Chief Editor of Women Magazine Detained since March!
In the hearing on 10 June, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court dismissed the request for the release of Gurbet Çakar, editorial manager of the Rengê Hevîya Jinê women magazine. Çakar was detained three months ago under charges of "making propaganda for the PKK via the media". The PKK is the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party.
Rengê Hevîya Jinê is the only women magazine in Turkey publishing in Kurdish and Turkish. Executive Çakar was detained in the middle of March by the Diyarbakır Public Prosecutor, where she had gone in order to give a statement. She is currently imprisoned in the Diyarbakır E Type Prison.
Lawyer Özen: Convicted in three trials
Çakar's lawyer, Servet Özen, told bianet that a total of five cases have been filed with the magazine. According to Özen, local courts in Diyarbakır decreed for imprisonment of three years and nine months in total in three of the cases under charges of "making propaganda for an illegal organization".
Özen explained that the cases were opened on the grounds of calling imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan "leader of the Kurdish people" and for publishing photographs of Öcalan and PKK militants.
Özen is going to file appeals to these decisions. She stated that her client Çakar is furthermore tried for "membership of an illegal organization and committing a crime on behalf of the organization". The case related to her detention will be continued on 1 July.
The lawyer said that another trial under article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law will be continued on 17 June. The magazine had started publishing in November 2007.
Çakar and a number of other detainees applied to the Human Rights Foundation (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch recently since they were being harassed by soldiers.
Another three editorial managers convicted
The first editorial manager of the periodical, Sultan Sonsuz, was sentenced to imprisonment of one year and three months in one out of five cases launched related to "propaganda". Sonsuz is facing imprisonment of between four years and nine months and 20 years in total in the scope of the remaining four cases. Her successor Ruken Aktaş is facing imprisonment of up to three years and nine months.
Bringing three cases before the Court of Appeals, one trial against Aktaş was dropped. The Diyarbakır 6th High Criminal Court handed down a one year and three months prison sentence to Aktaş's successor Sibel Esmer. Esmer appealed to the decision. (EÖ/VK)