FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The case against human rights advocator Hakan Tahmaz and journalist İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu from the Birgün newspaper has reached its final stage. Tahmaz and Çeşmecioğlu are facing imprisonment of up to three years each on the grounds of an interview with executives of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held on the Qandil Mountain, the location of the PKK's base in Northern Iraq. The interview was published in the Birgün daily on 9 August 2008.

The trial was continued on Tuesday (12 October) at the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court. Un-detained defendant Tahmaz presented his defence. Çeşmecioğlu did not attend the hearing.

Both defendants stand accused of "publishing statements of PKK/KONGRAGEL" according to article 6/2 of the Anti-Terror Act (TMY). Reason for the prosecution is the interview entitled "Unilateral Ceasefire Amplifies the Problem". The charges against Birgün owner Bülent Yılmaz were dropped.

In the previous hearing, prosecutor Savaş Kırbaş from the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court demanded to punish the defendants by reason of the interview with Murat Karayılan, leader of the KCK (Koma Civaken Kurdistan), known as the umbrella organization of the PKK.

A final decision of the case is expected for the coming hearing on 2 December.

Karayılan: We want to do politics as the PKK

The interview was published on page 10-13 of the daily's issue dated 9 August 2008. It read "Karayılan, who met Tahmaz at the Qandil Mountain in Northern Iraq, stated that ordinary people no longer want to witness violence but they're determined to continue a 'legitimate defense war', in his words."

Emphasizing, "they don't want to establish a separate state but react to the denial of the Kurdish solution", Karayılan said that the Democratic Society Party (DTP) is regarded as a buffer but they want to pursue politics as PKK and that this was not in contradiction with the ongoing armed-struggle. (EÖ/VK)