erdoğan to Kars, AKP mayor Nevzat Bozkuş had two sculptures of women removed from in front of the municipal building on 14 June. The sculptures had been made in Istanbul in 2006. According to the Çağdaş Kars Haber newspaper, the sculptures have been taken to the municipal depot. The Kemer Gözcü newspaper in Antalya has reported that Kemer mayor Mustafa Gül ordered the removal of a sculpture called "Rain of Love" (Aşk Yamuru), made by Zafer Sarı in 2007, from the Çınarlı junction.

On 12 June, the General Staff Military Court announced a publication and broadcasting ban on the "Plan against AKP and Gülen", first reported on by the Taraf newspaper on 12 June, arguing that the news concerned national security, public order and public safety, and that an investigation into the alleged document was under way.

On 9 June the Istanbul 12th Heavy Penal Court handed down a one-month publishing ban to the daily Günlük newspaper for "spreading PKK propaganda" in two issues of the paper. Judge Necat Ede cited Article 6/end of the Anti-Terrorism Law, an article which former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had asked the constitutional court to reconsider. The court declared on 5 September 2006 that it would consider the objection, but nothing there have been no developments in the last three years. The issues in question were published on 1 and 2 June 2009. For the first issue, a picutre of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan prompted a one-month closure. For the 2 June issue, a column entitled "Operations must be stopped" by Hüseyin Ali and an article by Teoman Deprem entitled "PeKeKe or PeKaKa?" caused a second ban to be handed down. In his column, Ali had referred to the extension of a unilateral ceasefire by the KCK (Koma Civaken Kurdistan, the Union of Kurdistan Societies), the umbrella organisation that includes the PKK. He had written, "everyone must be aware of the value of this, and democratic forces must use this period for a solution." Deprem had written that those pronouncing the PKK as "PeKaKa" (i.e. according to the Turkish alphabet), were not in support of a solution to the Kurdish question. He said that the name of the organisation should be pronounced "PeKeKe", i.e. according to the Kurdish alphabet. In addition, writers for the Günlük newspaper, among them Cevat Düşün, Ragıp Zarakolu, Ziya Çiçekçi and Veysi Sarısözen, are on trial, facing possible imprisonment. In a statement in December 2008, journalist and publisher Ragız Zarakolu had said that of the newspapers publishing in Kurdish or focusing on the Kurdish question, 21 had faced 46 publishing bans since 2006. Following that statement, newspapers such as Özgür Yorum, Politika, Analiz and Ayrıntı were banned again. The Istanbul 10th Heavy Penal Court decreed a one-month ban for the weekly Özgür Yorum (Free Interpretation) newspaper for its 14-20 March 2009 issue. All of the articles in the issue were considered problematic. The weekly Politika newspaper was handed a one-month publication ban by the Istanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court for articles which appeared in its 14-20 February issue. On 28 February, the weekly Analiz newspaper was also given a one-month ban for its 28 February-6 March 2009 issue. On 26 January, the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court handed the weekly Ayrıntı (Detail) newspaper a one-month ban for articles in its 5th issue of 24-30 January 2009.

This years Freedom of Expression Prize of the Turkey Publishers' Union (TYB) was awarded to Nedim Gürsel, who is on trial for "denigrating religious values" and "inciting hatred and hostility" with his novel "Allah's Daughters", İrfan Sancı, owner of Sel Publications, who has been accused of publishing "obscene" books", and Naci İpek, who has owned a bookstore in Şanlıurfa for 54 years.

The Sixth Istanbul Gathering for Freedom of Expression brought together rights activists from European and Black Sea countries and people facing oppression for their opinions in Turkey. Former MP Mahmut Alınak, Agos newspaper's former license holder Serkis Seropyan, writers Temel Demirer and Abdurrahman Dilipak, Marmara University lawy student Ceren Baykal, conscientious objector Doğan Özkan, caricaturist Halil İbrahim Özdabak, Mehmet Tursun, whose son was killed by a police bullet, Taraf reporter Mehmet Baransu, Bora Bengisu from the LambdaIstanbul Association and Alp Selek, father of sociologist Pınar Selek who is accused of having bombed the Spice Bazaar, all spoke about their experiences at the gathering organised by the Initiative against Crimes of Thought at the Istanbul Bilgi campus from 22 to 24 May.

On 12 May, the access ban to the DailyMotion website handed down by the Beyoğlu Chief Public Prosecution on 24 March was lifted. The same site had also been closed in August 2008, without any reason being given. Other sites that have been banned include Myspace and Wordpress. In addition, the geocities.com website has been inaccessible since the Ankara 9^th Criminal Court of Peace decreed a ban on 4 February 2008. Freedom of expression activists, academics, lawyers, journalists and Internet users have protested against the bans. The websites of Richard Dawkins and the educational trade union Eğitim-Sen have been closed because of complaints by creationist Adnan Oktar. Google Groups and the Vatan newspaper website have also been closed. Dozens of other websites that have been blocked include YouTube, the alternative dictionary EkşiSözlük, and blogger.com.

On 9 May, the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD) awarded its 2009 Ayşe Nur Zarakolu Freedom of Expression Prizes to Füsun Erdoğan, detained broadcasting director of Özgür Radio, former DEP MP Mahmut Alınak and writer Temel Demirer. İHD branch president Gülseren Yoleri emphasised that freedom of expression was a basic human right.

At the beginning of May, Olli Rehn, Enlargement Commissioner of the EU, said in a speech about Turkey's democratization process in the European Parliament that there was close observation of the Kurdish issue, the Ergenekon trial and freedom of expression and that these issues would be reflected in the  progress report in autumn.

Istanbul prosecutor Zekeriya Öz has informed the defense lawyers in the Ergenekon investigation of the ban on examining files and taking samples of documents. Öz said that this decision had been taken by the Istanbul 14^th High Criminal Court on 13 April in order to avoid information read or taken by lawyers to be leaked to the public or the press, thus violating the secrecy of the investigation. All media organs were also informed of this ban.

Terry Davis, general secretary of the Council of Europe, warned on 3 May that press freedom should not be sacrificed to anti-terrorism laws. He said that the freedom to receive or make news was indispensable in a democratic society. He called on the member states, of which Turkey is one, to follow Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in their legislation.

The Turkey Journalists' Trade Union (TGS) and the European Journalists' Federation (EFJ) organised a conference entitled "Freedom of Press and Expression in Turkey on the Way to the EU: Obstructions and Problems" on 3 May, International Press Freedom Day. Participants included Arne König, president of the EJF and EJF representative Pamela Moriniere, Orhan Erinç, president of the Turkey Journalists' Society (TGC) and former presidents Nail Güreli and Ziya Sonay, Doğan Tiliç of the European Union of Journalists, Ahmet Abakay, president of the Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD), and Cafer Esendemir, president of the Çukurova Journalists' Society. Also invited were Sultan Özer from the Günlük Evrensel newspaper, which has taken the accreditation ban by the Prime Ministerial Office to court, Rahmi Yıldırım, writer on sansursuz.com, who has taken his trial under Article 159 to the Supreme Court of Appeals, Yalçın Ergündoğan, on trial for insult, Akın Bodur, receiver of many awards for his journalism in İskenderun, and journalist Hacı Boğatekin, the journalist detained for his criticism of local authorities in Adıyaman. Around 300 academics, lawyers, journalists and trade unionists participated in and watched the conference.

Ercan İpekçi, president of the Turkey Journalists' Trade Union (TGS), announced in the four-month report on press freedom violations that prosecutors had sent 719 files to the Ministry of Justice for approval of prosecution under Article 301 in that time. The Ministry gave permission for investigation and prosecution in 73 cases, concerning 96 people. In the same period, six magazines and newspapers were confiscated or received publication bans under the Anti-Terrorism Law, and the Telecommunication Directorate blocked access to 1,631 Internet sites. RTÜK handed 89 warnings to radio stations and 129 warnings to TV channels, gave 35 media organs 39 programme ban punishments, and 22 administrative fines to 15 media organs. RTÜK further notified the Supreme Election Board of 41 violations of the election law by 31 radio stations and TV channels.

Publisher Ragıp Zarakolu, president of the Turkey Writers' Union (TYB) Publication Freedom Committee, announced that many publishers censored themselves on issues such as the claims of the Armenian Genocide. Zarakolu, who owns Belge Publications, said that the event that was denoted a genocide in many countries was still not fully discussed in Turkey. He argued that only a free discussion could lead to healthy results, something he had also said before being convicted under Article 301.

Abdullah Karakuş, reporter for the Milliyet newspaper, has won his case about the cancellation of his accreditation by the Prime Ministerial Press Centre at the Ankara 9^th Administrative Court. The court argued that the cancellation violated laws and press freedom and discouraged independent journalism. In November 2008, several journalists had been stopped from attending Prime Ministerial and Cabinet events.

Michael Cashman, chair of the European Parliament's Gay and Lesbian Rights Working Group expressed the concern of the group for the future of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights group Lambdaistanbul. The Lamdaistanbul association is facing a closure trial on 30 April, and Cashman hopes "that the local court will come to a decision that allows for the freedom of association of LGBT individuals." He added, "If Turkey joins the European Union, it must treat all people equally and respect the rights of all its citizens."In his written statement, Cashman expressed his approval of the fact that an earlier closure decree had been overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeals. At the same time, however, he condemned the terms in which the latter court's decision was couched. On 25 November 2008, the 7th Judicial Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the ruling of Istanbul's 3rd Civil Court of First Instance, which had decided to close down the Lambdaistanbul Association for a "violation of general morals". In a six-page decree the court ruled that "sexual identity and orientation are facts that people do not choose of free will, but that stem from birth or upbringing and a person has no control over." However, the supreme court also said: "Should the association go against its own regulations in future by carrying out activities to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite and transsexual orientations and to make them more common, Articles 30 and 31 of the Association Law would apply and an application for the dissolution of the association could be made." According to Cashman, this caveat limits the freedoms of thought and association of the LGBT organisation. "It violates the understanding of basic rights in Europe and it seriously obstructs the dissemination of and access to information of LGBT individuals."

On 17 April, the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court decreed the confiscation of a novel entitled "Decisions more difficult than death", concerned with the military coup of 12 September 1980. The book had been published by Belge Publications in September 2008 and was written by N. Mehmet Güler. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution argued that the book contained propaganda of an illegal organisation and incited the public to commit crimes. Güler said, "I wrote a fictional novel about the tragedy created by the 12 September period and continuing over a quarter of a century, based on the themes of war and love. It is shameful that the words of characters in a novel are being tried."

For the annual evaluation speech of Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) invited some media organs that had been excluded before. Thus, Star newspaper journalist Mustafa Karaalioğlu, Sabah newspaper journalist Erdal Şafak, Yeni Şafak newspaper journalist Fehmi Koru were among those going to the event at the War Academies Command for the first time. In addition, several other journalists known for their criticism of the TAF's interference in political life were also present: Mehmet Altan (Star), Hasan Cemal (Milliyet newspaper), and Ali Bayramoğlu (Yeni Şafak). However, like in the past, no representatives of the Birgün, Günlük Evrensel, Taraf, Zaman, Vakit and Günlük newspapers or Hayat TV were invited. In an article entitled "Turkish Media in Military Environment", published in Hürriyet newspaper on Wednesday, 15th April, Ahmet Hakan wrote that there was an embargo on the Taraf, Zaman and Vakit newspapers.

Speaking at the Journalism Success Awards night on 13 April, Orhan Erinç of the Turkey Journalists' Society (TGC) said that there had been no development in freedom of expression or towards solutions to journalists' problems in the last ten years. He started his speech with the speech that former TGC president Nail Güreli had read on 11 October 1999, saying, "There has been no development. On the contrary, we lost Ahmet Taner Kışlalı and Hrant Dink in gun attacks and İsmail Güneş on duty. There are hundreds of colleagues who are attacked, threatened and tried, and whose offices are searched." He pointed out that Turkey ranked 106th among 134 countries in terms of press freedom.

On 11 April, the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court decreed that the daily Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper and the weekly Özgür Mezopotamya (Free Mesopotamia), which had just started being published, should be banned from publishing for one month.  Emine Demir, license holder and editor of the Azadiya Welat newspaper, said that this ban showed the insincerity of the government's attempts at a solution to the Kurdish question.  The court said that the newspaper had reported announcements of the organisation (i.e. the PKK) and spread organisational propaganda on seven of its pages, thus violating the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 3713. One reason given for the ban of Özgür Mezopotamya was a feature on the families of two young men, Mustafa Dağ and Mahsum Karaoğlan, who died when the police intervened with a march to the natal village of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on his 60th birthday. Another news item which pointed to 31 locations in the Cizre and Silopi districts of the southeastern Şırnak province as mass graves was also considered part of the crime.  It has been said that a news item on the 8th page which discussed the results of a survey on Barack Obama in the USA, entitled "Wind of Socialism in the USA"  (Bayê sosyalîzmê li Amerîkayê gur dibe) was also considered part of the "organisational propaganda." In the 11 April 2009 issue of Azadiya Welat, articles on the pages 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 8 were considered as part of organisational propaganda.  An interview with Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers, commemoration adverts, another article on Obama and thankyou advertisements by winning mayoral candidates of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were all put into the indictment. Demir criticised the fact that the government now allowed a state-run Kurdish TV channel (TRT 6) and opened Kurdology departments at universities, but was banning the only newspaper in Kurdish, saying that this showed the insincerity of the government. Referring to the fact that one reason for the publication ban was statements by Öcalan, Demir argued that even MPs of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were saying that a solution to the Kurdish question needed to take the PKK into account. "All newspapers show Öcalan's photos and cite his statements. It is normal for us to cover Öcalan's statements, both because of demands of our readers and because Öcalan is a part of the solution. This decision is antidemocratic."

The Istanbul 9th Heavy Penal Court has decreed that the weekly Atılım newspaper will not be allowed to publish for a month, saying that the newspaper's coverage of statements by the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) in its last issue amounted to propaganda for the organisation. On 4 April, the court also decided to block access to the newspaper's website, www.atilim.org. The court said that the newspaper had "clearly committed" the crimes outlined in Articles 6/2 and 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, and cited Article 25/2 of the Press Law in its justification for forbidding publication, distribution and sales of any edition of the newspaper for a month. Article 6/end, dealing with the intention and seriousness of a crime, was cited in the justification for blocking access to the website. The front page headline of the last issue had referred to the local elections on Sunday, 29 March, saying, "The poll boxes have collided, now it's time for the streets." In addition, Ender Bulhaz Aktürk, an alleged MLKP member who has been accused of killing a police officer in Bursa, western Turkey, was described as a "communist fighter" in a news item reporting claims that he had bee tortured in detention. There were also statements concerning the upcoming 1 May and evaluations of the election results in the last issue. Atılım employers made a statement in front of the press at the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD), saying that the dissident media was being put under pressure and that their newspaper had been closed unlawfully.  One employer, Kadir Aktaş, said, "We will continue to hunt for the truth. This event is proof that there is zero tolerance not towards torturers but towards those who report torture." Songül Akbay, manager of Varyos Publications, pointed out that press censorship, confiscation decisions and publication bans were continuing. She argued that the socialist line of the Atılım newspaper was being obstructed and that the people's right to being informed was being taken from them. Necati Abay, spokesperson for the Solidarity Platform for Arrested Journalists said, "We are face to face with typical cheap attacks. They say they have abolished censorship, but the 100-year tradition of censorship is continuing as a state policy." Gülseren Yoleri, branch president of the IHD, said, "We need dissident media organs like we need water and bread in order to be informed." She said they would monitor the censorship and oppression that Atılım was facing.

When trade unions, professional associations, political parties and NGOs gathered in Ankara on 6 April to protest against the visit of US President Barack Obama, the police intervened. They attacked people trying to march towards parliament and took 21 ÖDP members into custody. Around 500 people had gathered and shouted slogans.

6 April 2009 was the 13th time that the Day of Killed Journalists in Turkey was commemorated. Journalists met at the grave of Turkey's first victim, Hasan Fehmi, the editor of the Serbesti newspaper who was killed in 1909, 100 years ago. Orhan Erinç, president of the Journalists' Society of Turkey (TGC) said that 62 journalists had been killed in Turkey. Without addressing him explicitly, Erinç callled on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to extend the message of tolerance sent to the world with the "Alliance of Civilisations" summit in Istanbul to the press. "We expect the facilities for journalists to be developed, and we expect tolerance instead of boycott calls when journalists publish news that does not suit someone." "Even if politicians do not agree, journalism is one of the most difficult professions in the world. People do not realise the tension and stress, as well as the violence journalists can face. Then there are others, like İsmail Güneş (who died in a recent helicopter crash when covering the pre-election period) who die in work-related accidents."

The ban on accessing YouTube from Turkey leaves its first year behind as the government fails to acknowledge the issue. Mustafa Akgül from Internet Technologies Association (INETD) urges to leave the "mentality of censorship behind."The video sharing site had been banned by court order on grounds that it included videos insulting Atatürk -the founder of modern Turkey- and appraisals for the PKK. Similar ruling against Dailymotion, Geocities and Myspace followed suit. Akgül emphasizes that Law 5651 on the struggle against cyber-crimes should be amended but this alone wouldn't provide a solution to the problem."Any one court in Turkey could cease access to a web site as a precaution, without consulting anyone." He claims that "harmful content" could be filtered out, without the need to block access totally and NGOs working on the field could be functional in this respect. "The state should leave content control to citizens. That should be the principle."Akgül proposes establishing specialized courts on cyber-crimes and educating legislative officers on the issue. PM Erdoğan had confessed to journalists that he was avoiding the court order and accessing YouTube, during an interview on November 2008. "You should also do it," he conveyed. According to Ercan İpekçi of Turkey's Union of Journalists (TGS) access to 1 631 web sites have been banned since the introduction of the law. Yet it's technically possible to walk around the court censorship.

Non-governmental organizations working on IT related fields celebrate Internet's 16th birthday in Turkey with a series of events until 21 April.  Mustafa Akgül from IT NGOs Platform said that their aim is to make everyone think and discuss the Internet for coming two weeks. "Internet the conveyor of the information society. That's why governments around the world are trying to render their citizens Internet literate, enabling them to connect easily and cheaply, transforming their administrative process as to comply with the Internet." Citing statistics, Akgül noted that there are approximately 30 million Internet users, 2.6 million computers in Turkey. "33 percent of our people frequently use the Internet while 65 percent have never had access. In rural areas, this rate rises to 80 percent of the population." Akgül criticized that broadband access is still quite limited and relatively expensive in the country, e-state applications are not abound and there is a lack of educated workforce in the IT field.  Furthermore, censorship on Internet is still persistent in Turkey and Akgül said, "Turkey is waging a war on the World Wide Web; solely trying to create international law."  He proposes that a solution to this problem is only possible through collaboration of NGOs and the government.

According to the Gaziantep Journalists' Society (GGC) there have been rumours that employees of the local Telgraf, Hakimiyet and Güneş newspapers were banned from entering the municipal building after the local elections on 29 March. The GGC said that they did not want to believe the rumour but would condemn the ban if it were true. Hakimiyet reporter Hakan Yağlı and Telgraf reporter Hasan Akpınar had gone to the municipal building to investigate claims that issues of the three critical newspapers were not allowed in the building prior to the elections. The two journalists later said they had been refused entry. Abdullah Sabri Kocaman, GGC president and owner of the Hakimiyet newspaper, said that they would continue to monitor public offices. Metropolitan mayor Asım Güzelbey then organised a press briefing on 2 April, saying that there had been a misunderstanding.

Rights activists called on the Ministry of Justice to act, stating that the health of four inmates in Erzurum prison, who are on hunger strike since 23 February, is deteriorating. Cihan Alkan, Bozo Açlan, Aydın Atalay and Abdulvahap Karatay are among the 154 inmates who went on hunger strike in turns, to protest right violations in the prison. Allegedly, books and publications in Kurdish aren't allowed, the inmates' right to exit to courtyard together is obscured, they aren't allowed to talk to their families in Kurdish on the phone and arbitrary disciplinary punishments are given.  In a joint statement, rights defenders Esra Çiftçi, Yüksel Mutlu, Murat Çelikkan, Yusuf Alataş, Ataol Behramoğlu, Adil Okay, Ahmet Telli, Baskın Oran, Ercan Kanar, Gün Zileli, Hicri İzgören, Metin Bakkalcı, Nihat Behram, Oral Çalışlar, Şanar Yurdatapan, Şükrü Erbaş and Temel Demirer requested an immediate end to such practices. Speaking during a press statement, Democratic Society Party (DTP) MP Hasip Kaplan criticized the conditions in prisons as "worse than the 1980 coup period."  Human Rights Association (İHD) chair Öztürk Türkdoğan said that they have repeatedly warned and informed the authorities about the severity of the situation and they failed to act. Turkey's Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) chair Metin Bakkalcı noted that currently there're 108 thousand people in prisons across the country. "If the situation isn't improved, hunger strikes will result in deaths."

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)

Lawyer Özcan Kılıç announced that the one-month publication bans handed to the Özgür Mezopotamya, Özgür Görüş, Rojev, Siyasi Alternatif and Süreç newspapers under Articles 6/end and 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law have been taken to the EHCR. Seven applications have been merged, and the lawyer has been informed that there will be a decree on the matter. Since November 2006, there have been a total of 50 applications to the ECHR for publishing bans of twenty newspapers (Ülkede Özgür Gündem, Gündem, Güncel, Gerçek Demokrasi, Yedinci Gün, Haftaya Bakış, Yaşamda Demokrasi, Toplumsal Demokrasi, Yeni Bakış, Alternatif, Gelecek, Gerçek, Özgür Ülke, Politika, Özgür Yorum, Analiz, Ayrıntı, Özgür Mezopotamya, Özgür Görüş and Siyasi Alternatif). Some of these cases have been merged in seven cases, while others have been treated as personal cases. In addition, the Günlük newspaper has applied to the ECHR for a publication ban as a punishment for its issues of 1 and 2 June 2009.

On 30 June, the ECHR decreed that Turkey had violated the freedom of expression of İsmail Kara, representative of Anadolu TAYAD (Anatolia Association for Solidarity with Prisoners and their Families), who had protested with flyers against conditions in F-type prisons. The ECHR sentenced Turkey to paying Kara 2, 613 Euros legal costs and compensation for violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On 29 November 2000, Kara had organised protests in soidarity with relatives of prisoners. An indictment by the Üsküdar prosecution led to his conviction for violating Law No. 2908 on Associations. He was first sentenced to six months imprisonment, and the punishment was then converted into a fine. The fine was ratified by the Supreme Court of Appeals. The ECHR said that Kara had tried to create awareness of the conditions of imprisonment in the notorious F-type prisons, and that his flyers had not encouraged hunger strikes or violence in any way.

The ECHR has received five applications related to the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the editor of the weekly Agos newspaper who was killed in January 2007. Having merged applications which were made at different times, the court is now (17 January) asking Turkey questions, to which it wants answers by November. Lawyer Deniz Tuna of the International Hrant Dink Foundation told bianet that the applications were related to parts of the European Convention on Human Rights concerned with the violation of the right to life, the right to an effective application to court, the right to a fair trial, the right to freedom of expression and the ban on discrimination. Hrant Dink himself had appealed to the ECHR two weeks before he was killed in relation to a six-month deferred prison sentence he had received under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code for a series of articles entitled "Armenian Identity". Following his murder, lawyers for his family had appealed to the ECHR when the Trabzon police and gendarmerie and the Istanbul police were not taken to court although they were accused of having been negligent in evaluating intelligence on murder plans. Another application relates to the lack of punishment for Samsun police officers who took "souvenir shots" with the suspected gunman Ogün Samast after catching him at the Samsun bus station a day after the murder. The Prime Ministerial Review Committee had pointed to a "serious lack of coordination" in the sharing of intelligence between security institutes prior to the murder. Nevertheless, no public official is being tried in the main murder case heard at the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court. Police Intelligence Head Ramazan Akyürek, Istanbul Chief of Police Celalettin Cerrah and Ahmet İlhan Güler from the Istanbul Intelligence Unit, as well as other officials, were never brought to court. Rather, 18 young men, most from the Pelitli town in Trabzon province, are on trial for the murder, as well as Coşkun İğci, a gendarmerie informant who claims that he notified the officials of murder plans, and Osman Hayal, brother of suspect Yasin Hayal. Osman Hayal has been found to have been in Istanbul on the day of the murder, a fact which he denied for a long time. The tenth hearing of the main murder trial is on 6 July. Eight gendarmerie officers are on trial for negligence in not having evaluated the intelligence. However, they only face up to two years imprisonment. Their trial continues on 24 July. Lawyers for the Dink family have long called for the cases to be merged, as it was the neglect of the officers which led to the death of Hrant Dink.

On 16 June, the ECHR awarde Ömer Bahçeci and Fikret Turan 4, 000 Euros compensation. Turkey is to pay the money for having imprisoned them in 2002 after accusing them of "spreading separatist propaganda". The ECHR decreed unanimously that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

On 9 June, the ECHR sentenced Turkey to paying 1,000 compensation to Cihan Öztürk. Öztürk had written a severe criticism of the then PTT (Turkish post) head manager in the Postel newspaper when he was head of the PTT branch in Galatasaray, central Istanbul. In May 2000, Öztürk wrote that the head manager was responsible for the neglect of the historical PTT building in Galatasaray. He was later sentenced to paying around 1,000 TL for "insulting" his superior, while the editor of the magazine had to pay 500 TL. An appeal in December 2001 brought no change in the sentence. The ECHR ruled that the article had the aim of motivating the readership of PTT employees to protect historical buildings and that it had to be evaluated as a part of a legitimate discussion.

Cumhur Kılıççıoğlu, a journalist with 53 years experience, has appealed to the ECHR because he was convicted of insulting Dean Cemal Ergun Çelik at the Siirt Education Faculty at Dicle University after writing about problems at the faculty. On 17 June 2008, the Siirt Civil Court of First Instance had sentenced the journalist, who is the owner of the Siirt Mücadele newspaper, to paying 3,200 TL legal costs and compensation for four articles that allegedly contained insults. An appeal on 22 July led to the Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn the decree, but the Siirt court convicted the journalist again the second time round. In a different case, the journalist had been handed a suspended fine of 1,519 TL under Article 482/4 of the former Turkish Penal Code, following the complaint of Siirt University rector Prof. Dr. Asaf Varol. Kılıçoğlu was sentenced to 354 days worth of legal fines, worth 7,080 TL and he faced five years of judiciary monitoring.

The Internet Technology Association İNETD is preparing to take the obstruction of access to the global video sharing website youtube to the ECHR after having tried to reverse the ban in domestic courts. Following a decree to close access to the site on 5 May 2008, people in Turkey have not been able to access youtube. Lawyer Nihad Karslı said that he had spoken with İNETD president Assoc. Prof. Mustafa Akgül and that they were preparing to appeal. The lawyer said that the website had been blocked for containing a video that "denigrated Atatürk". On 15 April, the Ankara 27th Criminal Court of First Instance had rejected an appeal against the court decree of the Ankara 1st Criminal Court of Peace which had refused to lift the ban.

On 5 May, the ECHR sentenced Turkey to paying journalist Aziz Özer 2,000 Euros compensation and 2,000 Euros in legal costs for having violated his right to freedom of expression. Özer, owner and editor of the monthly Yeni Dünya için Çağrı (Call for a New World) magazine, had appealed to the ECHR because he had been sentenced to imprisonment for a news item and an announcement. The ECHR decreed unanimously that Özer had been "limited in a manner unnecessary in a democratic society"; furthermore, it said that a fair trial had been overshadowed by the fact that the prosecution had not informed the journalist of its opinion.

Punishments by RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council)

On 30 July, RTÜK handed NTV a one-programme ban for the "Güne Başlarken" (Starting the Day) programme broadcast on 22 January 2009. According to RTÜK, the channel had violated the principle of not showing anyone as guilty unless their guilt is proven, defined in Article 4 (k) of Law No. 3984 on Radio and TV Institutions and Broadcasts. On the morning of 30 July, NTV had to broadcast a programme on Mevlana rather than its scheduled programme.

On 13 May, after a meeting in which it considered the defense of Gün FM radio station demanded on 12 March, RTÜK decided that the Diyarbakır station would not receive a punishment. It had been claimed that a Kurdish song entitled "Natırsım" (I am not scared), broadcast on 19 November 2008, had violated Article 4 (1) of Law 3984: "Radio, TV and Data broadcasts are made with the understanding that they are a public service and obey the rule of law and the general principles of the constitution, as well as basic rights and freedoms.

On 29 April, The Supreme Council of Radio and Television (RTÜK) warned many TV stations for violating the broadcasting ban on the operation against the Revolutionary Headquarters which took place two days earlier: TGRT Haber, STV, TV5, Kanal A, Asu TV, Ses TV, Ülke TV, NTV, Kanal B, Olay TV, CNN Türk, 67 TV, Bengü Türk TV, Cem TV, D Fun TV, Show TV, TV Net, Kanal Çay, Hilal TV, Ulusal Kanal, Samanyolu Haber, Kanal 7 and ATV Avrupa. It further demanded a defense from TV8 and Hak TV for repeating the violation prior to a broadcasting ban, and from Haber Türk and Fox TV prior to fining them.
The channels are all accused of violating Article 4 (y) of Law 3984, which lays down the principle of not reporting on frightening and threatening characteristics of criminal organisations.  
 

Information: BİA Media Monitoring Desk, Tel. (0212) 251 15 03, Faks. (0212) 251 16 09, E-mail. hukuk@bianet.org (EÖ/AG)