Magazine Seized because of "Illegal Source" - Publication Suspended

The newly published Özgür Halk ve Demokratik Modernite ('Free People and Democratic Modernity') magazine has kept the Turkish judiciary busy since the first issue was released this April.

Initially, copies of the first issue were seized and the magazine was banned right after its release. After that, the prosecutor decided to drop procedures. However, the second issue was seized again and the 6^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, a Kurdish-majority city in south-eastern Turkey, decided to suspend the publication of the magazine and confiscate all copies.

The magazine includes articles of intellectuals and journalists such as Milliyet newspaper writer Nuray Mert, Prof. Doğu Ergil, Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block Candidate Sırrı Süreyya Önder, Kurdish politician Aysel Tuğluk, Ayşe Candaş and Essa Moosa, lawyer of Nelson Mandela. The ban and the seizure of the magazine are based on footnotes on page 73 and 82 that quote a defence speech of Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as a source.

Lawyer Özcan Kılıç, legal attorney for the magazine, drew attention to the lack of investigation prior to the seizure. That way, it was intended to declare the magazine a prohibited publication, Kılıç said.

Kılıç noted that one or two copies of the magazine must have been investigated upon a notice before the second issue was seized. Thereupon, it was decided to seize the copies and suspend the publishing on the grounds of the elements of crime found in the issue, Kılıç indicated. He said that they appealed the court decision but their appeal was dismissed by reasons of alleged "propaganda for an illegal organization".

Kılıç summarized the incidents as follows:

* The Özgür Halk ve Demokratik Modernite magazine is not an organizational but a theoretic magazine. It includes articles of renowned intellectuals and journalists.

* We experienced the same difficulty for both issues. The decision to seize the copies was given without being based on any article or writing in the magazine.

* The first issue was published in April 2011. The Diyarbakır Police Directorate seized the copies from the logistic company even though the issue was not subject of any investigation. A decision for the seizure was given within 24 hours. Subsequently, copies in Adana and Izmir were confiscated.

* The legal procedures made the magazine a prohibited publication. So it is considered as an evidence of crime if somebody has got a copy at home. The magazine was found in the course of a police raid on the home of a student in Kocaeli. It constituted a reason for police custody because it was considered as a "forbidden publication". A book about Che Guevara by Everest Publishing and a copy of the Özgür Gündem ('Free Agenda') newspaper were also accounted forbidden publications.

* We appealed against the decision of the Diyarbakır court. Our appeal was rejected reasoning that "the magazine includes propaganda for an illegal organization".

* The file was sent to the Prosecution of the Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) because the head office of the magazine is located in Istanbul. The prosecutor reviewed the first issue of the magazine and concluded that there was "no crime" constituted. He decided to drop procedures two weeks ago. Now we want the seized copies to be returned to us.

* The second issue was released about ten days ago. Police officers who went from Istanbul to Diyarbakır by plane confiscated 1250 copies that had not been taken out of the boxes yet. The copies were forwarded to the prosecution. A decision was reached after an application had been made to court: "We seized the collected issue and suspended its publication".

* The decision is based on footnotes on page 73 and 82 that quote a defence speech of imprisoned PKK leader Öcalan as a source. Thus, the charges do not stem from any article but from a source used for one of the articles.

* The intention is to make the magazine a forbidden publication. This magazine has not reached its readers for two months. Just as the police have the right to keep any suspicious individual in police custody for 24 hours, they can also seize any publication for 24 hours. This has not been solved by the harmonization laws. (ÇT/ŞA/VK)