Judicial Front Runners: Special Authority Courts in Diyarbakır

Three Special Authority High Criminal Courts in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır rank on the top three places considering the number of files decided throughout the past year on average in Turkey.

The National Judicial Network Project (UYAP) published the results of the prosecutions handled by the High Criminal Courts in Turkey in 2010.

According to the Güneydoğu Ekspress newspaper ('South-East Express'), the Diyarbakır 4^th High Criminal Court is the front runner in the statistics headed "The High Criminal Courts 2010 Business List" with a total of 1,287 files of which 1,025 were decided.

The 5^th High Criminal Court ranks second with 1298 files and 966 decisions followed by the 6^th High Criminal Court on the third position with 1,317 files and 800 decisions.

Among the trials heard at special authority courts in Diyarbakır are as important cases as the "KCK Trial", the "prosecution of Retired Colonel Cemal Temizöz", the "Jitem Trial" (clandestine and illegal Gendarmerie Intelligence Anti-Terror Unit) and the "Hezbollah Trial".

Journalists sentenced to imprisonment of hundreds of years

Additionally, these courts tried the cases of several journalists detained in Diyarbakır. Within a short time, they decreed for prison sentences of hundreds of years in the scope of these cases. They handed down imprisonment of 166,5 years to Vedat Kurşun, former editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, and another 21 years behind bars to his successor Ozan Kılıç; Bedri Adanır, concessionaire of Aram Publishing and official of the Kurdish Hawar newspaper, received a five-year prison sentence.

Gurbet Çakar, former editorial manager of the Kurdish-Turkish women magazine Renge Heviya Jine ('The colour of the women's hope'), was sentenced to six months in prison on charges of "spreading propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) via the press". She is currently tried un-detained.

Berivan Eker, a former editorial manager of the Renge Heviya Jine magazine as well, is also facing prison terms. (EÖ/VK)