According to the Media Monitoring Report for April, May and June 2010 published by the BIA Media Monitoring Desk, a total of 249 people were tried in the scope of freedom of thought, 53 of them journalists. The report includes the cases and struggles of 471 people and is organized under the following headlines: "Murdered Journalists", "Attacks and Threats", "Arrests and Detentions", "Ongoing Detentions and Sentences of Journalists and Press Members", "Cases Related to Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression", "Corrections and Legal Redress", "Reactions to Censorship and Monopolization", "European Court of Human Rights" and "Penalties of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK)".

 

Murdered Journalists

During the period of time covered by the report, Cevdet Kılıçlar, employee of the Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH) Humanitarian Aid Foundation press unit, lost his life in an attack by the Israeli military on the Mavi Marmara ship, which was on its way to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Metin Alataş, employee of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, was found hung on a tree in Adana (south-east Turkey).

Legal procedures and actions regarding journalists who were killed prior to the second quarter of 2010 are still continuing.

Agos joint plaintiff in "Cage Action Plan"

15 June. The Istanbul 12^th High Criminal Court decided to accept the Armenian Agos newspaper as joint plaintiffs to the trial regarding the "Cage Action Plan". 33 defendants are tried on the grounds of the "Cage Action Plan" which supposedly targeted non-Muslim religious minorities in Turkey with the aim to overthrow the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The case was postponed to 14 July. The "Cage Action Plan" made the headlines after an initial article had been published in the nationwide Taraf newspaper on 19 November 2009. The plan depicted so-called "operations" such as the assassinations of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, founder and chief editor of the Agos weekly, priest Andrea Santoro and three employees of the Zirve Publishing Company.

"Tawhid-Salaam" trial related to journalist murders pending

9 June. The Ankara 11^th High Criminal Court continued the trial against four members of the "Tawhid-Salaam Jerusalem Organization". The organization is held responsible for the killings of lawyer Bahriye Üçok, journalists Uğur Mumcu and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı and a number of other attacks. Hüseyin Kılıç, lawyer of defendant Hasan Kılıç, claimed to have found legal and actual connections between the case related to the membership of the illegal "Tawhid-Salaam Jerusalem Organization" and the trial regarding the "Hope Operation". He reiterated his request to merge both trials. Kılıç stated that he was going to prepare his final plead after the decision about merging the cases would have been taken. The court board postponed the hearing in order to evaluate Kılıç's request. In the final submission of the prosecution, the Public Prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of 7 years and 6 months for defendant Recep Aydın under charges of "membership of an armed terrorist organization". Defendants Mehmet Ali Tekin and Hasan Kılıç are facing imprisonment of between 12 years and six months and 18 years and 9 months under charges of "possessing special managerial duties in an armed terrorist organization". The prosecution demanded an aggravated life sentence for defendant Ekrem Baytap for the "attempt to change the constitutional order by force" according to Article 146/1 of the former Turkish Criminal Law (TCK). Defendants Abdulhamit Çelik, Fatih Aydın, Yusuf Karakuş and Mehmet Aydın are facing imprisonment of between 6 years and 3 months and 12 years and 6 months under charges of "membership of an armed terror organization". The President Judge of the latest case opened against the outlawed organization, Hasan Şatır, announced that the arrest warrants issued for defendants Ahmet Cansız, Selahattin Eş and Ali Akbulut have been enforced. Şatır furthermore informed the parties that defendant Aydın Koral could not be arrested yet. According to the response of the Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Law and Foreign Relations, the defendant is wanted upon a red notice. The execution of the decision related to the arrest of Cansiz, Eş and Akbulut as well as Koral's detention is expected. In the indictment prepared on 18 December 2008 it is stated that defendants Cansız, Eş and Akbulut, residing in Iran, are alleged executives of the "illegal Tawhid-Salaam Jerusalem Organization" and that defendant Koral, who lives in Switzerland, is an alleged member of the organization. The defendants face imprisonment of 22 years and 6 months.

Death and restrictions of freedom in the raid on the Mavi Marmara ship

Cevdet Kılıçlar was among the nine people killed during the attack of the Israeli Army on the "Mavi Marmara" vessel, one of the aid ships carrying tonnes of humanitarian help for Gaza, on 31 May. Kılıçlar was a member of the press staff of the Human Rights and Freedoms (İHH) Humanitarian Help Foundation, which organized the campaign. İHH President Bülent Yıldırm said that Kılıçlar was taking photographs when soldiers entering the ship from a helicopter shot Kılıçlar in his head. Taraf newspaper reported that Kılıçlar had been working for them as well and previously also for the Selam and Milli ('Salaam and National') newspaper. Sabah newspaper reporter Mediha Olgun was released after 72 hours. After her return to Turkey, she explained, "They seized our phones, our laptops and our cameras. They ordered us into a cabin one by one and they fully undressed us. They cut my shoes and searched the soles. They seized all of our back up materials, all of the pictures. They confiscated everything". About 50 journalists were on board of the ship. Nine people were killed in the incident. The government was criticized for not issuing a warning since necessary precaution had not been taken.

Investigation into death of Cihan Hayırsevener from Bandırma carried out "confidentially"

The investigation into the murder of Cihan Hayırsevener, publications director of the Güney Marmara Yaşam newspaper and Marmara TV official, is still continuing. The journalist died of blood loss after he had been shot by a person on Atatürk Avenue in the city of Bandırma in the province of Balıkesir on 18 December 2009. 29-year-old Serkan Erakkuş was arrested on 23 December in the town of Edincik. The Bandırma High Criminal Court took Erakkuş into detention under charges of murder and brought the defendant to the Bandırma M Type Closed Prison. Defendants Tolga Ö. and Ali T. were arrested in the Balıkesir district of Burhaniye. The court decided to release them pending trial. The police stated to have confiscated the weapon used for the murder and furthermore confirmed upon eye-witnesses and footage of security camera that two cars had been used in the incident. The cars had been rented and were found in the districts of Susurluk and Bandırma respectively. There is no solid information regarding the investigation due to a decision of confidentiality. Newspaper owner Ümit Babacan and Balıkesir Journalists Association President Ramazan Demir stated that Hayırsevener became the "victim of an organized criminal organization".

No result in Hrant Dink murder case after 3 years

31 May. The joint lawyers involved in the murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink demanded the Trabzon 2^nd Magistrate Criminal Court one last time to merge the case in Trabzon with the murder case tried in Istanbul. In Trabzon, eight gendarmerie officers stand accused of negligence prior to the murder and face two-year prison sentences. The joint lawyers claim that the defendants, in particular Trabzon Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Öz and Captain Metin Yıldız, "caused the murder by deliberately refraining from taking any action". The lawyers demanded their prosecution under Article 83 of the TCK. The court postponed the case to 28 July upon the defence lawyers' request to allow additional time to prepare the defence speech. The Trabzon 2^nd Magistrate Criminal Court had decided for lack of jurisdiction of the Trabzon High Criminal Court and subsequently of the Criminal Court of First Instance. Upon the appeal of the prosecution, the file came back to the Magistrate Court. Despite information obtained one year earlier on a planned attack against Agos newspaper founder Dink, Ogün Samast was able to come from Pelitli (Trabzon) to Istanbul and to kill Dink in front of his office in Şişli on 19 January 2007. The number of detained defendants of the murder case has gone down to three. Besides Samast, Yasin Hayal is detained for alleged incitement to murder as well as police informant Erhan Tuncel. Former Trabzon Gendarmerie Regiment Commander Colonel Ali Öz, intelligence branch officials Captain Metin Yıldız, military officers Gazi Günay and Hüseyin Yılmaz, Command Sergeant Major Okan Şimşek, Special Sergeants Veysel Şahin, Hacı Ömer Ünalır and Önder Araz are facing prison sentences of up to two years on the grounds of "negligence".

14 May. The Istanbul Public Chief Prosecution dismissed the request made by the joint attorneys of the Dink family to allocate one certain prosecutor to the investigation of the murder of the former chief editor of the Armenian Agos newspaper, Hrant Dink. Lawyer Fethiye Çetin submitted a petition to the Chief Prosecution on 28 April. The joint attorneys of the Dink family had requested to expand the investigation and to appoint a new prosecutor or one prosecutor from the group of prosecutors concerned with the file to carry out the investigation. The petition reads, "It is the unquestionable truth that the killing of Hrant Dink was an operation organized and realized in different stages by a professional organization". Yet, the officials on duty prior to the murder did not take precautions. These hints should be evaluated, the petition continued. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has merged the five applications made in the context of the Hrant Dink murder into one case. Many aspects of the case have not been revealed yet. It is not even clear which public officials can be held responsible for the murder.

10 May. The group "Friends of Hrant" met in Beşiktaş before the 13^th hearing of the murder case. Journalist Bülent Aydın said on behalf of the group, "It has been 3.5 years since Hrant was killed but our grief, our rage, our demands are still there. We, as the family of Hrant and the 'deep' family know the murderers and we are here to exclaim this, to ask questions. We will remain here until the end, until justice is found". Actress Tülin Özen stated that one day the perpetrators would be found, "We will see their faces bend to the ground. In the beginning we called this a 'case of honour'. Now it has been turned into a performance of shame. We took a note and we will not forget it. Still, we call the state to save their honour even though belated", Özen said.

The Dink family lawyers filed a criminal complaint against Istanbul Deputy Governor Mustafa Güran because he refused to hand them a copy of attachments of the report of the Prime Ministry Inspection Board regarding the murder. Joint attorney Fethiye Çetin said that they applied to the Istanbul Public Chief Prosecution for an investigation related to allegations of "misconduct in office" and that they requested to launch a trial.

14 April. Attachments of the trial related to the so-called "Cage Action Plan" were distributed to the lawyers on a DVD. The case was opened against 33 defendants, three of them detained. The prosecutors concerned with the investigation arrested a number of people involved in the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on 19 January 2007. However, they declared that they "have not been able make the investigation progress any further". The action plan mentioned the Hrant Dink murder, the killing of Catholic Priest Andrea Santoro from Saint Mary in Trabzon on 5 February 2006 and the massacre at the Zirve Publishing House in Malatya on 18 April 2007 as "operations".

13 April. The Istanbul Governorship Provincial Administration Board issued permission to an investigation regarding the assassination of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink into alleged flaws and neglect of five former officials of the Istanbul Police Directorate, as it was suggested in a preliminary report. The people under investigation are former Police Chief İbrahim Pala, Chief Inspectors Volkan Altınbulak and İbrahim Şevki Eldivan and police officers Bahadır Tekin and Özcan Özkan. The decision for the new investigation was taken on 12 March 2010 and approved by Öznur Bolat, President of the Provincial Administration Board, on 2 April. Istanbul Deputy Chief of Police of the time and current Chief of Police in Rize, a city on the eastern Black Sea coast, was excluded from the investigation as well as former Provincial Deputy Chief of Police and current Governor of Osmaniye (southern Turkey) Celalettin Cerrah, former deputy Şammaz Demirtaş, former Intelligence Branch Manager Ahmet İlhan Güler and former Deputy Branch Manager Bülent Köksal. Governor Cerrah was excluded for the following reasons: "He did not have the possibility to follow the entire procedures closely because of the intensity of his duty considering the difficulty of execution and since he was following the complex and various services in the city of Istanbul. He did not neglect his duties, make any mistake or conducted unlawful actions related to the subject of the investigation."

9 April. In the first hearing of the "Poyrazköy" case, the Istanbul 12^th High Criminal Court dismissed the request made by Turkish-Armenian Agos newspaper and the Armenian Church to become joint plaintiffs since, according to the court, neither of the parties had suffered from direct damages. The court pointed at the so-called "Cage" case for joint plaintiffship instead. Agos newspaper lawyers Fethiye Çetin and Ergin Cinmen summed up the background of the Cage Action Plan, reminding that a CD had been found among retired Naval Commander Bektaş's belongings which included an encrypted list of Agos newspaper subscribers. Çetin and Cinmen emphasized that the newspaper had received death threats ever since Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, then chief editor of the weekly, had been killed in January 2007. The joint attorneys requested to accept the newspaper to the case as a joint plaintiff on behalf of Aris Nalcı.

TBMM rejected "effective" investigation into political murders

6 April. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) dismissed the proposal presented by the Mersin deputy of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Ali Rıza Öztürk, to establish a Parliamentary Research Commission in order to investigate political murders. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) rejected the proposal by majority vote despite its support from the parliamentary groups of the CHP, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and certain independent deputies. On 8 April, Dr Canan Kaftanoğlu, spokesperson of the Social Memory Platform and daughter-in-law of TRT reporter Ümit Kaftanoğlu who was murdered in 1980, criticized the dismissal of the proposal in a live program on NTV television. She said that the AKP parliamentary group "found the time of the parliamentary research commission insufficient and its authority limited". Kaftanoğlu stated that they rejected the commission because they knew that it would not be able to yield any results under these circumstances. "Even if this is the case, it is again the Parliament's duty to change that", she said.

Suspicious "suicide" of Azadiya Welat employee Alataş

3 April. 34-year-old Metin Alataş, an employee of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat daily newspaper, was found dead in the Hadırlı district of Adana in the predominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Turkey on 3 April. Diplomacy service editor Hakkı Boltan stated: "There are contradictory aspects in our opinion. It will be clear soon. In times when our employees are encountering such intense pressure, we think there is still the possibility that Alataş was killed by illegal forces or that he was forced to commit suicide". A dubious letter was allegedly found close to Alataş reading "To friends and family..." and not being continued afterwards. "Why should a person that came this far despite major economic difficulty end his life like that? We think that the prosecutor has got no information such as a letter or a message", Boltan suspected. The body was identified by the father, Bekir Atlataş, and the prosecutor investigated an investigation. The preliminary autopsy report stated strangulation as the reason of death and confirmed that there were no signs of physical force. Newspaper lawyer Özkan attended the investigation and confirmed that no signs of beating could be seen. Alataş had been subject of an assault four months earlier. Five unidentified people in plainclothes approached him in a car with an Adana number plate (01 SD 443) when the journalist distributed newspaper copies in front of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) building on 22 December 2009. Atalaş was beaten and had to undergo medical treatment in hospital. Atalaş filed a criminal complaint at the Adana Public Prosecution and claimed that he was constantly followed. However, no action was taken. Atalaş's father said that his son did not have any problems and stated that he was killed. Sevahir Bayındır, BDP deputy of Şırnak, brought the issue to parliament on 7 April.

Attacks and Threats

16 June. The owner of the local Türkbeleni newspaper published in the Manavgat district of Antalya (Mediterranean coast), Mehmet Ali Ünal, was shot at in front of his office. Ünal was not injured in the attack which was recorded by the newspaper's security cameras. It can be seen how Ünal bends down quickly and retreats into the office. An unidentified person shot at Ünal from in front of the neighbouring Black Sea People's Association Tea Garden. When the triggerman failed to hit Ünal, he got into a car in which another people was waiting and escaped from the scene. The police found six empty bullet casings at the scene of crime. One of the bullets apparently hit the newspaper building. Ünal claimed to believe that the attack stemmed from the news published in the paper and said that he could not be intimidated by the attack. "We will always carry on with telling the documented truth. I feel pity for the attackers. They are miserable people".

14 June. The concessionaire of the local GAP Gündemi newspaper, Veysel Polat, was attacked in Şanlıurfa, a province in south-east Turkey on the border to Syria. Polat is also the President of the Şanlıurfa Journalists Association. He had just left office and was on his way to the car park in the basement of the Ahmet Bahçivan office building when he was attacked at the entrance to the car park. Journalist Polat is the deputy provincial chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the same time. He suffered injuries in his face in the attack. His brother, Ahmet Polat, who was close to the scene of the assault, took the journalist to the Şanlıurfa Training and Research Hospital. The reason for the attack is not clear yet. The president of the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC), Orhan Erinç, condemned the attack on Polat, who is also the association's representative for Şanlıurfa. "We condemn this attack against our colleague which was carried out with brute force. We wish him a speedy recovery". AKP Provincial Chair, lawyer Ahmet Düşunür, stated, "We are very sad about this attack against our organization. We condemn the perpetrators. We want to emphasize that nobody will reach anything by using high-handed, brute force".

25 May. Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Ömer Çelik was assaulted in the Istanbul district of Şişli by a group of people. The attackers called themselves üklücü ('idealists') in reference to the "Grey Wolves", an ultra-nationalist and neo fascist youth organization of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Çelik, student at the Marmara University Faculty of Communication, was brought to the emergency room of the Etfal Hospital after the incident. He underwent medical treatment in the brain surgeon ward and the orthopaedic ward. Çelik has got two cracks in his skull and his left arm is broken in three places below the elbow. He was given stitches to his head. His arm has been encased in plaster. The journalist had recently reported about escalating violence against Kurdish students in several cities. Çelik was discharged from hospital the following morning. However, the risk of a trauma remained imminent for 24 hours. As reported by DİHA on 26 May, the attackers were recorded by security cameras how they approached the journalist with clubs in their hand. According to the footage, the aggressors waved with their hands and arms when they left the scene after the attack. Çelik said he was able to identify the attackers and filed a criminal complaint.

22 May.. A suspicious package left in front of the Doğan Media Centre in Istanbul on 22 May turned out to contain a time bomb. The Doğan building accommodates offices of the nationwide newspapers Dünya, Radikal and Milliyet. The bomb was disarmed by specialists. The package was noticed by civilians and the security staff of the newspaper, whereupon the police was informed. A police team from the local Bağcılar Provincial Police Directory investigated the package and confirmed that it contained a time bomb. The police recognized that it was a mechanism assembled with several cables and called the bomb squad to the scene. The police took broad security measures in the region and temporarily closed the area to traffic and pedestrians. The bomb squad placed a fuse into the package and brought the bomb to a controlled explosion. Cables, explosives and the detonator mechanism were left from the package. An investigation was initiated into the footage of public monitoring cameras (MOSEBE) in the region.

21 May. Private security officials interfered when journalist Murat Altunöz covered a boycott organized by the Mustafa Kemal University Students Association (MKÖDER) in the university's canteen. Altunöz is the reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DİHA) for the province of Hatay on the eastern tip of the Mediterranean Sea. He was stopped by the security when he shot a movie of the boycott in the university in Antakya (Hatay). Altunöz was forced to leave the campus. People in civil apparel, introducing themselves as gendarmerie officers, asked the reporter to hand them his camera. When Altunöz refused to let go of his camera, he was made to enter a vehicle with a civil plate. In the car, Altunöz was threatened, "We warned you before. Why are you making news for DİHA? You will have to face bad things". Afterwards, the people in the car let him go.

19 May. The Turkish Sports Writers Association (TSYD) announced that supporters of the Turkish football club Fenerbahçe attacked the sports press with their sorrow and anger expressed after the team had lost the last match of the 2009/2010 season against Trabzonspor. "By attacking sports press employees in their annoyance and anger, the Fenerbahçe supporters also tainted the memory of deceased İslam Çupi. As the TSYD steering board we wish our friends who were attacked a speedy recovery and we condemn the attackers".

17 May. Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Pınar Ural was assaulted in a contracted public bus of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Ural had covered a students' action on the Maslak Campus of the Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ). The İTÜ students had protested against executions in Iran. The aggressor tried to push Ural off the bus by giving her a few violent pushes. The attacker and his companions accused journalist Ural of being a "traitor to the fatherland".

4 May. Unknown suspects defiled the "Three Saplings" Memorial installed in commemoration of Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan who were executed in the Nilüfer district of Bursa in 1972. The memorial was to be inaugurated soon. Sculptor Eşber Karayalçın designed the metal monument as "three figures inside a peace symbol". It was installed in the Gençlik Park and damaged by cuts and scratches and spray paint. The Bursa Branch of the Contemporary Journalists Association (ÇGD) condemned the attack in a written statement and called all its members to attend the inauguration ceremony to express their respect. Eye witnesses reported three to four people aged between 20-25 years old who damaged the abstract sculpture with paint and sharp items. Mustafa Bozbey, mayor of the Nilüfer municipality, filed a criminal complaint against the suspects.

2 May. In the course of a press conference made after a number of casualties in recent operations of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), Chief of General Staff, General İlker Başbuğ, made the following announcement: "To say it frankly, one part of the press in Turkey is even worse than the press during the armistice in the War of Independence. Even the press during the armistice was not that treacherous." The harshest reaction to Başbuğ's words came from Taraf newspaper, saying in the subheading, "The real traitor is the one who leaves children to die". Taraf newspaper argued that General Başbuğ called the press that voices criticism a 'traitor'. "We ask Gen. Başbuğ who does not know what he is saying..." The daily addressed five questions to the Chief of General Staff. ÇGD President Ahmet Abakay declared that he found Başbuğ's criticism of the press "wrong and very dangerous". Abakay said, "This is not only a grave announcement, it is also very dangerous. This kind of talk can be very provocative in such a sensitive environment where bodies are laid to rest. In societies like ours where lynch attempts became a prevailing part of culture, some people may foster the idea of attacking other people or institutions on the grounds of this announcement". The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) found Başbuğ's words "disturbing". Press Council President Ekşi commented, "Even if a section of media representatives is not accepted, they are part of freedom of speech".

29 April. A threatening letter signed by Zeki Özhan sent to the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Foundation was addressed to lawyer Eren Keskin. It read, "If you support the Armenians, you will not be able to get out of Taksim again. Be aware that I am not bluffing. I will send a crowd after you". The letter was stamped as "READ" before it was sent by the Steering Board of the Kartal H Type Closed Prison. The letter starts like this: "Hello, do you recognize me?" This is the second letter sent by Özhan. He had previously sent a letter in 2007 which was approved by the Letter Control Commission of the Ümraniye Prison. The Ümraniye Chief Prosecution had launched an investigation which has still not been completed. Keskin's lawyer Fatma Karakaş Doğan filed another criminal complaint against Özhan and the people to be held responsible in the Kartal H Type Prison on 12 May.

Arrests and Detentions

The Turkish G9 Journalists Platform demanded to complement the Constitution by the following sentences: "The press is free and shall not be censored. Laws embodying restrictions of press freedom shall not be enforced". The press organization furthermore requested the amendment of 27 articles of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK) and the release of all journalists in detention. The G9 Platform emphasized that besides 27 articles of the TCK, also the TMY, articles of the Constitution and the Press Law all contain provisions that harm freedom of expression. According to the platform, there are still more than 700 prosecutions and compensation claims related to journalists. Most of these files are based on article 285 of the TCK on "violating the secrecy of an investigation", article 288 regarding the "attempt at affecting a fair judicial process" and article 7of the TMY on "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization". Members of the G9 Platform are the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), the Turkish Journalists' Society (TGC), the Contemporary Journalists' Association (ÇGD), the Parliament Correspondents Association (PMD), the Photo Journalists Association (FMD), the Economy Reporters Association (EMD), the Diplomacy Reporters Association (DMD), the Association of Professional News Cameramen (PHKD), the Turkish Representation of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) and the Media and Communication Workers Union (Haber-Sen).

29 June. In the second hearing of the case against the "Revolutionary Headquarters" organization, the Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court released Melek Seven pending trial. Seven, production director in the television sector, was arrested and detained on 27 April 2009 in the scope of the case. The court also decided for the release of Gökhan Aydın. In the first hearing of the "Revolutionary Headquarters" case on 23 February, ten defendants were released pending trial after ten months in detention, among them journalist Aylin Duruoğlu. In the course of a police operation against the terror organization carried out on 27 April 2009, a police officer, a bystander and alleged terrorist Orhan Yılmazkaya, member of the Revolutionary Headquarters Organisation, were killed. The trial will be continued on 7 December.

28 June. The Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court started the prosecution of Deniz Yıldırım, official of the weekly Aydınlık magazine, and Ufuk Akkaya from the National Channel. The journalists were taken to court for the first time after eight months of detention. Yıldırım and Akkaya were detained on 9 November 2009 because they had reported about illegally recorded telephone conversations between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the former President of Northern Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat, in 2004. The homes and offices of both defendants were searched on 19 October 2009; 20 days later they were taken in detention. They were accused of "membership of the Ergenekon terror organization and engaging in activities on behalf of the organization". Ergenekon prosecutor Zekeriya Öz had requested to detain both journalists under charges of "disclosing pictures and audio material of private life", "recording non-public conversations" and "illegally obtaining or publishing personal data". Yıldırım and Akkaya stated in the hearing that they made the news because it was relevant for the public interest. They put forward that they had been detained upon the directive of the Prime Ministry. "We followed the daily coverage of the wiretapping of members of the Supreme Court and generals published in the papers, supportive newspapers and TV channels in particular. Has any investigation been launched into one of those?" the defendants argued.

16 June. A trial was opened at the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court against Ferhat Tüzer and Berna Yılmaz, two of the three young people who displayed a banner saying "We want free education, and we will get it" during the speech of PM Erdoğan at the "Romani meeting" in Istanbul on 14 March 2010. The banner was signed by the "Youth Federation". Apparently, the Party and Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of the Turkish People (DHKP-C) had initiated several actions entitled "Get out, America, this is our country, Dev-Genç [Revolutionary Youth]" starting from 30 September. In the course of these actions, the "Youth Associations Federation" had voiced their demand for "lifting education fees, remove the contribution margin and provide education free of charge". According to the indictment, Tüzer, Yılmaz and un-detained defendant Utku Aykar are facing prison sentences of between six and 15 years each under charges of "membership of an illegal organization" and "spreading propaganda for a terror organization".

15 June. Ferhat Tüzer and Berna Yılmaz, two of the three young people who displayed a banner reading "We want free education, and we will get it" during the "Romani meeting" were taken into detention, the third person, Utku Aykar, was released. The meeting on 14 March was also attended by Prime Minister Erdoğan. A trial was opened against the three young people. They face prison sentences of between six and 15 years on the grounds of "membership of a terror organization" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". Detained defendants Tüzer and Yılmaz and un-detained defendant Aykar will be tried at the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court under charges of "membership of the Party and Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of the Turkish People (DHKP-C)" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". The indictment says that Berna Yılmaz participated in more than ten protest actions such as demonstrations against NATO and the World Bank and supporting the resistance of the Tekel workers. The People's Law Office demanded to release the young people from detention immediately. The Law Office explained that both the police and the prosecutor assessed the banner as a "crime", the legal "Youth Associations Federation" was evaluated as an "illegal organization" and the slogan about free education was seen as a "slogan of an illegal organization". The Law Office furthermore emphasized that the court approved of all points.

11 June. It turned out that Hamdiye Çiftçi, DIHA news agency reporter for Hakkari (south-eastern Turkey), and ten other people were detained by a decision of the Van 3^rd High Criminal Court on the grounds of alleged connections to the "Structures of the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan/Turkish Parliament (KCK/YM)".

10 June. The Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court dismissed the request for the release of Gurbet Çakar, editorial manager of the Rengê Hevîya Jinê women magazine. Çakar was detained in March under charges of "making propaganda for the PKK via the media". The trial will be continued on 1 July. Çakar's lawyer, Servet Özen, told bianet that a total of five cases have been filed with the magazine. 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".

8 June. Conscientious objector Enver Aydemir was eventually discharged from military service upon an "incapability report" issued by a military hospital after three years of torture, repression and punishments. Aydemir refused to serve in the military for religious reasons. He was released from the Eskişehir Military Prison (north-western Anatolia). Aydemir commented that it was not him who was incapable but the legal system not recognizing the right to conscientious objection. After he had refused to wear an army uniform, charges of disobeying orders were pressed against him and he was kept in prison for another month.

29 May. Atılım newspaper reporters Tuncay Mat and Çağdaş Küçükbattal were released pending trial after nine months in detention. Both journalists stand trial for allegedly participating in the demolition of a base station in the Gazi district on the European side of Istanbul. In the second hearing, the Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court decided for the journalists' release after Mat and Küçükbattal had claimed that they followed the incident as journalists and that their prosecution was a breach of law. A total of eleven defendants are on trial, five of them are detained. The case was postponed to 24 September. Mat and Küçükbattal were detained since 11 September 2009. The defendants stand accused of participating in the destruction of the base station as part of organized activities related to the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). The indictment demands to prosecute Küçükbattal and Mat over allegations of "reinforcing coercion, violence or threat in the course of the incident", "membership of an armed organization", "damaging public property" and "opposing the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations". The journalists stated for their defence that they followed the incidents as journalists.

24 May. More than 120 people were taken into custody in the course of recent operations carried out by the police and the gendarmerie in the provinces of Tunceli, Elazığ, Malatya, Şanlıurfa and Batman in south-eastern Turkey, Sakarya in the north-west and Aydın and Denizli in western Anatolia. Apparently, the operations targeted the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan (KCK), the umbrella organisation that includes the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). DIHA reporter Serkan Demirel from Elazığ and Azadiya Welat Elazığ representative Ali Konar were among the people arrested. Konar was detained upon a referring demand after the interrogation by the prosecutor; Demirel was released. DIHA reporter Çağdaş Kaplan who had been arrested together with another 19 people was released by the Istanbul Beşiktaş Public Prosecution on the same day.

20 May. The 4^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır (south-eastern Anatolia) released Mehdi Tanrıkulu, editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, pending trial. Tanrıkulu was detained on 8 April because he had insisted on presenting his defence in Kurdish. Journalist Tanrıkulu stands trial on the grounds of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" based on an article published in the Kurdish daily on 23 January 2010. In his article, Tanrıkulu had described imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Adullah Öcalan, as the "Leader of the Kurdish People". Moreover, he referred to the PKK as the "Kurdish Freedom Movement". The editorial manager is facing prison sentences of more than 40 years in total due to other cases opened against him by reason of articles and news published in the Kurdish daily.

18 May. The Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court released Dicle News Agency reporter İsmail Eskin pending trial in his first hearing after five months in detention. Eskin had been arrested when he was covering a demonstration against conditions of detention for imprisoned Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Eskin, third year student of the journalism department at Kocaeli University, covered the protest action in the Topçular district of Kocaeli on 29 November. The student was arrested at his home on 1 December claiming that he deliberately joined the incident and that he allegedly joined activities related to propaganda for a terrorist organization. The 1^st Magistrate Criminal Court of Kocaeli (east of Istanbul) detained Eskin on 4 December 2009 and he was taken to the Kandıra Prison. His trial will be contiued on 30 September.

13 May. Journalist Vedat Kurşun, former editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, was charged with "membership of the PKK organization" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" by the 5^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır (south-eastern Turkey). Kurşun received a prison sentence of 166 years and six months. With this decision, the court followed the demands expressed in the final submission of the prosecutor. In the hearing on 13 May, the court decreed to sentence Kurşun to 12 years and eight months, the upper limit for charges of "membership of an organization". He furthermore received a 103-count sentence according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) on propaganda for an illegal organization.

6 May. The Diyarbakır 6^th High Criminal Court dismissed the request to release Bedri Adanır, owner of Aram Publishing and editorial manager of the Kurdish Hawar newspaper. Prosecutor Adem Özcan demanded prison sentence of up to 50 years for Adanır. He stands accused of "membership of the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of several articles published in the Hawar newspaper and three books including a title on defence speeches of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Adanır was arrested on 5 January when he entered Turkey from Iraq at the Habur check point in Silopi in the province of Şırnak (south-eastern Anatolia). Since then, Adanır has been detained in the Diyarbakır D Type Prison.

Arrest of Azadiya Welat editorial manager

8 April. The 4^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır in the predominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Turkey arrested Mehdi Tanrıkulu, editor of the Azadiya Welat newspaper publishing in Kurdish, because he insisted on making his defence in Kurdish regarding a press case pending against him. Journalist Tanrıkulu stands accused of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" based on an article published in the Kurdish daily on 23 January 2010. In his article, Tanrıkulu had described imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Adullah Öcalan as the "Leader of the Kurdish People". Moreover, he referred to the PKK as the "Kurdish Freedom Movement". The prosecutor demanded a two-count prison sentence for Tanrıkulu of a total of two to ten years according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) (law no. 3713) on propaganda for illegal organizations. The former editorial manager of the newspaper, Vedat Kurşun, had been sentenced to imprisonment of three years.

24 April. The Court of Appeals approved the conviction of DIHA news agency employees Ali Buluş and Mehmet Karaaslan under charges of "membership of an illegal organization". Both convicts were arrested on 19 April 2007 and taken to the Mersin E Type Prison.

1 April. DIHA reporter Remzi Çoşkun was beaten and arrested by the police in the course of operations directed at the militant PKK organization when he arrived at his home in the evening. DIHA stated that the police did not keep a record of the arrest. Coşkun was apparently told, "You are our guest. We will release you in the morning". He was released in the morning on 2 April.

7 March. The Rize Provincial Chair of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), Yaşar Aydın, former Republican People's Party (CHP) Rize Provincial Chairs Saltuk Deniz and Erol Koyuncu and the representatives of several democratic NGOs demanded the release of Gençağa Karafazlı, the Rize representative of Birgün newspaper and Show TV. He has been in detention for almost one year. Karafazlı was taken into custody in June 2009 in the course of an operation and was then arrested under allegations of "establishing and directing an organization for organized crime". His lawyer, Remzi Kazmaz, demanded to put an end to this "illegal" application and release his client from the Kalkandere L Type Prison. "My client is a victim. He is detained and a case against him has not been opened yet".

Ongoing Detentions and Sentences of Journalists and Press Members

DIHA reporters Behdin Tunç and Faysal Tunç. The Court of Appeals 9^th Circuit approved the 6 years and three months prison sentences imposed to DİHA reporters Behdin Tunç and Faysal Tunç. The journalists were detained three years earlier and the Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court found both of them guilty of "assisting and providing shelter for the PKK organization". The decision was communicated on 17 February. The journalists were arrested and detained on 5 April 2007 and are still kept in the Diyarbakır D Type Prison. DİHA reporter for the south-eastern province of Şırnak, Haydar Haykır, was taken into custody in the district of Çizre (Şırnak) on 8 January 2008. He was arrested and taken to the Batman H Type Prison four days later on 12 January. However, it has not been confirmed yet whether these detentions are related to "journalistic activities".

İşçi-Köylü newspaper employee Suzan Zengin.  İşci-Köylü (Worker-Peasant) newspaper employee Suzan Zengin will have been detained for a whole year in the Bakırköy (Istanbul) Women and Children Prison when she is going to appear at court for the first time on 26 August. Zengin was taken into custody by the Istanbul police on 28 August 2009 and was taken to the Anti-Terror Branch together with three other people who had been arrested at their homes in Kartal (Anatolian side of Istanbul) at the same time. Zengin and the other three people were taken to the courthouse in Beşiktaş (European side of Istanbul) and detained the same evening under charges of "membership to an illegal organization". When leaving the courthouse, Zengin shouted the slogan "A revolutionist cannot be silenced by pressure". She was taken to the Bakırköy prison whereas the other three defendants were brought to the Metris Prison. The Worker-Peasant newspaper suspects a "conspiracy" behind the events. The newspaper stated that Zengin has worked as a journalist for the revolutionary-socialist press in the district of Kartal for years for the revolutionary-socialist press. In a letter sent from prison Zengin said, "I will be in detention for almost nine months as the result of a complot when this letter reaches you. [...] This is the result of an advance punishment without being questioned".

Özgür Radio publication director Füsun Erdoğan. The Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court continued its hearing in the trial against 24 defendants accused of membership in or leadership of the illegal Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) on 26 March. Those detained include Füsun Erdoğan, the broadcasting coordinator of the Istanbul Özgür Radyo ("Free Radio") station, and editor of the Atılım newspaper, İbrahim Çiçek. 16 defendants are in detention. The case will be continued on 29 July. In the 9^th hearing on 26 March, Nurullah Karaoğlan, deputy chief of the Aydın Anti-Terror Branch who was involved in an operation on a house in the Aydın Nazilli Ocaklı Village, and polilce officers Cemal Arsaln and Faik Şaşmaz from the Istanbul Anti-Terror Branch were heard. Elif Almakça was released pending trial after three and a half years in detention. Karaoğlan stated that he received a fax concerning an extensive operation carried out by the Istanbul police and that this operation was fully directed from Istanbul. He said that they entered the house allegedly belonging to Naci Güner in the evening together with a team from Istanbul. Naci Güner was stopped in his car and taken into custody. The special team, entering the house before them, had arrested 5-6 people by the time they arrived at home, Karaoğlan said.

DİHA reporter Hatice Özhan. DİHA reporter Hatice Özhan was detained on 19 February. Özhan had been taken into custody in Diyarbakır and brought to the prison in Ağrı (north-eastern Turkey) in the context of an investigation launched by the Ağrı Public Prosecution. The journalist is detained in the Ağrı prison because of alleged "propaganda for an illegal organization". The allegations are based on phone conversations with employees of the BDP Headquarters and on her attendance of a program of the Kurdish television station ROJ TV.

Adana Radio Dünya publication director Kenan Karavil, Azadiya Welat newspaper Adana representative Seyithan Akyüz, Gün TV publication director Ahmet Birsin. Dünya Radio broadcasting director Kenan Karavil and Seyithan Akyüz, Adana correspondent of the Kurdish daily Azadiya Welat, are detained in the Adana Kürkçüler Prison since 10 December 2009 on the grounds of alleged connections to a terrorist organization. Gün TV broadcasting director Ahmet Birsin is in prison since 14 April under similar allegations. Birsin, Karavil and Akyüz have not been taken before a court since they were detained. Their lawyers can neither inspect the file nor the evidence because of a decision for secrecy. The Adana 8^th High Criminal Court prepared an indictment on Birsin after 14 months. The Diyarbakır Chief Prosecutor announced that the operation was aimed against "eight members of the PKK as the Turkish Co-ordination Unit". The operation was supposedly based on the results of a one-year technical follow-up.

Former Azadiya Welat newspaper Chief Editor Vedat Kurşun. Vedat Kurşun has been imprisoned since 30 January 2009 in the scope of trials under charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". The charges stem from news items related to the Kurdish question and the illegal PKK organization. Kurşun was arrested in the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul and taken to the Diyarbakir D Type prison. Kurşun stands accused of "assisting the PKK organization by spreading their propaganda and handling stolen goods" and of "praising crime and a criminal" based on news items in several issues of the Kurdish daily.

Cumhuriyet newspaper Ankara correspondent Mustafa Balbay. The Ankara correspondent of Cumhuriyet newspaper, Mustafa Balbay, has been detained in the Silivri Prison (Istanbul) since 6 March 2009 because of alleged connections to the "Ergenekon terror organization". Balbay is facing a two-count aggravated life sentence of between 16 and 80 years under charges of "attempted change of the constitutional order by armed force". In the hearing on 16 April at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court, he said, "This life-long ban from my profession is my first punishment in my position. I am not the Ankara correspondent of Cumhuriyet newspaper any longer". He reminded the fact that the evaluation of digital data as evidence was connected to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law. He said that the digital data known as the "Diaries of Balbay" were not to be evaluated as evidence. Balbay stated that the indictment included bits and pieces of interviews he made with the former Naval Forces Commander, deceased Admiral Güven Erkaya, the 10^th President of the Republic, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the 9^th President Süleyman Demirel and other people. "My notes from eight years were specifically put together, ordered in a certain sequence and brought into the shape of a diary. These notes had been altered before you got them", Balbay argued. He said that the notes are less than one percent of the interviews he made and that he just asked questions to his sources. He furthermore put forward that only four of those interviews were made face to face, the others were held together with a delegation or in the persons' offices. Balbay emphasized that he fulfilled his duty towards the society as a journalist. "You are prosecuting me for a two-count aggravated life sentence. I say I am a journalist. If these articles of the law do not apply to us, are we the children of a different law? If conscientious conviction does not apply to us, are we the children of another god?" Balbay questioned. On 30 June, Balbay has been detained in the Silivri prison for 482 days.

Journalist Tuncay Özkan. Tuncay Özkan, detained defendant in the scope of the First Ergenekon indictment, also faces a two-count aggravated life sentence under charges of "Membership of the Ergenekon organization, abolishing or preventing the National Assembly and the government from fulfilling its duty and supplying classified documents". In the hearing on 16 April, Özkan reminded that the indictment included sections on his private life and that İlhan Selçuk won his case opened for the same reason. "They severely harmed us and the Turkish justice. They damaged the law. If they apologize, I will not open a case on my part. The defendants here want to hear an apology from the prosecution officials", Özkan argued. Aydınlık magazine writer Emcet Olcayto is among the detained defendants tried at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court under charges of "membership of an illegal organization". The trial started on 20 July 2009.

Devrimci Demokrasi newspaper writer Erdal Güler. The release of detained journalist Erdal Güler was delayed to 6 September 2014. The owner and editor-in-chief of the Devrimci Demokrasi (Revolutionary Democracy) newspaper is imprisoned under charges of praising publications about illegal organizations such as the PKK or the Maoist Communist Party (MKP). Güler was arrested on 26 December 2007 and taken to the Amasya Prison in northern Turkey. His release was expected for December 2009. A certificate indicating the "date of expiration" of the sentence, which was given to Güler's lawyer Ümit Sisligün by the Kocaeli Prosecutor's Office, shows that the editor's release is not scheduled for the near future. The Prosecutor's Office stated that a fine of several thousand lira issued against Güler was changed to a prison sentence and, as such, a new release date of 6 September 2014 was set. Güler could be released on probation by 1 November 2012. Güler has been charged, mainly under the Anti-Terror Law, with "praising crime and criminals" related to a message, entitled "We commemorate Mahir Çayan and his comrades with respect", published in the April 2005 issue of the "Özgür Düsün" magazine, of which he is the editor.  Another case was opened against Güler on the grounds of a commemoration of İbrahim Kaypakkaya in the 1-16 May issue of the "Halk için Devrimci Demokrasi" (Revolutionary Democracy for the people).

Cases related to Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression

Ferhat Tunç at court on 28 July

1 July. The case of Kurdish Alevi singer Ferhat Tunç because of a speech made at the 1^st Eruh-Çirav Nature and Culture Arts Festival (south-eastern Anatolia) will start on 28 July. The World Freedom Music forum awarded Tunç with the 2010 World Freedom Music award of the Freemuse organization. In his speech Tunç had referred to the Eruh raid on 15 August 1984 when the PKK started its armed attacks. He said, "After 25 years you are opening a new window to peace and brotherhood from Eruh. I am just as excited as you are to turn this march, which you started on the expense of your lives and your blood, towards peace". Un-detained defendant Tunç is tried under article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMY) (propaganda for an illegal organization). Additionally, the artist stands accused of "committing a crime on behalf of an organization without being a member of the organization" according to article 220/6 of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK). Tunç will be tried at the Diyarbakır 4^th High Criminal Court. He faces imprisonment of up to 15 years.

Turkish Folk Music artist Pınar Sağ and local artist Mehmet Özcan face imprisonment of two years as well because they allegedly praised İbrahim Kaypakkaya, founder of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist Leninist (TKP/ML)-TİKKO organization. Sağ was ordered to the Şişli (Istanbul) Courthouse to give her statement. She stands trial on the grounds of her announcement in a meeting in Tunceli before the local elections on 29 March 2009. She said, "To the comrades of Kaypakkaya, who always stood upright against the fascist government".

Sociologist Beşikçi at court again

30 June. The Istanbul Public Chief Prosecutor opened a trial against sociologist İsmail Beşikçi under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK", the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. The charges are based on an article Beşikçi wrote for the Contemporary Law and Society magazine, the publication of the Istanbul Branch of the Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD). Beşikçi and also the editorial manager of the magazine, Zeycan Balcı Şimşek, are each facing prison sentences of up to 7.5 years because of the article entitled "The right of nations to self determination and the Kurds". The trial against Beşikçi and Şimşek will start on 28 July at the Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court. Istanbul Public Prosecutor Hakan Karaali pressed charges against Beşikçi on the grounds of the following statement: "The Kurds pay the price for a 200-year struggle for freedom and for a free fatherland. [...] Syria, Iran and Turkey govern the Kurds with oppression and cruelty. [...] The states that jointly kept the Kurds under oppression could always unite politics, ideology, military force and diplomatic power against the Kurds. This joint governance did not render law and justice. To the contrary, it obviously crushed and offended a sense of law and justice. The resistance against this oppression and cruelty appears to be a legitimate right. [...]" The indictment was prepared on 11 May. In the 1990s, sociologist Beşikçi was facing imprisonment of more than 100 years for articles about the Kurdish question published in the Özgür Gündem newspaper and for books published by Yurt Publishing.

10 months for singer Cevdet Bağca

29 June. Singer Cevdet Bağca was sentenced to imprisonment of ten months by the Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court for saying "Do not forget Kazım Koyuncu, Ahmet Kaya, Ozan Serhat and Delila. Do not forget Uğur Kaymaz" in a concert performed in the south-eastern city of Siirt. Bağca had delivered a brief speech at a concert in Siirt on 29 September 2009. The opinions he voiced were recorded by the police as "sympathizing for an illegal organization and spreading propaganda about a member of the organization". Bağça's speech was evaluated as "propaganda for an illegal organization". According to the official police report, Bağca praised Kazım Koyuncu and Ahmet Kaya, two persons who allegedly sympathized with the PKK/KONGRA-GEL organization (the militant Kurdistan Workers Party) and spread propaganda for the terror organization. It was furthermore claimed in the report that he praised Ozan Serhat and Delila, supposed PKK/KONGRA-GEL members who were killed in operations in rural areas. Bağca allegedly praised both people who were killed in conflicts between armed members of the organization and the armed forces, the police report continued. By doing so, Bağdaş "spread propaganda for an illegal organization", the report determined. The police report furthermore called singers Kazım Koyuncu and Ahmet Kaya sympathizers of the PKK. Koyuncu is a musician from the Laz region on the eastern Black Sea Coast. Kaya became subject of a lynch attack after he had said "I will produce a Kurdish song and I know that there are people brave enough to publish it". He went to Paris later on where he passed away. Numerous music festivals in the Black Sea region were organized in the name of Koyuncu as well as a festival on 3 July by the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the Karabağlar District Municipality in Izmir. The description of Kouncu as a "sympathizer of the PKK" was reason for harsh reactions against the police report. The report furthermore referred to Ozan Serhat and Delila not as artists but as "members of an illegal organization". Twelve year-old Uğur Kaymaz, who had also been mentioned by Bağca in his speech, was killed together with his father on 21 November 2004 in the province of Mardin because they were alleged members of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), the armed wing of the PKK. Bağca's words not to forget Kaymaz were assessed as "propaganda for an illegal organization" in the report.

Radikal reporters face 17 years imprisonment each

12 May. Radikal newspaper reporters Serkan Ocak and Ertan Kılıç face imprisonment of up to 17 years each on the grounds of their news about the "Sledgehammer coup plan". The stand accused of "violating confidentiality via the media", "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "obtaining and disclosing confidential information" because of their news item entitled "Were you going to overthrow the government?" published on 25 February 2010. The prosecution will start on 14 September at the Bakırköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

Talking to Şebnem Korur Fincancı accounted as criminal offence

Prof. Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, chair of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), and journalist Adnan Demir, editorial manager of the nationwide Taraf newspaper, still stand trial at the Kadıköy 4^th Criminal Court of First Instance (Asian side of Istanbul). Both defendants are facing prison sentences, Fincancı for the contents of an interview, Demir for publishing it. The prosecution was postponed to 13 October. Fincancı is furthermore prosecuted at the Kadıköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance together with Barış Yarkadaş, GerçekGündem.com website official, for the interview entitled "Why did they lift capital punishment', published on GercekGündem.com on 22 July 2009. The coming hearing of this trial will be held on 21 June. Finally, a writing of the Istanbul Medical Chamber entered the file, reading that a total of 16 investigations have been opened against Nur Birgen, chair of the Forensic Medicine Institute 3^rd Specialization Chamber, who complained about Fincancı and Demir. The case will be continued on 30 September.

24 June. The Diyarbakır 6^th High Criminal Court decided to bring nine members of the so-called Peace Groups on trial to court under legal compulsion. 13 people of the groups that came to Turkey from Qandil and the Mahmur refugee camp in October 2009 are being prosecuted. They came upon the call of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in order to support the jammed political process of finding a solution to the Kurdish question. The court demanded to send notifications also to the three defendants who had not declared their addresses. The case was postponed to 25 November. The defendants are tried under charges of "membership of an illegal organization", "committing a crime on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". In a hearing one week before, the court decreed to issue arrest warrants for 13 of the 17 people prosecuted in two different cases. The Peace Council requested to close the files in a press conference held on 22 June in Istanbul.

Commander rejected charges, journalist on trial for related news

23 June. A trial against former Akşam newspaper editor Semra Pelek and the daily's editorial manager, Mustafa Dolu was filed because of a news item about former Air Force Commander retired Gen. İbrahim Fırtına's statement given to the prosecutor in the scope of the Ergenekon investigation. Both journalists are tried under article 285 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) related to "violation of the secrecy of an investigation" and TCK article 288 on the "attempt of affecting a fair judicial process". Thus, Pelek and Dolu are each facing prison sentences of up to eight years. Pelek will be prosecuted because she edited the news article entitled "Questions to Fırtına from Aydın Doğan, Rahmi Koç and Akçakoca" published on 5 January 2010. The article was continued on page 16 of the same issue under the heading "I reject, I curse". The case started on 9 June before the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance and will be continued on 1 November. According to ÇGD president Ahmet Abakay, the trial is not legal.

No mercy for people investigating the Dink murder

At the same day, the Istanbul 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance decided to dismiss Head of the Police Intelligence Office Ramazan Akyürek's request to be accepted as joint plaintiff in the case against Vatan newspaper reporter Kemal Göktaş. He is tried by reason of his book entitled "The Hrant Dink Murder: Media, Judiciary, State". The book reveals background information on the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007. The prosecutors final plead is expected for 15 September. Lawyer Filiz Aydın requested to drop the case by prescription. The case was opened on 30 September 2009. Yet, the prescription period of four months ran out on 24 August 2009. Göktaş is put on trial on the grounds of publishing an F4 document in his book which was sent from the Trabzon Police Directorate to the Istanbul Intelligence Branch Directorate, concerned with Yasin Hayal being up to "an influential action" related to Hrant Dink. Göktaş was supported in the hearing by members of the Social Conscience Platform.

Tried for criticism of forensic medicine expert Birgen

18 June The President of the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), Prof. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, and the General Publications Director of the news site GercekGundem.com, Barış Yarkadaş, are facing imprisonment of up to 2.5 years each on the grounds of an interview made with Fincancı and published by Yarkadaş. The hearing on 18 June at the 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Kadıköy (Asian side of Istanbul) was attended by international observers, namely Eric Osvik from the Human Rights Committee of the Norwegian Bar Association, and independent representative of the Kurdish Human Rights Project based in London, law Prof. Matthew Happold from the Luxembourg University. The court requested absent complainant Birgen to attend the coming hearing on 30 September 2010. The news site GercekGundem.com carried out an interview with Fincancı on 22 July 2009 after a number of controversial decisions made by the Forensic Medicine Institute. Fincanı said: "Why was Birgen made the head of the 3^rd Specialization Chamber? This is not a scientific area where she is established. [...]It probably was a reward for her loyalty! There are investigations into reports made by the Medical Chamber Honor Council concerning torture because evidence of torture was hidden. Those reports probably gained her positive points on her record."

Prosecutor requested acquittal of conscientious objectors, judges decided for conviction

16 June. The Ankara 10^th Criminal Court of First Instance handed down a 1year and six months prison sentence to defendant Volkan Sevinç under charges of "insulting a police officer" and "alienating the public from military service". Imprisonment of 6 months each was handed down to defendants Gökçe Otlu Sevimli, head of the IHD Ankara Branch, Halil Savda and Zarife Ferda Çakmak under charges of "alienating the public from military service". They were among the 19 defendants on trial because of a press release made in order to support conscientious objector Enver Aydemir. The 19 defendants were charged with "violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations", "praising crime and a criminal", "alienating the public from military service" and "violation of Law No. 6136" on Firearms and Knives on the grounds of a press release delivered in Ankara on 6 January. The un-detained defendants Volkan Sevinç, Kemal Bolat, Zarife Ferda Çakmak, Gökçe Otlu Sevimli, Selçuk Akbıyık, Haydar Uçar, İbrahim Kızartıcı, Cemil Cahit Selimoğlu, Halil Savda, Fatih Özkan, Zeynep Çiçek, Selen Tarikci, Kıvılcım İlbaşı, Güneş Selma Yıldız, Nisan Kuyucu, Özgün Taşar, Umur Gedik, Özgür Aydın and İlham Yılmaz did not attend the hearing on 17 June. Public Prosecutor Lütfü Karakuş pleaded for the full acquittal of all defendants in his final submission to the court. However, the court decreed for the punishment of four defendants. The court postponed the pronouncement of judgement for Sevimli, Sevinç and Çakmak.

On the same day, the 6^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır, a Kurdish majority-city in south-eastern Turkey, retried the case of Leyla Zana, former deputy of the closed pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP), after the Court of Appeals reversed the judgement of the local court. Zana had received a prison sentence of two years based on charges of "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization". The case was reopened on 16 June. The Diyarbakır court complied with the decision of the Court of Appeals and sent the file to the Public Prosecutor in order to have a new plead of the prosecution. On 21 March 2007, Leyla Zana had delivered a speech at the Newroz celebrations, the festival to welcome the arrival of spring and to mark the Iranian New Year. She had called Jalal Talabani, the current President of Iraq and a leading Kurdish politician, Massoud Barzani, current President of the pre-dominantly Kurdish region of northern Iraq and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the "three leaders of the Kurdish people". The Court of Appeals 9^th Criminal Chamber had overturned the verdict for a two-year prison sentence for Zana under charges of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". The Diyarbakır court complied with the decision of the Court of Appeals and sent the file to the Public Prosecutor in order to have a new plead of the prosecution. The case will be continued on 12 October. The prosecution's final speech will precede the final defence of lawyer Meral Danış Beştaş. In the course of the initial trial, charges of "praising crime and a criminal" were additionally pressed against Zana because of statements made in her defence speech. However, Zana was acquitted of the latter charges.

15 June. The Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court decided for the acquittal of Taraf newspaper writer Roni Margulies and editorial manager Adnan Demir who were tried on the grounds of a writing saying, "Did the Turkish state accept one of the dozens of ceasefires declared by the PKK? Did they put an end to the military operations? They did not. Why do they expect the PKK to stop their activities under these circumstances?" The case was opened on 16 December 2009 on the grounds of the column entitled "Who is whose enemy?" under allegations of "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization". Demir stated in the hearing that they rejected the allegations and said that Margulies "explained the meaning of the PKK for the Kurdish people based on sociological reasons".

On 15 June, the trial against Milliyet newspaper journalist Namık Durukan was continued at the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court. Durukan is tried on the grounds of his article entitled "Even a general amnesty will not make us put down our weapons". The news item conveyed the referring statement of Duran Kalkan, executive of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), delivered to the Fırat News Agency (ANF). A new prosecutor, Bilal Bayraktar, was appointed to the case and requested additional time in order to prepare a new final plea. Thus, President Judge Zafer Başkurt postponed the trial to 21 September. The case against Durukan and editorial manager Hasan Çakkalkurt was opened on 30 July 2009. Istanbul Public Prosecutor Hakan Karaali, previously in charge of the case, had demanded prison sentences of between 1.5 and 7.5 years for both defendants under charges of "spreading propaganda for a terror organization" according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law. About Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal's announcement that 'in case they put their weapon down a general amnesty could be possible', Kalkan had been quoted as saying, "The solution of the Kurdish question is not a question of general amnesty. The Kurdish people do not consider such a situation for the PKK and the guerrilla. Even if a general amnesty would be granted also anticipating freedom for Apo [imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan], then the PKK would not put down their weapons but may consider declaring a ceasefire, but not to put down weapons, the guerrilla do not put down their weapons", Kalkan argued.

On the same day, the trial against 54 mayors, former members of the shut-down BDP, was continued at the Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court. The defendants stand accused of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of using the term "Armed Kurdish opposition" in a joint press release. The case was postponed to 14 November in order to complete the file and to wait for the arrest of former Hakkari Mayor Metin Tekçe upon an arrest warrant. The mayors had held a press conference at the South-East Journalists Association on 4 March 2007 to comment on an alleged attempt to poison imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

"Separatist" novel protagonists

10 June. The Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court convicted author Mehmet Güler of "making propaganda for the PKK organization" on the grounds of "separatist" protagonists in his novel entitled "More difficult decisions than death" (Ölümden Zor Kararlar). The publisher of the novel, Ragıp Zarakolu, was acquitted since the court decreed for a lack of "criminal liability". Author Güler on the other hand was sentenced to imprisonment of one year and three months according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law because of the fictional characters of the novel named "Sıti", "Sabri" and "Şiyar". After the court session, Güler told bianet, "We all see to what extend trials in Turkey are deteriorating. The government, talking about opening and high standard democracy, went as far as prosecuting and punishing fantasy and imagination. But this case is just another part of the struggle for democratization. We are preparing the publication of the second volume. It will go to press at around September. We will carry on with the writing". In the second hearing on 19 November 2009, prosecutor Mustafa Çavuşoğlu advanced the view in his final plead that "no legal elements of crime occurred". He demanded the acquittal of Zarakolu and Güler. Prosecutor Savaş Kırbaş, on duty at the following hearing on 25 March, reckoned the utterances of the protagonists to be "dangerous" and requested a prison sentence for writer Güler. Istanbul Public Prosecutor Hikmet Usta based his indictment of 22 May on dialogues in the novel such as on page 39 in the context of a trial against a PKK member, quoted as follows: "This court delegation has no right to judge me. I fight for freedom. I do not recognize this court". International PEN and the International Publishers Association (IPA) condemned the decision.

One acquittal for Yarkadaş

9 June. Barış Yarkadaş, executive of the GerçekGündem.com website, was acquitted by the Kadıköy (Istanbul) 7^th Criminal Court of First Instance on 9 June. Yarkadaş had been facing imprisonment for publishing a reader comment sent under the pseudonym "Türkeli27" which allegedly criticized President Abdullah Gül. The case was filed on the grounds of a reader comment regarding a statement of the Armenian President Serj Sarkisyan who had said, "I am not going to Turkey no matter if the borders are open or closed". Yarkadaş was tried because he published the reader comment saying "Sarkisyan challenged Turkey because of the attitude of President Abdullah Gül". The comment had been attached to a news item dated 24 April 2009. Yarkadaş stood accused of "insult of the President" and faces imprisonment of five years and four months according to article 299 of the Turkish Criminal Code.

'Peace Mother' sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in jail

On the same day, the Izmir 10^th High Criminal Court sentenced 61-year old 'Peace Mother' Sultan Acıbuca to imprisonment of 6 years and 3 months by reason of her thoughts voiced on the World Labour Women's Day on 8 March 2008 and several other speeches delivered on different occasions. Charges under Article 314/2 TCK were pressed against Acıbuca for saying: "They send children from poor Turkish and Kurdish families to the military. One of our sons is on the mountain [joint the PKK], one of our sons is in the army. We do not want them to kill each other. They burned down our houses, they expelled us from our homes. Erdoğan's child is swimming in money. Our daughters get married to Turks. Turkish daughters get married to our sons. We are living side by side. We do not want to fight any more". Acıbucu's condemning of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was evaluated as a criminal offence as well as her attendance of a meeting on the occasion of the World Peace Day on 1 September, her call for peace at the International Labour Women's Day and attending three press releases as a spectator.

Ahmet Türk tried for speech in Kurdish on International Mother Language Day

Again on 10 June, The Ankara Public Prosecution filed a trial against Ahmet Türk, former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party which was closed in December 2009 by the Constitutional Court. Türk stands accused of violating the Political Parties Law on the grounds of his speech delivered in Kurdish in parliament on the occasion of the "International Mother Language Day" on 21 February. In a Parliamentary Group Meeting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on 24 February 2009, Türk had said, "21 February is the Mother Language Day and people should voice their own thoughts and ideas in their own languages". After that, he addressed the parliamentary group and the journalists in Kurdish. According to the indictment, Türk opposed article 81 of Law no. 2820 on Political Parties with his speech in Kurdish. Türk is facing prison sentence of at least six months according to article 177 of the Political Parties Law applied for the same reason. Türk is tried before the Ankara 3^rd Criminal Court of First Instance. The Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court litigated Türk over his statement of appreciation regarding the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) organization's proclamation of a ceasefire. The court acquitted the Kurdish politician on 6 May; he had been in the dock since 16 January 2008. The court eventually decided that Türk "did not intend to make propaganda".

On 10 June, the case against poet and author Ataol Behramoğlu was continued. He stands trial because he criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Behramoğlu had voiced his criticism when he was a guest of the program "Neutral Zone" broadcasted by CNN Türk. He is facing a compensation claim of TL 20,000 (€ 10,000) at the Ankara 15^th Criminal Court of First Instance. The court decided to request a recording of the program on CD from the Radio and Television Supreme Board (RTÜK) and to have the file reviewed by an expert. Related to the AKP elections Behramoğlu said, "I do not say that AKP will not hold the elections. Yet, in my opinion they did everything, visible and invisible, to prevent elections by illegal and anti-democratic means". The case was postponed to 7 October.

Ilıcak to pay TL 5,000 for calling judge "officious"

8 June. Sabah newspaper writer Nazlı Ilıcak was sentenced to the payment of TL 5,000 (€ 2,500) in compensation because she had described Judge Osman Kaçmaz as "officious". In the hearing on 8 June, the 2^nd Criminal Court of Sincan (west of Ankara) found Ilıcak and Sabah daily owner Ahmet Çalık guilty of "attacking personal rights" in the article from 25 May 2009 entitled "The President's Immunity". Court President Sevgi Boyacı decreed for the monetary fine. Judge Kaçmaz intended to sue President Abdullah Gül in the context of an investigation into "lost millions", a corruption case in the 1990s. He was criticized after he overruled the decision of the Ankara Public Prosecution to dismiss procedures. Kaçmaz had initially demanded a compensation of TL 30,000 (€ 15,000) including legal interest. Neither the complainant nor Ilıcak appeared at court for the last hearing. The Istanbul 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance had previously sentenced Ilıcak to imprisonment of eleven months and 20 days charged with insulting Kaçmaz via the media predicated on the same article. The sentence was postponed.

7 June. The Izmir 6th Magistrate Criminal Court continued the trial filed by the Izmir Provincial General Assembly President Serdar Değirmenci and 48 deputies against Taraf newspaper journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and Milliyet newspaper journalist Hasan Cemal. Subject of the case is a compensation claim of TL 1 (€ 0.50) each. Cemal had criticized an attack against a convoy of the Democratic Society Party (dissolved by the Constitutional Court in December 2009) in a writing entitled "Children in guerrilla outfits"; Kütahyalı's article was entitled "Izmir, capital of fascism". Değirmenci argued, "We are people who defend press freedom and freedom of thought. However, the insult against people form Izmir and our history voiced against a whole group does not remain within the scope of freedom. Press freedom does not mean to write anything you want irresponsibly". The journalists' lawyers demanded to evaluate the articles in respect to press freedom and freedom of expression and requested to dismiss procedures.

İrfan Aktan sentenced, Nedim Şener acquitted

4 June. The Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court Prosecutor handed down a prison sentence of one year and three months to journalist İrfan Aktan on the grounds of the article entitled "Weather Conditions in the Region and in Qandil / No Solution without Fighting" published in the Express magazine. Editorial manager Merve Erol received a monetary fine of TL 16,000 (€ 8,000) for the writing that was published in the 99^th issue of the fortnightly magazine on 15 October 2009. After the lawyers Tora Pekin and Bülent Utku prensented their final defence, both journalists were convicted of "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization". The article shown as the reason of crime contained statements of a PKK/Kongra-Gel member and a one sentence quotation from the Özgür Halk ('Free People') magazine. The lawyers filed an appeal against the decision. The decision was condemned by Reporters without Borders, the International Press Organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the G9 Journalists Platform, the Journalists Union of Turkey, the International Press Institute, the Ankara University Faculty of Communication, the Southeast Journalists Association, the Kurdish Writers Association and the Diyarbakir Central Representation of PEN. More than 50 journalists criticized the decision in their columns. The Media Legal Defence Initiative offered legal support to Aktan. Freedom House, Index on Censorship, Article 19 and Amnesty International declared to follow up the case at the Court of Appeals.

The Istanbul 11^th High Criminal Court acquitted Milliyet newspaper reporter Nedim Şener in the case related to his book entitled "The Dink murder and the intelligence lies" on 4 June. Şener stood accused of "violation of secrecy" and "identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as targets". In the previous hearing on 28 April, the prosecutor had demanded a three-year prison sentence for Şener under charges of "identifying people as targets for terror organizations". He was sued by Ramazan Akyürek, then Chief of Police in Trabzon (Black Sea coast), Ali Fuat Yılmazer, Deputy Chief of the Istanbul Police, intelligence police officer Muhittin Zenit and Intelligence Branch Manager of the Trabzon Police Directorate Faruk Sarı. The complaint was filed with Şener because he "obtained and published confidential information" based on the transcript of a phone call between police informant Zenit and Erhan Tuncel half an hour after the murder of Hrant Dink. However, in the hearing on 4 June, the court announced that the names of the complainants and some of their code names were included in the Hrant Dink murder trial file at the Istanbul 14^th High Criminal Court and thus confidentiality had been lifted anyways. Şener's lawyer Yücel Döşemeci requested the acquittal of his client. In his final plea he reiterated his demand not to punish Şener because of a violation of secrecy. "If it is not a violation of secrecy to publish the documents, how can it be seen as a breach of law to publish the included information?" Döşemeci asked. In the hearing on 24 April, Şener had presented a banner to the court, showing Hrant Dink and an elderly women in Erivan under the heading "1,500,000 + 1" (in reference to the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20^th century). Şener criticized, "Look, the world cares for the Hrant Dink murder much more than we do. We are even sued for writing about the extent of the unlawfulness related to the murder".

Again on 4 June, Prosecutor Mustafa Çavuşoğlu from the Istanbul 14^th High Criminal Court demanded prison sentence of ten years for Taraf newspaper reporter Mehmet Baransu because the journalist published allegedly "classified" documents related to the Aktütün attack. The raid of the militant Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) on the Aktütün police station on 3 October 2008 resulted in the death of 17 soldiers. Public Prosecutor Cavuşoğlu requested Baransu's punishment according to article 329/1 of the Turkish Criminal Code (Disclosure of information relating to the security and political interests of the State) on the grounds of communicating documents labelled as "classified". Baransu stands accused of publishing immediate data from reports of the General Staff Presidency in his articles entitled "The Aktütün Secrets" and "What was experienced to the minute at the General Staff" published on 13 April 2009. It is claimed that the articles contain "documents with a classified status related to national security". The court judge announced in the hearing that a writing sent by the Military Prosecutor of the General Staff Presidency was included in the file. After the prosecutor's final submission, the journalist's lawyer Ergin Cinmen requested additional time in order to prepare the final speech of the defence. The case was postponed to 6 September.

3 June. The Magistrate Criminal Court of Midyat in the south-eastern province of Mardin handed down a six-month prison sentence each to three former members of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), namely Midyat Mayor Candidate Yüksel Aslan Acer, Midyat Provincial Chair Abdulaziz Bilgin and party member Süleyman Tekin. The party members of the pro-Kurdish DTP, which was closed by the Constitutional Court in December last year, were sentenced for speaking Kurdish in a meeting during the run-up for the elections. The case was launched with the three politicians after a meeting on 29 March 2009 on the grounds of "committing a criminal offence by violating the laws related to oral and written election propaganda to be made in Turkish only". In the hearing on 3 June, the court decreed for a violation of law no. 298 on Basic Decrees of Elections and Electorate Registers. The six-month sentences were postponed. Former Mayor Candidate Acer said in his defence that the speeches subject to the trial were in fact speeches made during the election meeting. He emphasized that the part on election propaganda was entirely made in Turkish. Only the initial greeting of the electorate was made in Turkish, Kurdish, and in the Syriac and the Mıhellemi languages since people of different cultures using different languages are living together in that electoral district, Acer claimed.

Also on 3 June, the seventh trial against Radikal newspaper reporter Ismail Saymaz started. Once more, Saymaz stands accused of "violating the secrecy of an investigation" because of an article published in Radikal on 19 March 2008 entitled "The generals in their summer residences agree that Balbay is the left-wing leader". Saymaz is tried for publishing Ergenekon case defendant Engin Aydın's statement to the prosecutor. According to Aydın, former TRT General Manager Yücel Yener called him to inform him that a group of people, among them generals and admirals, agreed on detained journalist Balbay to impute the leadership on him. Saymaz is facing imprisonment of 58.5 years in total in the seven cases opened against him on the grounds of news made about the Ergenekon Investigation. Also allegations initially drawn against Radikal editor-in-chief Hasan Çakkalkurt were subsequently directed to Saymaz due to the "responsibility for the news item".

Previously, a further six trials have been filed against Saymaz on the grounds of his news about the interrogations of İlhan Cihaner, detained Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan (north-eastern Anatolia), and İbrahim Şahin, former Deputy Head of the Special Operations Department. The cases were opened on 8, 13, 15, 16 and 21 April respectively. The journalist is facing imprisonment of up to 54 years in total in these trials under charges of "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "violating the secrecy of an investigation" according to articles 285 and 288 (attempt at affecting a fair judicial process) of the TCK. All cases were launched at the Bakırköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance. Saymaz is summoned to court for 23 June related to the allegations based on the article entitled "What Prosecutor Cihaner was asked" published in Radikal newspaper on 18 February 2010. On 15 July, he will be at court for his news item "Assassination with a tick, coup of the tea vendors" from 12 February 2010; he will appear at court on 21 July by reason of his articles "Cihaner: I do not know Çiçek, I did not see him - Ciçek: I do not know anybody in Erzincan" and "I do not know Çiçek, that is your set up" published on 20 February. For his article "Did you meet Dursun Çiçek?" from 22 February Saymaz will have to attend a hearing on 20 September. Another reason for the prosecution of Saymaz was the article entitled "The most reckless state of Ergenekon is in Erzincan" related to the defence of former İliç Public Prosecutor Bayram Bozkurt which was sent to the Ministry of Justice. Bozkurt is tried at the Erzincan High Criminal Court under allegations of "misconduct in office". Prosecutors Remzi Yaşar Kızılhan and Pircan Barut Emre prepared the indictments against Saymaz. Another trial has been launched against him based on his article entitled "Is Berk the leader of the organization?" published on 1 March. Saymaz, author of the book "The postmodern Jihad", concerned with the Erzurum-Erzincan connections of the Ergenekon investigation, received a letter from the Ministry of Justice about three weeks earlier, in which he was asked to reveal his source. In the trial related to publishing the statement of former Special Operations Executive İbrahim Şahin made at the prosecution, Saymaz stands accused of the "attempt to influence a fair trial" and "violation of the secrecy of an investigation".

1 June. The Public Chief Prosecution of Kadıköy (Asian side of Istanbul) launched an investigation into journalists Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Ahmet Şık on the grounds of their books "Understanding the Counter Guerilla and Ergenekon" and "Who is Who in Ergenekon". The journalists are co-authors of the two volumes on subject. The Prosecution initiated the investigation under the suspicion of "violation the secrecy of an investigation" according to article 285 of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK). It turned out that the investigation into the two books of a total of 1,128 pages was launched on 14 April, the day of their publication. The trial against both journalists was opened because of an alleged violation of a publication ban imposed by the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court on 30 July 2008. Mavioğlu and Şık will be tried at the Kadıköy 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance on 8 October.

Novels sent to the Prime Ministerial Board for the Protection of Children from Harmful Publications

25 May. The Istanbul 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance decided to send the file related to three controversial books to the Prime Ministerial Board for the Protection of Children from Harmful Publications which was established in 1927. The three books on subject are "The Fairy's Pendulum" by Ben Mila and the Turkish translations of French P.V.'s "Letters of a Well-Mannered and Knowledgeable Bourgeois Woman" and of "The exploits of a young Don Juan" by Guillaume Apolliniare. Yet, experts from Yeditepe University (Istanbul), the Glatasaray University (Istanbul) French Language and Literature Department and from the Law Faculty issued a report regarding "The exploits of a young Don Juan" and "Letters of a Well-Mannered and Knowledgeable Bourgeois Woman". In the expert report it was said that the books feature literature and would not constitute the basis for a conviction. The owner of Sel Publishing, İrfan Sancı, is facing imprisonment of up to nine years for the three books on subject under allegations of spreading obscenity. Publisher Sancı claimed that the board is not entitled to review books for adults. However, the court did not accept his objection. The case will be continued on 21 July.

21 May. The Van 4^th High Criminal Court sentenced Hamza Gündüz, Mayor of Hakkari and publication director of the www.HakkariNews website, to imprisonment of one year under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK organization". The same sentence was handed down to two members of the pro-Kurdish BDP. The convictions are based on speeches delivered in Çukurca during the 2009 Newroz celebrations.

20 May. The 4^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır (south-eastern Anatolia) released Mehdi Tanrıkulu, editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, pending trial. Tanrıkulu was detained on 8 April because he had insisted to present his defence in Kurdish. Journalist Tanrıkulu stands trial on the grounds of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" based on an article published in the Kurdish daily on 23 January 2010. In his article, Tanrıkulu had described imprisoned leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Adullah Öcalan, as the "Leader of the Kurdish People". Moreover, he referred to the PKK as the "Kurdish Freedom Movement". Tanrıkulu is facing prison sentences of more than 40 years in total due to other cases opened against him by reason of articles and news published in the Kurdish daily.

18 May. In respect of the decision taken by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2007, the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 15^th Criminal Court of First Instance decided for the acquittal of Meral Tamer, writer for the nationwide Milliyet newspaper. Meral had been sued by former President Süleyman Demirel and convicted on the grounds of her articles entitled "Who is responsible for the rubble?" and "The 7.4 earthquake did not shake Demirel". The court decided that Tamers articles remained within the borders of press freedom and freedom of thought. Charges of "insult" were pressed against Tamer after the articles had been published on 20 and 24 August 1999 subsequent to the devastating earthquake in the north-eastern Marmara region on 17 August 1999. The case was opened on 16 November 1999. Eleven months later, Tamer was handed down a prison sentence of 16 months. The court decided to suspend the penalty and drop it in case Tamer would not commit any further crime within the coming five years. On 12 November 2007, the ECHR announced its decision on the case and decreed that Tamer's conviction had been unlawful. The international court sentenced Turkey to a monetary fine of € 6,000 in compensation. Tamer rejected the reconciliation request worth € 10,000 made by the state. With the help of her lawyer Kösal Bayraktar, she applied for a new trial in Turkey related to the positive decision of the ECHR. The file was re-tried at the Bakırköy 15^th Criminal Court of First Instance, which decided for Tamer's acquittal. Tamer commented, "I am glad I did not accept the state's request for reconciliation. Thanks to this, my articles will be proved as criticism and not as insult, even ten years later".

On the same day, the Bakırköy (Istanbul) Criminal Court of First Instance dropped the case against caricaturist İbrahim Özbadak from the Yeni Asya newspaper by prescription. A compensation claim against the caricaturist was launched on the grounds of a caricature published on 21 May 2009. The illustration refers to President Judge Osman Kaçmaz of the Sincan (central Anatolia) 1^st High Criminal Court who intended to prosecute President Abdullah Gül regarding the investigation into "Lost Billions". It shows a person in a judge's robe on a podium positioned on a tank, ignoring the road sign to "Ergen" but instead following the sign to "Sincan Avenue". Özdabak was prosecuted according to article 125 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) under charges of "insulting a public official", facing prison sentence of two years and eight months. The indictment included the following accusations: "... Ridiculing the decision of the complainant High Criminal Court President; depicting him in his robe on a podium positioned on a military tank; road signs of Sincan Avenue and Ergenekon Avenue; addition of a written comment; defaming previous decisions with the caricature [...]"

17 May. Berrin Tursun, mother of Baran Tursun who was killed with a police bullet in Izmir in 2007 because of ignoring a stop warning, was found guilty of "threat" and "insult" on the grounds of her reaction at court against the release of police officer Oral Emre Atar. The Karşıyaka 5^th Criminal Court of First Instance (Izmir) handed down a prison sentence of five months and 20 days to Berrin Tursun who had cried "Dishonourable police officer, I will gouge out your eye" upon the decision of Atar's release pending trial. The court dropped charges related to article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code (ban of "insults" to the Turkish nation) against un-detained defendants Mehmet Tursun, father of the victim, his mother Berrin Tursun and his sister Şelale Tursun since the Ministry of Justice refused to issue the necessary permission. However, the court sentenced Berrin Tursun to imprisonment of 3 months and 22 days on the grounds of threatening Atar and to another month and 28 days behind bars based on alleged insult of the police officer. The pronouncement of the judgement was postponed due to a "lack of criminal record". The Karşıkaya 1^st High Criminal Court decreed for imprisonment of 25 months for defendant Atar by reason of "causing death by negligence of duty". He had been released pending trial after the first hearing of the case. Berrin, Mehmet and Şelale Tursun are also tried at the Karşıkaya 3^rd Criminal Court of First Instance under similar charges. The prosecutor demanded prison sentences of between five and ten years each.

13 May. Journalist Vedat Kurşun, former editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, was charged with "membership of the PKK organization" and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization" by the 5^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır (south-eastern Turkey). Kurşun received a prison sentence of 166 years and six months. The court decreed to sentence Kurşun to 12 years and eight months, the upper limit for charges of "membership of an organization". He furthermore received a 103-count sentence according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) on propaganda for an illegal organization. In an announcement made by the Azadiya Welat daily, the decision was described as "illegal" and "politically" motivated. Journalist Kurşun was arrested on 30 January 2009 on Atatürk Airport in Istanbul because he had not given his statement in another trial. Kurşun was later on detained and taken to the Diyarbakır D Type Prison, facing heavy prison sentence. Lawyer Meral Danış Beştaş emphasized that his client did not commit a theft, he did not use violence, he did not kill anybody, nor did he encourage others to resort to violence - he merely expressed his thoughts as a journalist. However, the lawyers' efforts could not prevent the heavy punishment. Kurşun is currently tried in 32 different cases. Court Prosecutor Yakup Yar had demanded prison sentence of up to five years under charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of criminal contents in a total of 103 issues of the newspaper. Furthermore, prosecutor Yar had requested imprisonment of up to another ten years for "membership in an illegal organization". Kurşun was facing a total prison sentence of up to 525 years due to the prosecutor's demand of a103-count sentence. Prosecutor Yar referred in his demand to certain terms used in the articles such as "Kurdistan", "guerrilla", "martyr", "leader of the Kurdish people" or "respectable Öcalan" besides the publishing of notes made during an interview with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, criticism of the conditions of detention in Imralı prison where Öcalan serves his sentence and announcements of PKK executives.

On the same day, the case filed by Adana MP Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) against journalist Hacı Boğatekin, owner of the Gerger Fırat newspaper, was continued. Boğatekin is facing a 10,000 Turkish Lira (TL) compensation claim (approx. € 4,760). AKP MP Fırat launched the trial on the grounds of an article entitled "Mercy Miro Mercy Piro" published on 20 September 2009. Fırat claims an "attack on his personal rights". The next hearing is scheduled for 8 July.

12 May. The Istanbul 12^th High Criminal Court acquitted Aysel Tuğluk, former deputy of the banned pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), and closed another case against her by prescription. Tuğluk stood accused of "spreading propaganda for the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, and of "praising crime and a criminal". The charges were based on the contents of the two articles entitled "Apo talks" published on 28 May 2004 and "Apo does not like the new name of the PKK" published on 27 May 2002. 'Apo' refers to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is imprisoned on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999. Tuğluk was acquitted of the charges related to the article "Apo talks" because the court was not convinced that Tuğluk "committed the crime imputed on her". The same court also tried the second case in a subsequent session. A time period of 7.5 years passed since the article subject of the trial was published on 27 May 2002, thus the case was dropped by prescription. Tuğluk was facing imprisonment for the article "Apo does not like the new name of the PKK" published in 2002 based on article 7/2 (assistance or propaganda for an illegal organization) of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) and article 215 (defamation) of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK).

11 May. The Beyoğlu (Istanbul) 4^th Magistrate Law Court sentenced Sesonline.net webpage writer Yalçın Ergündoğan to a monetary fine of TL 500 (€ 250) in compensation on the grounds of his article entitled "Disciples revolted against Haydar Baş". The journalist was tried upon a complaint filed by the Chairman of the Independent Party of Turkey (BDP), Haydar Baş, who is also the Sheikh of the Kadiri religious order. Including cost and expenses, he will have to pay a total of TL 3,500 (€ 1,750). Baş' lawyers had initiated executive procedures against Ergündoğan. The Beyoğlu (Istanbul) 2^nd High Criminal Court had already handed down a 2,000 Turkish Lira (TL) (€ 900) converted judicial fine to the writer and journalist. The penalty, converted from a 105-day prison sentence, was suspended for five years.

On the same day, the 2^nd High Criminal Court of Erzurum sentenced politician Mahmut Alınak to imprisonment of one year under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK terrorist organization" because he invited the Kurdish people to civil disobedience in a program on the Kurdish ROJ TV, broadcasting from Belgium. The sentence was based on "talks broadcasted by the television channel ROJ TV that contained propaganda for a terror organization. The broadcast of ROJ TV directed the viewers towards the armed PKK terror organization". On 5 October 2008, Alınak had said on ROJ TV, "If the General Staff had put forward the idea of stopping their military operations, there would certainly not have been any incident in Bezele and not that many people would have died. [...]. The PKK had announced a ceasefire, no steps at all were taken within six years. [...] In events of our political party we will sing the (Kurdish) 'ey rakip' (oh my enemy) march and will sing also sing the international anthem in Kurdish. This will also be a message for the AKP [ruling Justice and Development Party]. We should definitely start our social march and we have to turn every place we visit into a place of uprising. Current history should be defined by civil disobedience and this sort of strain that applies social pressure".

Again on 11 May, the case against Mahmut Alınak at the Kars 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance was continued. The Kurdish politician stands accused of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" and faces imprisonment. Upon the demand of defendant Alınak, the court in Kars (north-eastern Turkey) is going to investigate the historic background related to Kurdish politics and the referring utterances made by Alınak. Alınak argued that he is prosecuted because he lodged a complaint with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Chief of General Staff, İlker Başbuğ, at the United Nations (UN). "If the questions of the court will be answered correctly, many things may change", he said. According to a decision made on 21 April this year, the court ordered the prosecution to send a complete list of all unsolved murders registered after 1993 in the districts and provinces of Diyarbakır, Batman and Şırnak in the pre-dominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Anatolia. The court requested another list from the prosecution regarding casualties during mass demonstrations in the districts and provinces of Diyarbakır, Van and Hakkari for the year 1997. Moreover, the court accepted the demand to ask the Presidency of the Republic for the report prepared by İsmet İnönü (successor-to-be of Atatürk) in 1935. The report was prepared for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish republic and then President, and was an analysis of the "Kurdish issue".

On 11 May, the prosecutor of the 6^th High Criminal Court of Diyarbakır (south-eastern Turkey), Adem Özcan, demanded prison sentence of up to 50 years for Bedri Adanır, owner of Aram Publishing and editorial manager of the Kurdish Hawar newspaper. Adanır stands accused of "membership of the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, and "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". Adanır published a book of Abdullah Öcalan's defence speeches (imprisoned leader of the PKK) made at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The book was audited and approved by the Bursa Execution Justiceship, yet it was not given a revenue stamp by the Ministry of Culture but was forbidden. Adanır was arrested on 5 January when he entered Turkey from Iraq at the Habur check point in Silopi in the province of Şırnak (south-eastern Anatolia). Since then, Adanır has been detained in the Diyarbakır D Type Prison. The prosecutor had stated that 38 books were confiscated in a raid on the publishing house on 14 September 2008 which were either banned or decided to be seized. The hard disks of the computer allegedly contained praise of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and other members of the organization. Word documents with notes of interviews with families of killed PKK members were found as well as personal information related to PKK members, the prosecutor said. From these findings the prosecutor deduced a one count charge of "spreading propaganda for an illegal organization". Adanır said that he did not agree with the prosecutor's final submission. His lawyer Muharrem Şahin requested additional time in order to prepare his client's defence. The court dismissed the request for Adanır's release. President Judge Menderes Yılmaz allowed time until 8 July to prepare the defence.

6 May. Radikal newspaper news coordinator Ertuğrul Mavioğlu was notified about the indictment related to a news article on the "Action Plan against Reactionary Forces", allegedly worked out by Colonel Dursun Çiçek. Mavioğlu is charged with "violating the secrecy of an organization" at the Bakırköy (Istanbul) 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance on the grounds of the article published on 19 June 2009. The same charges were pressed against the journalist because of his article "Ergenekon agent in the Nur Congregation" dd. 4 July 2009. He is facing imprisonment of up to nine years. Mavioğlu is still struggling with the case related to his statement about the former Head of the 11^th High Criminal Court Orhan Karadeniz made in the "Place of Politics" programme on ATV, although the journalist was acquitted on 7 February 2006. Mavioğlu and program director Ali Kırca stood accused of "insult" according to article 6/1 of the Anti-Terror Law. The decision for acquittal was reversed because of a "lack of decision on the complainant's request for co-plaintiff status". The statement of Karadeniz is going to be taken.

After a seven year-trial, Vakit newspaper was sentenced to a monetary fine of TL 616,000 (€ 308,000) in compensation on the grounds of the article "The country where people not even qualified as corporal become generals" by the Ankara 20^th High Criminal Court on 6 May. Newspaper officials Harun Aksoy and Nuri Aykon have to pay the fine to 308 generals. The court dismissed the compensation claim filed by former RTÜK member Mehmet Doğan due to "lack of enmity". The article on subject was published on 25 August 2003 and signed by Asım Yenihaber. According to an expert, it could not be ascertained that Doğan had written the article. The compensation claim was filed by 312 generals including four Force Commanders seven years ago. Newspaper lawyer Haci Ali Özhan said that the compensation decreed by judge Adem Albayrak amounts to a total of TL 1.3 milion (€ 650,000) including interest. He announced to appeal. He argued: "An article written by a writer is the reason for a compensation claim of that enormous amount. This case is very important in terms of press freedom and its legal dimensions. It has to be investigated. The whole group of generals can open a case related to the criticism of Çetin Doğan and Aytaç Yalman only.

Convicted for caricature of mayor on Facebook

On 4 June, the Eskişehir 4^th Magistrate Criminal Court handed down an eleven months prison sentence to university student Erdem Büyük (22) because he published a caricature of Yılmaz Büyükerşen, Mayor of Büyükşehir, on his facebook site. The punishment was based on article 125 of the TCK on "attacking personal rights". The sentence was suspended on a five-year probation period because Büyük is still a student and he has no criminal record. The penalty will be enforced if he commits the same kind of crime again within this period. Büyük stated that he did not find the caricature bad or offensive. "I liked the caricature. I copied a caricature I liked and posted it on my site to share it with my friends. I did not have bad intentions", he said. Vahap Ata, lawyer of defendant Büyük, reminded the fact that Mayor Büyükerşen was a former journalist and caricaturist and criticized his attitude to file a case because a caricature about him. Büyük had posted a caricature related to Democratic Left Party (DSP) mayor Prof. Büyükerşen after the elections on 29 March 2009. He was arrested after the police had identified him via the IP number of his computer. Büyük said he was going to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

5 May. The case against Gerger Fırat newspaper owner Hacı Boğatekin filed by Zekin Dışkaya, President of the Adıyaman Journalists Association, started at the Adıyaman 1^st Criminal Court of First Instance on 5 May. Boğatekin is facing a TL 7,500 (€ 3,750) compensation claim. The Greger Chief Prosecution dismissed a complaint filed against the newspaper owner by AKP Adana deputy Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat. Boğatekin was facing imprisonment of up to two years and eight months in the latter case which was dropped by prescription. He was charged for insulting personal rights in his article entitled "Mercy Miro Mercy Piro" published on 20 September 2009.

Also on 5 May, the Hakkari Criminal Court of First Instance continued the case against Hakkari Mayor Fadıl Bedrihanoğlu, former Mayor Kazım Kurt, former Central District Mayor of the dissolved DTP Fahri Kurt and DTP executive Rahmi Temel on the grounds of addressing their electorate in Kurdish during the run-up to the local elections on 29 March 2009. The four defendants are tried under charges of opposing the Political Parties Law.

Müjde Ar sentenced to jail for "paedophile" words

4 May. Turkish actress Müjde Ar received an eleven months and 20 days prison sentence from the 3^rd Magistrate Criminal Court of Eskişehir (central Anatolia) upon charges of "insult" pressed by Eskişehir National Education Director İbrahim Ceylan. Ceylan indicated in a statement on 17 May 2009 that he was working on replacing foreign fictional characters depicted on students' bags and schooling equipment with figures of national Turkish heroes such as Nasreddin Hoca and Keloğlan instead. Ceylan aimed to "protect the children from the invasion of foreign culture". He suggested that students should use schooling equipment illustrated with Keloğlan instead of Barbie and Yunus Emre instead of Spiderman. Ar had criticized this project on NTV. Referring to Ceylan she had said, "This is paedophilia. Which hinterland do these managers come from?" The court suspended the sentences for five years.

27 April. The trial against Berrin Tursun, mother of Baran Tursun who was killed with a police bullet in 2007, his father Mehmet Tursun and the victim's sister Şelale Tursun at the Karşıkaya (Izmir) 3^rd Criminal Court of First Instance was continued on 27 April. They are facing imprisonment of up to ten years under charges of "influencing an official of the judiciary", "threat" and "insult". Reason for the accusations is their reaction against a court decision in the case related to the death of their son and brother. The case was postponed to July in order to hear eight further witnesses presented by the defence. The Ministry of Justice refused to issue permission for a trial under article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) under charges of "Insulting the state, the judiciary, the military and the Police forces". Thus, the case was launched under the above mentioned allegations.

26 April. The Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court sentenced Selim Sadak, mayor of the city of Siirt in south-eastern Turkey, to imprisonment of one year under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party. Reason for the mayor's conviction was a statement made to a journalist where Sadak used the term "Kurdistan". The court reasoned the decision by claiming that mayor Sadak "made a speech analogue to statements of a 'common homeland Kurdistan' based on notes of an interview with Abdullah Öcalan [imprisoned leader of the PKK] and by using arguments of an illegal organization towards the organization's aims". Sadak was represented by his lawyer Şakir Demir during the hearing. In his defence speech, lawyer Demir stated that his client's utterances should be evaluated within the right to freedom of thought concerning a politician's view on current developments. Demir furthermore claimed that Sadak's statement did not include contents that would constitute a crime. According to the lawyer, Sadak referred to "Kurdistan" as a geographical region and a historic fact. Demir said Sadak meant that a place called "Kurdistan" exists. The court was not convinced and sentenced the mayor to imprisonment of one year according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Act (TMY). On 13 April, the Diyarbakır 4^th High Criminal Court handed down a prison sentence of 10 months to Sadak under the same charges on the grounds of a photograph in the 2010 calendar.

17 April. Şamil Tayyar, Ankara correspondent of the Star newspaper, was handed down a 15-month prison sentence by the Bakırköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance. On 22 June 2009, he had reported about Colonel Dursun Çiçek, who supposedly signed the "Plan against Reactionary Forces", to have signed his related statement at the prosecutor with a different signature. Tayyar had previously been sentenced to a total of 35 months imprisonment in two different cases. In the context of three different convictions, Tayyar had written that "despite the directive of Prime Minister Erdoğan, the AK Party [ruling Justice and Development Party] is delaying the amendments of the Turkish Criminal Code and it is no longer of my concern". On 22 June 2009, Tayyar had made the headlines of Star newspaper with his article "20 signatures are the same, just one is different". The Forensic Medicine Institute, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), the Criminal Offices of the Police and the Gendarmerie had confirmed that the signature on the document belonged to Dursun Çiçek. The Bakırköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Tayyar to 15 months imprisonment under charges of "violating the secrecy of an investigation" and the "attempt to influence a fair trial" on the grounds of his article. The court postponed the pronouncement of judgement and decreed for a five-year probation period. The latest penalty handed down to Tayyar could not be executed because the case was opened before the previously opened cases were decided. Tayyar had previously received two prison sentences of 15 and 20 months, respectively.

15 April. The Ankara 11^th High Criminal Court decided to bring pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Istanbul MP Sebahat Tuncel to court by compulsion in order to take her statement regarding the prosecution under allegations of "praising a crime and a criminal". 23 members of the Women's Assembly of the banned Democratic Society Party (DTP) are tried together with MP Tunel. President Judge Kadir Kayan decided to issue another warrant to bring Tuncel to court by compulsion and to file a criminal complaint with the officials responsible for the first warrant not reaching Tuncel.

13 April. The 4^th High Criminal Court in Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey handed down a prison sentence of one year to Siirt Mayor Selim Sadak in the first and only session of the case. Reasons for the conviction are pictures of the Newroz festival included in the 2010 calendar issued by the Siirt Municipality. The pictures in the calendar allegedly showed the "flag of the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party. Sadak's punishment was mitigated to imprisonment of 10 months due to "good conduct".

14 April Former Head of the Intelligence Department Sabri Uzun gave his statement in the 15 April hearing of the case against journalist Nedim Şener. Facing prison sentence of up to 32.5 years in total, Şener stands trial in three different cases launched on the grounds of his book "The Dink Murder and the Intelligence Lies". In the hearing held at the 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance, Uzun stated that he had no information about the planned killing of Hrant Dink, then editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper, since he did not have access to the reports collected from the agents before they had been archived. Without mentioning his name directly, Uzun claimed that C Branch Manager Ali Fuat Yılmazer kept the report from him intentionally. Uzun stated, "Related to the period of time Şener is describing in his book, I said that 'if the state holds responsibility for the murder of Hrant Dink, this is my responsibility', and that is true. There was the written report notifying about a 'crucial action to be done' which referred to the planned murder of Dink. If this report had reached me before it was archived, this would not have happened". Şener faces imprisonment of up to 28 under charges of "identifying officials on anti-terrorist duties as targets". The criminal complaint against the journalist was filed by Ramazan Akyürek, then Chief of Police in Trabzon (Black Sea coast), Ali Fuat Yılmazer, C Branch Manager of the Police Intelligence, intelligence police officer Muhittin Zenit and Intelligence Branch Manager of the Trabzon Police Directorate Faruk Sarı. Journalist Şener said after the hearing: "In my book I wrote that Head of the Intelligence Department Ramazan Akyürek and C Branch Manager Ali Fuat Yılmazer neglected their duties. Uzun spoke as a former head of department at the time when the murder of Dink was being planned. He said, 'yes, the department neglected this duty, because these reports were kept from me'".

On 14 April, the Diyarbakır 4^th High Criminal Court continued the trial against Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Hatip Dicle on the grounds of speeches delivered on different dates. The prosecutor demanded a three count penalty according to article 7/2 TMY under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK organization" and "committing a crime on behalf of an illegal organization without being a member of the organization" and another sentence under articles 314/2 and 314/3. Dicle is facing imprisonment of 30 years in total. The court is also prosecuting Ahmet Ertak, Mayor of Şırnak, under charges of "spreading organizational propaganda".

12 April. The Simav Criminal Court of First Instance in the province of Kütayha (western Turkey) handed down a prison sentence of eleven months and 20 days to journalist Mustafa Arıgümüş. The chief editor and columnist of the Simav'ın Sesi newspaper was charged with insulting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an anecdote the journalist had published. Journalist Melih Kaşkar, editor-in-chief of the Milas Önder local daily (south-west Turkey), was sentenced for the same reason. The 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance in Adana (south-eastern Turkey) convicted Sevda Turaçlar from the Ekspres newspaper of the same offence in a single session of the trial. Her sentence was suspended. Arıgümüş found the anecdote in the internet and published it in his column in the local daily on 28 December 2009. He argued that the anecdote had been published on several websites before and stated, "I had no intention at all of insulting Prime Minister Erdoğan".

10 April. Sakine Yalçın, former ediotor-in-chief of the Alınteri newspaper, was notified by the Court of Appeals 9^th Chamber's approval of the decision regarding a TL 620 (€ 310) monetary fine. Yalçın had initially been sentenced by a local court on the grounds of insulting the Turkish Parliament. The decision was approved unanimously on 1 February 2010. The journalist received an immediate application for payment. The case was opened on 10 February 2004. In her article entitled "The class against the class" published on 14 September 2003, Yalçın wrote about approving publications by the "capital press" related to the parliamentary permission to send military troops to Iraq. Subsequently, she had criticized that the news of established media organs had supported that tendency. In the following article, the journalist criticized the TBMM's, the General Staff's and the government's approach in favour of the permit. She wrote: "During this process of organization and solidarity, where we are taking new steps to become a social power, each move that tears the permit easily passed through the "stable" or the labour laws in the work places will deepen the crisis of our class solidarity". The 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance had sentenced Yalçin to imprisonment of six months according article 159 of the former Criminal Law ("insults" to the Turkish state) on 1 February 2007. The sentence was converted to monetary fine of TL 620. The court had acquitted the journalist of charges of publicly insulting and ridiculing the state's military forces and the Republic.

8 April. The 5^th High Criminal Court in Diyarbakır, a Kurdish majority-city in south-east Turkey, handed down a three-year prison sentence to Leyla Zana, former MP of the closed pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP). Zana was charged with "propaganda for an illegal organization" because she had called Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the "leader of the Kurdish People". The court based the charges on speeches made by Zana during the Democratic Society Congress on 20-22 September 2008 and in the course of a sit-down strike carried out on 1-3 November 2008 as a protest action against the supposedly worsening detention conditions for Öcalan. Lawyer Fethi Gümüş said, "This is the maximum sentence that could be given and the court did not apply any kind of mitigation. We will file an appeal, of course". Leyla Zana had been on trial since 9 January 2009. The prosecution had previously demanded prison sentence of one year and six months for each of her speeches.

5 April. The Diyarbakır Prosecution launched a trial with members of the peace groups that entered Turkey in October 2009 via the Iraqi border. The prosecution demands prison sentence of a total of 127.5 years for the 17 defendants. Elif Uludağ, Gülbahar Çiçek, Lütfü Taş, Mustafa Ayhan, Vilayet Yakut, Şerif Gençdal, Hamyet Dinçer, Hüseyin İpek, Abdullah Yaman, Fatma İzer, Ayşe Kara, Bülent Aka, Nizar Buldan, İsmail Ayas, Zehra Tunç, Sisin Yaman and Nurettin Turgut are charged with "propaganda for the PKK" and "praising crime and a criminal" on the grounds of a press release issued on 30 November 2009 at the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Foundation (IHD). 26 refugees from the UN refugee camp in Mahmur and eight former members of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) crossed the border to south-eastern Turkey upon imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's call on 19 October 2009. The members of the so-called "peace groups" had given their statements to the prosecutor after they had entered the country. Subsequently, five people were temporarily detained before all group members had eventually been released on 20 October.

1 April. "We say that we are not experiencing a struggle against terrorism but in fact an undeclared war, let it be just or not, between the state powers and rebellious insurgents". Statements like this were shown as reasons to sentence Günlük newspaper journalist Veysi Sarısözen to imprisonment of 15 months under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK", the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party. The Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court based its decision on an article entitled "Terror or war?" published on 14 June 2007. Journalist Sarısözen was convicted under article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Act (TMY). The court did not consider converting the penalty into a monetary fine or suspending it. The court acquitted former Günlük newspaper concessionaire Veysi Ürper. It was decided to extend the arrest warrant previously issued on former editorial manager Özlem Aktan since his statement could not be taken yet. The court will take a decision after his statement will have been heard. Sarısözen and current newspaper concessionaire Ziya Çiçek are facing imprisonment of another 7.5 years each for the article "It is not us but the people spreading organizational propaganda" published on 6 February 2009. Additionally, Sarısözen stands trial on the grounds of his article entitled "One of the results of the election" published on 10 April 2009. In this writing, the journalist demanded to release PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on Imralı Island since 1999.

16 March. The Adana 7^th High Criminal Court decided for the acquittal of Hasan Hüseyin Reyhan, Head of the Assistance and Solidarity Association for Families of Detainees and Convicts in Adana (THAY-DER). He was charged with "praising crime and a criminal". It was learned in the beginning of April that charges against Reyhan had been dropped due to a "lack of elements of crime". He was facing a prison sentence because he had referred to imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as "respectable". Reyhan had delivered a speech in the course of a protest action on 4 May 2009. The demonstration was against the arrest of DTP members.

Mustafa Koyuncu, editorial manager of the Afyonkarahisar Emirdağ newspaper: Mustafa Koyuncu, editorial manager of the Afyonkarahisar Emirdağ newspaper, is facing imprisonment and a TL 440,000 (€ 220,000) compensation claim on the grounds of the article entitled "Did we have to enter the EU like that? They are abusing their position" published on 12 March 2007. Koyuncu was arrested and later on released pending trial. The journalist is tried both at the Emirdağ Criminal Court of First Instance and at the Civil Court of First Instance. He was arrested on 13 March under allegations of "insult via the media" and released pending trial one week later under the condition to publish a counterstatement.

Pacifist Halil Savda. Halil Savda, owner and director of the www.SavasKarsitlari.org ('antimilitarist.org) website, is tried at the Beyoğlu (Istanbul) 3^rd Magistrate Criminal Court because he quoted an article about Ahmet Ateşli entitled "Ağar: Allegations and beyond". The charges are based on sentences such as "The senior staff of the Istanbul Police Directorate has close relations to Istanbul's underworld. The most important coordinators of these relations are the retired chief of the homicide office, Ahmet Ateşli, and Mehmet Ağar". The trial was adjourned to 24 March 2011.

Publisher Fatih Taş. Fatih Taş, owner of Aram Publishing, is facing imprisonment of up to five years on the grounds of the book "Footpath (Memories of a Guerrilla - 4). He is tried under charges of "spreading PKK propaganda" according to article 7/2 of the TMY.

Fırat News Agency. The Ankara 17th Criminal Court of First Instance prosecutes Ali Barış Kurt, reporter for the Fırat News Agency and the Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper, and journalist Mehmet Nuri Kökçüoğlu, under charges of "praising crime and a criminal", "inciting hatred and hostility amongst the public" and "alienating the public from military service via the media" because of news items published on the internet site GunesinCocuklari.com ('Children of the Sun'). The case was postponed to 7 July. The trial started on 10 March. The General Staff Presidency had filed a complaint against the defendants because they had called the people responsible for the death of 12-year old Uğur Kaymaz 'murderers' and because they advocated for the right to conscientious objection.

Abdurrahman Dilipak. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak on the grounds of the article "Is Sezer sick" published in the Anadolu'da Vakit newspaper. The case will be re-tried at the Bakırköy Criminal Court of First Instance. Dilipak had received a 1.5-year prison sentence under article 299 of the TCK on "insult of the President". The sentence was mitigated to eleven months and 20 days before it was converted into a monetary fine of TL 10,600 (€ 5,300). The case was opened because of an article which allegedly insulted then President Sezer. Dilipak was acquitted by the local court but the case was retried by at the Court of Appeals General Criminal Board upon the appeal of the Court of Appeals Public Prosecution. By the majority of two votes, the court reversed the acquittal and decided for Dilipak's punishment.

The case against Türkiye'de Cuma (Friday in Turkey) magazine journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak and 6 newspaper correspondents was closed by prescription. Defendants Mustafa Karahasanoğlu, general publishing coordinator, responsible manager Cengiz Almış and newspaper staff Mustafa Hacımustafaoğulları, Hüseyin Arı, Yalçın Turgut andAbdurrahman Şeref Kazan were facing between six months and three years imprisonment each on the grounds of the articles "If the pasha does not listen to reason", "Undisciplined Pashas" and "The essential condition for the military is not secularism, it is patriotism", published between 29 August and 3 September 2003.

A total of 181 trials have been opened against Vakit newspaper because of news related to the "Ergenekon" trial and its defendants. Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu, responsible editor of the Vakit daily, received a 2 years and six months prison sentence. 120 cases have been opened against employees of the newspaper under charges of "violating the secrecy of an investigation", 17 because of the alleged "attempt to influence a fair trial", 30 trials under charges of "insult of a public official", 8 cases because of alleged insult of institutions, 2 cases for "publishing personal data" and 4 trials under charges of "insult". The newspaper announced that two cases were opened against Vakit under charges of "violating the secrecy of an investigation" on the grounds of articles concerned with the alleged "coup diaries" of former Cumhuriyet newspaper Ankara correspondent Mustafa Albay. The articles subject to the trials were entitled "This is also from Balbay's Diaries", "Number One gave up" and "Başbuğ: Balbay broke the agreement, we are sorry". The Bakırköy (Istanbul) 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced Karahasanoğlu to imprisonment of 2.5 years under charges of "violating the secrecy of an investigation" based on news about the murder of Üzeyir Garih which is part of the "Ergenekon" indictment and about the Dağlıca raid. The same court handed down a one year and three months prison sentence to Karahasanoğlu under the same charges because he reported about military statements related to the "Dağlıca" raid carried out on 21 October 2007.

Fehmi Kılıç from the Revolutionary Movement. Fehmi Kılıç, editorial manager of the Revolutionary Movement (Devrimci Hareket) magazine, is tried at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court on the grounds of praising members of the Revolutionary Path (Devrimci Yol) organization, namely Veysel Güney, Behçet Dinlerer and Ali Başpınar, in the magazine's writings. He is charged with "spreading propaganda for a terrorist organization". The trial will be continued on 1 July. Kılıç is tried because of the articles entitled "Behçet Dinlerer is the revolutionary path", "Following Ali Başpınar" and "We cherish Veysel Güney".

Gurbet Çakar from Rengê Hevîya Jinê. Gurbet Çakar, editorial manager of the Kurdish-Turkish Rengê Hevîya Jinê women magazine, stands trial at the Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court under charges of "spreading propaganda for the PKK organization". The coming hearing is scheduled for 1 July. 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 6^th High Criminal Court handed down a one year and three months prison sentence to Aktaş's successor Sibel Esmer. Esmer appealed to the decision.

BDP member Mehdi Tanrıkulu. Journalist Mehdi Tanrıkulu is tried at the Diyarbakır 5^th High Criminal Court. He attended a press release issued by the BDP Bismil District Mayor and also delivered a speech even though the press release had been forbidden by the Diyarbakır Governorship. The case will start on 23 September. Tanrıkulu is furthermore prosecuted together with DTP Fatih mayor candidate Ali Kılıç at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court on the grounds of a speech made during the opening ceremony of the election office when he was DTP District Mayor of Fatih.

Koçali and Peköz from Günlük. A decision may be reached in the hearing on 2 September at the Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court. The prosecutor demanded the punishment of Günlük newspaper officials Filiz Koçali and Ramazan Pekgöz according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law. Koçali and Pekgöz are facing imprisonment of up to 7.5 years each on the grounds of an interview held with Murat Karayılan, Head of the Turkish Democratic Confederation (KCK), urban arm of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), within the Union of Kurdistan Societies, the umbrella organisation that includes the PKK. Newspaper owner Ziya Çiçekçi is tried in the same case as well. In the issues from 7, 8 and 9 August the Kurdish Günlük newspaper had published the interview in three different sections entitled "We did what Hasan Cemal wanted", "I completely agree with Yaşar Kemal" and "If the state would take one step we would take two". On the basis of the interview the republic chief prosecutor's office claims "spreading PKK propaganda" and sees legal grounds of guilt because the descriptions emanate from a member of the organization.

Hakan Tahmaz, İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu and Bülent Yılmaz from Birgün .

The trial against human rights defender Hakan Tahmaz and Birgün newspaper officials İbrahim Çeşmecioğlu and Bülent Yılmaz based on the publication of an interview with executives of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was postponed to 12 September. The defendants are facing prison sentences of up to three years each. The hearing on 1 June before the Istanbul 10^th High Criminal Court was attended by un-detained defendants Tahmaz and Çeşmecioğlu. The court decided to allow Çeşmecioğl's lawyer additional time in order to prepare his client's defence. Human rights defender Tahmaz, Birgün newspaper editorial manager Çeşmecioğlu and Yılmaz, owner of the daily, 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" published in the Turkish left-wing daily on 9 August 2008. Court Prosecutor Savaş Kırbaş demanded to punish the three defendants on the grounds of the above mentioned interview with Murat Karayılan, leader of the People's Confederation of Kurdistan (KCK), known as the umbrella organization of the PKK. The interview was made on Qandil Mountain in northern Iraq, where the PKK headquarters are located. Prosecutor Kırbaş requested a prison sentence of up to three years each for Tahmaz and Çeşmecioğlu. Yılmas is facing a heavy monetary fine. The interview was published over four pages of the daily (10-13). It was said, "Hakan Tahmaz talked to KCK leader Karayılan on Qandil Mountain. Although Karayılan had emphasized that the person on the street did not want to live in violence any longer, he had also said that they would continue with activities related to what they called 'the legitimate war of defence'".

Writer Temel Demirer. The trial against writer Temel Demirer under article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Law was postponed to 27 October. Demirer is tried on the grounds of his statement, "Hrant Dink was not killed for being Armenian, but for recognising the genocide [of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915]." Following Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin's decision to allow the trial against the writer under the notorious Article 301, the 2^nd Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance is awaiting whether the Ankara 4^th Administrative Court will cancel this permission.

Ahmet Türk. Former co-chair of the shut-down pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) Ahmet Türk is tried at the Diyarbakır 4^th High Criminal Court because of speeches he made between 2006 and 2009 in Diyarbakır, Batman, Siirt, Mardin and Roj TV. Türk has given his statement. The case was postponed to 2 December.

Corrections and Legal Redress

Journalist İzzetin Oktay from Duruş newspaper was attacked by the police when he covered a press release and the following events organized by the Siirt Provincial Organization (south-eastern Anatolia) of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). Oktay filed a criminal complaint because he was assaulted by the police and his camera was broken. Six months after his complaint there is still no result. Oktay gave his statement to the prosecutor after his complaint. He was told, "We are investigation the incident by reviewing DVD footage. We will inform you when the analysis is finished". An expert from the police was appointed for the investigation. The journalist from the Duruş daily claimed that the police confiscated his pictures when he was working on a news report on Monday (7 December). Oktay argued that the policemen surrounded him and beat him with their fists and truncheons. "They confiscated the memory card of my camera. They damaged my camera beyond repair by slamming it to the ground a couple of times. They beat me with their fists and truncheons. They also addressed me with insulting curses. They wanted to arrest me. I had trouble to recover. I collected the parts of my camera and went away", Oktay described the incident.

The Şişli (Istanbul) 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance found Yasin Yıldız guilty of threat and insult and handed down a prison sentence of three years and three months to him on 10 June. Yasin was convicted on the grounds of e-mails he had sent to employees of the weekly Armenian Agos newspaper after the murder of Agos editor-in-chief Hrant Dink in 2007. A local court in Şişli had previously sentenced Kenan Celepoğlu to a monetary fine of TL 8,000 (€ 4,000) in compensation because of e-mails sent to the Armenian weekly containing insult, threat and racism. In the same context, Muhammet Karay received a prison sentence of three years and three months; Zafer Filiz was sentenced to three years and Rıdvan Doğan to two years in jail. Requests to suspend the sentences of the four un-detained defendants were dismissed. Yıldız accepted the charges pressed against him. He stated that he had been agitated because of the publications and propaganda related to the Turkish-Armenian question. He sent the e-mails to the address of the newspaper as a way to let off steam, he claimed. In accordance with the prosecutor's final submission, the court decreed for a three-year sentence based on "threat" and another three months imprisonment for "insult". The latter punishment was postponed.

Yaman Akdeniz from the Bilgi University School of Law filed a criminal complaint against the Internet Office Directorate of the Telecommunication Communication Presidency (TİB) on the grounds of their conscious neglect to publish statistics on internet access restrictions since 2009. Akdeniz is the founder of Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties, a non-governmental organization based in the UK. He said that is was not enough for Turkey to sign the European Convention on Cyber Crime, but that the state had to amend domestic laws in order to enforce the convention. Akdeniz argued, "Time is ripe to sensitively implement regulations regarding the protection of personal data".

After the 24-hour broadcast in the Kurdish dialect of Kırmançi, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation TRT now also launched the Arabic channel TRT El. In the opening ceremony held in the Dolmabahçe Palace on the European banks of the Bosporus on 5 April, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed the common roots of Arabic and Turkish. Deputy PM Bülent Arınç emphasized that the channel was designed as a family channel and has been sensibly worked on for almost a year. He said that the channel can be watched by more than 3 million viewers via three different satellites. The Deputy Prime Minister indicated that he travelled many countries in the Middle East during the past months and that TRT's Arabic channel was expected with great anticipation. Cumhur Kılıçoğlu, owner of the Siirt Mücadele ('Siirt Struggle') newspaper, declared that the language used in the Arabic broadcast of  TRT E1 Turkey differs from the Arabic spoken in Siirt to an extend that it cannot  be understood by the viewers. "The Arabic spoken on TRT is a general form of the language. The Arabic spoken in Turkey comprises a number of dialects. The Arabic spoken on TRT E1 for example is that much different that it is incomprehensible for viewers in Antakya, Şanlıurfa, Mardin and Siirt", he said.

The Provincial Directorate for Public Education of Tunceli (eastern Turkey) announced to have launched an investigation into threatening e-mails sent to the local Tunceli Emek newspaper by Süleyman Çakmak, Manager of the Provincial Public Education Branch. The local newspaper run by three women had received the e-mails sent under the alias of "striking cobra" ('vurucu kobra') after publishing the article entitled "Public education and a strange education" written by Dilek Karakoyun. Karakoyun had criticized the public education system in her article. The Tunceli deputy Şerafettin Halis submitted a resolution of questions to be answered by the National Education Minister, Nimet Çubukçu. Halis asked, "Is it correct to have a manager in the educational sector who calls himself a cobra, a poisonous snake, and as if that was not enough "striking" cobra - and who insults and threatens people?"

Reactions to Censorship and Monopolization

The Ministry of Justice replied to a resolution of questions submitted by BDP Batman deputy Ayla Akat Ata to Prime Minister Erdoğan. The ministry announced that a total of 7,500 trials were opened against 33,489 people between 2007 and 2009 in the scope of articles 251, 216, 217 and 220/6/7/8 of the Turkish Criminal Law (TCK), article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) and the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations. 10,942 of these defendants were sentenced to imprisonment or monetary fines. In 2009, 34 people were tried in relation to article 216 TCK on "inciting hatred and hostility amongst the public and humiliation of the public." 16 people were acquitted, 12 defendants were sentenced to prison, 3 people received monetary fines. Article 7 of the TMY was the reason for the prosecution of 4,169 people in 1,824 trials in 2009. 956 defendants were acquitted, 1,643 received prison sentences, 97 monetary fines, 96 both prison sentences and monetary fines.

In June, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım joint the discussion on the access ban imposed to the video sharing site YouTube two years ago. "Everybody in this country is obliged to abide by the laws. We do not meddle with anybody's freedom to do internet commerce. Turkey is a state of law. Everybody should be tied to the force of law", the minister said. Yıldırım had a message for the people protesting the internet censorship as well, "They might be willing representatives and passionate advocators; that is not of our concern". Yıldırım reminded the fact that the Turkish government initiated the process to become a member of the European Convention on Cyber Crimes. Member states of the convention correspond with each other whether legal exchange should be carried out regarding any incident, he argued. During a speech delivered at the award ceremony of the "IT 500" survey carried out by the Interpromedia Research Service, Yıldırım said, "YouTube is treated just like any other ordinary person".

Taraf newspaper writer and Kurdish politician Orhan Miroğlu announced that his condolences for killed soldiers and PKK members expressed in a program on TRT-1 were censored. Miroğlu attended the program "All Aspects" ('Enine Boyuna') hosted by Taha Özhan and offered his condolences for the deaths that had occured in Şemdinli in the south-eastern province of Hakkari. Miroğlu argued that the contents of his article entitled "An unrestful writing" published on 23 June did not differ from what State Minister Egemen Bağış had stated at the Feqiye Teyran'i commemoration ceremony in Van when he said that "more than eleven people died in this armed conflict". Therefore, the censorship was not understandable, Miroğlu criticized. He stated that the program was produced on 22 June and broadcasted the same night, however his words had been omitted: "I also offered my condolences to the twelve PKK members who died in the raid. The package program was audited according to the TRT regulations and somebody cut my expression of condolence for the deceased twelve PKK members. A commercial break was given at an unsuitable moment without informing the program director beforehand. You express your condolences for people who died and right there you are being censored. I expect a statement", Miroğlu said.

A "Media Awareness Consultation Meeting" was held on 23 June by Prof. Davut Dursun, President of the Radio Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), the Minister of the Interior, Prof. Beşir Atalay, the Undersecretary of Public Order and Security, Muammer Güler and the President of the Police Directorate, Oğuz Kağan Köksal in cooperation with the Television Publications Association (TVYD). The meeting was also attended by executives of national television channels. Minister Atalay said, "Audiovisuals and statements that play into the hands of the organization [PKK] should be avoided. You know best that broadcasts that instigate violence influence the public like an arrow shot from a bow. We talked about the according expectations of the public and the principles of publication for this issue. The media has an important duty in all activities that harm our country in any aspect. It is a struggle everybody has to contribute to and particularly the media has a crucial duty in this. [...] The printed and visual media should consider this in their publications. Influential propaganda is the organization's foremost aim. Long news that deepen the pain facilitate the organization's accomplishment to reach that aim. Printed and visual media all over the world avoid publications that instigate terrorism. The UN has issued principles accordingly. We want the media to be careful about publication policies on the topic of terrorism".

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) urged the Turkish government to lift bans on Google and related internet services. The OSCE demanded to align internet laws with international standards. In a letter sent by the OSCE Representative for Media Freedom, Dunya Miyatoviç, to the Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, she said, "I request the Turkish officials to lift the obstacles that restrict Turkish citizens from participating in the global information society. I furthermore demand to implement necessary reforms into Law no. 5651 on Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publications".

The Minister of Transport, Binali Yıldırım, stated, "The deceleration of Google services has nothing to do with Turkey. The issue was intentionally lead into a certain direction. Google bought YouTube which was banned by a Turkish court. The IP numbers of the YouTube site were mixed with their own IP numbers which created problems".

On 8 June, Yaman Akdeniz, member of the Bilgi University Faculty of Law, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kerem Altıparmak, member of the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science, filed an appeal to the Telecommunication Communication Presidency (TİB) because of the restricted access to Google services implemented on 4 June. The Ankara 1^st Magistrate Criminal Court had banned access to the global social networking site YouTube.com, a video service owned by Google, with a decision from 4 May 2008. In order to increase the effect of this decision, certain services of Google which are activated under the same IP numbers were blocked as well. bianet.org publication coordinator Ertuğrul Kürkçü confirmed the problem with Google Analytics. He said that the interruption of both YouTube and Google services had many negative effects: "Google analytics is an absolutely crucial service for us since it is the basis of our analysis of the viewing figures of our publications and of information related to our sources. For the past week we were not able to obtain any significant data that would allows us to measure the reactions of our readers. This makes us blind. We are not able to make use of Google Docs for our internal correspondence and documentation. Even if we manage to use it, we are facing massive delays. This creates problems in processing data". The Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) evaluated the obstructed access to several Google services as "a restriction of freedom of communication". Reporters without Borders (RSF) condemned the increasing censorship on Google in Turkey. "It is time the Turkish authorities demonstrated their commitment to free expression by putting an end to the censorship that affects thousands of websites in Turkey and by overhauling Law 5651 on the Internet, which allows this sort of mass blocking of sites," Reporters Without Borders said. "The censorship of YouTube in particular seems to be an archaic form of control, one that prevents Turks from accessing Web 2.0's potential," the press freedom organisation added. "This trend has been accentuated by the current problems in accessing other services provided by Google, which are widely used by Turkish internet users."

The Awards for Freedom of Thought and Expression from the Turkish Publishers Association (TYB) were given to Nedim Şener, Recep Sahip Tatar and author Sadullah Gökgiyas. Şener is being tried on the grounds of his articles and books. Tatar is the owner of Su Publishing and had a number of books published by his company that were seized by the authorities. Şener gave a speech at the prize giving ceremony, "When I was writing the book 'The Dink murder and the lies of the Intelligence', journalists who were said to have been close to Dink in particular had become like toys of the intelligence. They limited the incident to the police only, whereas the intelligence as well as the police and Ergenekon have their part in this. I did not get to know Dink personally when he was still alive. But his death is the grief of all of us. I did not say this up to now but today I say it. I want to say 'I am Hrant Dink too'".

The Yörsan Food Products Co. Inc. calls the EmekDunyasi.net ('Labour World') website to withdraw their online publications related to the Yörsan resistance in 2008. Otherwise, Yörsan is going to take legal measures against the website. EmekDunyasi.net had posted the news about 400 Yörsan workers on their website, who were made redundant by the dairy company because of their membership in the union. The website furthermore reported about the following joint struggle of the workers and the Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverages and Food Subsidiary Workers Union of Turkey (Tek Gıda-İş). In a written statement signed by Yörsan official Taner Çalışkan on 20 May 2010, the company demanded the website to remove the related news from the site within two days. The demand was based on Law No. 5651 on "Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Suppression of Crimes Committed by means of Such Publication". According to the company, the news published in 2008 "do not comply with the actual current situation" and also "the topic's actuality needs to be considered". Thus, Yörsan demands to have the news removed. Yörsan claims to act on behalf of "commercial prominence" and "protecting the brand equity worth billions of Turkish Lira". The company declared to take legal measures in case the contents will not be removed. An EmekDunyasi.net official said in an announcement made on 3 June that a company worried about their brand equity should especially respect the right to be unionized as a constitutional right. "We are certainly not going to remove the news related to Yörsan from our archives", the website official said. "Considering the news we published, there is not the slightest doubt about the correctness and the appropriateness regarding journalistic principles. We stand by all our news published since the foundation of our site in August 2007", EmekDunyası.net declared.

The Professional Association of Book Interpreters (ÇEVBİR) supported publisher İrfan Sancı and interpreter İsmail İsmail Yerguz who are sued for certain books they brought to Turkey. ÇEVBİR criticized the decision of the Istanbul 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance to have two books reviewed by the Prime Ministerial Board for the Protection of Children from Harmful Publications, namely the Turkish translations of French P.V.'s "Letters of a Well-Mannered and Knowledgeable Bourgeois Woman" and of "The exploits of a young Don Juan" by Guillaume Apolliniare. "These works are obviously not addressed at children, they are not being promoted to the readers as "children books". The children are used as an excuse to make the works the subject of a prosecution. This is the manifestation of justifying a prohibiting mentality to intervene against our social and cultural life. We protest the mentality to try to prosecute these works of literature over the criteria of "obscenity" which does not exist in literature criticism. The quality of literature should only be assessed by the readers, critics and history of literature".

The Press Institute Association condemned the telephone tapping of newspapers' switchboards. "We cannot expect to freely establish relations to sources of the press in a country where telephone tapping becomes more widespread in a carefree manner. A threat to press freedom means a threat to democracy", the association announced. Former Deputy Chief of the Police Directorate, Emin Arslan, stated in a hearing at the Istanbul 9^th High Criminal Court on 28 May that the switchboards of Milliyet, Radikal, Posta and Fanatik newspapers were illegally wiretapped. TGS President Ergan İpekçi argued, "It was us who revealed Ergenekon, it was us who reached the forces behind the 'deep' state". İpekçi indicated that neither the state nor the Prime Minister could abdicate from their responsibility for the telephone tapping. "Tapping of newspapers' switchboards and journalists' phones cannot be accepted in any aspect related to freedom of expression in the media". Head of the ÇGD, Ahmet Abakay, criticized, "There is a common guilt if the political power does not take measures. Somebody has to be responsible for the state's bugging devices. Was that TİB [Telecommunication Communication Presidency] or was it the Minister of Justice? Whoever, they should be called to account at court". If defendant Emin Arslan's claims are true, the freedom of obtaining information was violated in hundreds of cases because up to 850 employees of four different newspapers allegedly were wiretapped. Arslan had also stated that IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers of the Milliyet newspaper were bugged as well due to news concerned with the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

A party was organized at the Ghetto Bar in Beyoğlu (Istanbul) with support of the Turkish Informatics Foundation on 26 May in order to draw attention to internet bans. Sedat Ergin from Hürriyet newspaper, Yıldırım Trürker from the Radikal daily, cinema and music critic Sevin Okyay, Referans newspaper jounalist Eyüp Can and Yavuz Baydar from Sabah newspaper were invited as DJs. Faruk Eczacıbaşı from the Turkish Informatics Foundation said that internet bans were related to unawareness and lack of education in terms of judicial implementations in particular. Eczacıbaşı indicated that he believed it was his duty to draw attention to these problems. "Internet bans are a shame for the civilization. A ban means that various information was conveyed to Turkey wrongly. We have to avert this pathetic situation", he said. Hürriyet reporter Ergin argued, "When you look at the current human rights reports in the West, you can see that the access bans imposed on certain internet sites is the most problematic area of freedom of expression in Turkey. I am very sad about that. Turkey, seeing itself as a part of the Western world, is being perceived by the world in the same league as China and Iran. This hurts me a lot and makes me sad". RSF has included Turkey together with Russia to the group of "countries under surveillance" in order to draw attention to Law No. 5651 on Internet Crimes and judicial procedures. In recent years, several websites were banned for various reasons, for instance the sites of MySpace, GoogleGroups, Dailymotiın, Geocities, Gazetevatan, Eğitim-Sen, İstanbul indymedia, Richard Dawkins, Özgür Gündem, Günlük newspaper and Keditör. In some cases, the Telecommunication Communication Presidency (TİB) implemented court decisions; in other cases they acted ex officio.

According to Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin, throughout the past three years permission was issued for 83 prosecutions under article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Court (TCK) on "Insulting the Turkish People, Republic of Turkey and Governmental Institutions and Bodies". The Justice Minister gave a speech at the International Symposium on the topic of "Relations between the Judiciary and the Media in Contemporary Democracies". Ergin referred to the amendment enforced in May 2008 which stipulated the requirement of the ministerial permission for launching trials and investigations related to article 301. The Minister announced that a total of 1,252 applications were made within the past three years until 30 April 2010 accordingly. Ergin pointed out that regarding the remaining 1,042 files, 7 percent of all applications were considered. "These figures very clearly show our approach as the Ministry of Justice towards freedom of thought and freedom of expression ", he indicated.

Yüksekova District Governor Çetin Çelik filed a criminal complaint on the grounds of the article entitled      "Don't be afraid, Mr. District Governor" and the news item "The implementation that plagues Yüksekova" written by Erkan Çapraz from the YuksekovaHaber.com website. The complaint was communicated on 15 May by reason of alleged "insult" against Çelik. In case the Yüksekova Public Chief-Prosecutor will open a case against Çapraz, the journalist will face imprisonment of up to two years and eight months. Çapraz, general publication director of the website, went to the Chief Prosecution together with his lawyer Kubettin Bayazit to give his statement. Referring to the news "The implementation that plagues Yüksekova", Çapraz stated, "The news about the application at the entrance of the government's mansion does not reflect my personal view but the opinion of the public and of the Hakkari Bar Association". In his writing, Çapraz noted down his observations when he was going to the prosecution to give his statement and criticized that the District Governorship was closed to the public.

The Human Rights Foundation (İHD) Diyarbakır Branch initiated a signature campaign to support Vedat Kurşun, imprisoned former editor-in-chief of the Azadiya Welat newspaper. Kurşun was sentenced to imprisonment of 166 years and six months on 13 May 2010. The campaign "Freedom for Vedat Kurşun" was launched by the Kurdish Azadiya Welat daily and several other institutions. İHD branch official Burhan Zorooğlu condemned the decision in an announcement. He argued that the decision did not comply with any legal norms and showed the democratic situation in the country. On 17 May, the Southeast Journalists Association (GGC) condemned the decision as well. The announcement included the writings "Vedat Kurşun is not alone", "Freedom for Vedat Kurşun" and "Freedom for the Kurdish language", furthermore many photos of Kurşun and the front-page story of Azadiya Welat on 14 May 2010 entitled "166 years". Koçali criticized, "Newspapers publishing in Kurdish, television stations and other broadcasters are meant to remain breathless in the judicial clamp of the Anti-Terror Law of the government". The same mentality of extra-judicial executions and bombings of newspaper buildings brings journalists into prison today because of the news they make, he argued.

On 10 May, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek introduced a report about the situation of press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Çiçek put forward that out of a total of 222 cases brought before the Ministry of Justice during the first four months of this year only four permissions were issued. It is not clear who these four files belong to. It was said that the article was amended in May 2008 and that "freedom of expression was taken under a two-fold assurance" since an investigation respectively prosecution depended on the permission of the Ministry of Justice.

At least 15 members of a total of 54 countries being part of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) drew attention to violations regarding press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey in the UNHRC session on 10 May. The speakers demanded to adapt the referring laws to international standards. Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister of Turkey, Cemil Ciçek, presented a report on behalf of Turkey in the context of the Universal Periodic Review-UPR, a human rights mechanism of the UNHRC that reviews the human rights situation of all 192 UN Member States every 4 years. Çikek illustrated the government's efforts in his speech, saying that the endeavour to establish a National Human Rights Board is still continuing. In the context of article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code on "insults" to the Turkish state, Çiçek explained that amendments have been made and that 7.2 percent of all approved investigations and trials were considered since May 2008, whereas the remaining procedures were dropped. Countries criticizing Turkey for significant deficits in freedom of expression were e.g. Brazil, Switzerland, Armenia, Chile, Bangladesh, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico, the USA, Uruguay, Australia, France, Japan and Germany. International PEN, the International Publishers Association (IPA) and Index On Censorship presented a joint report to the Council in which they called Turkey for urgent reforms of the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMY) and the Turkish Criminal Court (TCK).

On 10 May, the Human Rights Association (İHD) rewarded politicians, journalists, publishers and writers with its annual "Freedom of Thought" award bestowed to deceased human rights defender Ayşe Nur Zarakolu. In a ceremony held in the Istanbul Bar Association, the following people were awarded: Ahmet Türk, former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) who is exposed to a political ban since the party was closed by the Constitutional Court in 2009; Aysel Tuğluk, former DTP deputy who is exposed to a political ban as well; editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, Mehdi Tanrıkulu, who is currently detained for presenting his defence at court in Kurdish; detained Aram Publishing company owner Bedri Adanır and Günlük newspaper journalist Veysi Sarısözen, who received a 15-months prison sentence in April this year.

On 5 May, the access ban to the global video sharing website YouTube entered its third year. The Ankara 1^st Magistrate Criminal Court imposed the ban on 5 May 2008 on the grounds of contents allegedly tainting the memory of Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Even if this decision would be revoked, there are more than ten trials on censoring the site waiting in line. The Turkish officials requested YouTube to establish a representation in Turkey. Website officials declined the request, saying that they could not audit contents according to the different countries. The Head of the Internet Technology Association (INTED), Mustafa Akgül, criticized that Turkey was harmed by internet bans imposed as solutions for marginal internet problems. After YouTube, also LastFM.com.tr applied to the European Court of Human Rights because of censoring their site. Assoc. Prof. Yaman Akdeniz applied to the ECHR on behalf of Cyber-Rights.Org.TR regarding the access ban to LastFM.com.tr on the grounds of a violation of the Turkish internet users' right to access, obtain and share information. Akdeniz, faculty member of the Bilgi University School of Law, wrote in the application, "The 'permanent' access ban to the websites of Web 2.0-based communities and websites hosted by these communities is an interference with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights".

According to the Media Association, the World Press Freedom Day on 3 May does not only carry importance for journalists, but for the Turkish society as a whole. "A press which is freer, more independent and of better quality will improve the quality of democracy in our country and our standard of living", the association stated. The Media Association reminded the observations of Freedom House, a monitoring organization based in the USA, saying that press freedom declined in almost all parts of the world during the last year. Freedom House furthermore ascertained that press freedom has been constantly on the decline during the past eight years. The Association criticized the convictions of journalists because of their writings such as Nazlı Ilıcak, Şamil Tayyar, Sevilay Yükselir, Hüseyin Kocabıyık and Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu. "This kind of countless examples illustrate that legal amendments are needed in order to remove obstacles before press freedom. In this respect, especially liberal regulations as enforced in the countries of the European Union and case law in favour of press freedom should be considered".

On 3 May, the World Press Freedom Day, members of the G-9 Journalists Organizations Platform applied to the Ankara Public Chief Prosecution in order to find out whether tapping decisions were issued in their names and whether their phones were being wiretapped. Birgün newspaper journalist Doğan Tılıç, representative of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), made a press release in front of the Courthouse, saying, "We are experiencing another World Press Freedom Day without any pride in terms of freedoms". He called on his fellow citizens to use their civil rights and file similar applications. Tılıç described the problems of his profession and also referred to imprisoned journalist Vedat Kurşun, former editorial manager of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, who is facing 525 years in jail.

More than 500 people, among them Turkish intellectuals and human rights defenders, sat down quietly on Istanbul's centrally located Taksim Square around a banner saying "This pain is our pain, his mourning is the mourning of all of us". They commemorated in silence the 95^th anniversary of the deportation of Armenian intellectuals. Candles had been lit around the banner. During a few days around 24 April 1915, 220 Armenians were exiled from the Ottoman Empire by force and then killed. Among them were artists, authors and other representatives from the intellectual and cultural world. They were taken to Ayaş and Çankırı in northern Anatolia where they were killed. Commemoration events were furthermore held at the Haydarpaşa Train Station on the Anatolian side of Istanbul and at the Galatasary Square on Istanbul's lively district of Beyoğlu. Intense security measures accompanied the events. 67 intellectuals had initiated the commemoration on Taksim Square. Small groups of people calling themselves ülkücü (ultra-national neo-fascist) provoked the silent group by gatherings in front of the nearby French Consulate and a hotel opposite Taksim Square.

u Reporters without Borders (RSF) demanded to drop the charges pressed against journalists Nedim Şener and Kemal Göktaş on the grounds of their books related to the Hrant Dink murder case. The organization emphasized that the judiciary gives preference to "second degree" problems such as the prosecution of journalists while the murder case is delaying justice. "As long as the judiciary has not revealed all aspects of the murder and the involved politicians and police officials have not been called to account, the accusations put up against Nedim Şener and Kemal Göktaş will remain groundless and untimely", RSF said.

European Parliament Human Rights Subcommittee President Heidi Hautala participated in the General Assembly of the European Journalists Federation (EFJ) with a video message. She stated, "Laws on press freedom are not being implmented sufficiently. The civil society plays an important role since there is not enough monitoring. Pressure is inflicted on rights defenders since nationalism is still a strong force in Turkey". The Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) hosted the event in Zeytinburnu (European side of Istanbul) on 17 April. Former judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Rıza Türmen stated, "The ECHR's decision regarding the tolerance of politicians should be put up in bold letters for Turkish politicians. It cannot be said that the government has silenced the opposition as a whole. You are free as long as you move within the given limits. In this respect, press freedom means informing the people and not criticizing the government", Türmen pointed out.

Entry to Turkey was denied to Kariane Westrheim, President of the European Union Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) on 24 April. Westrheim came from Brussels to Istanbul, Atatürk Airport, because she was going to attend a conference in Diyarbakır. She returned to Brussels the same day. The Ministry of the Interior stated that Westrheim was banned from entering the country because "her entering would constitute a threat to the general security".

Nesrin Günay, student of the Marmara University Faculty of Communications, was sacked from her library job by Dean Prof. Ahmet Lütfi Okran because of alleged "amity with leftist students" based on a press release she attended at the İHD Istanbul Branch on 8 April. Günay said, "I finished my shift and left the library to meet my friends at school. The demonstration finished at that time. In fact I did not shout any slogans or participated in the demonstration. Nevertheless, the police took footage of how I approached my leftist friends. The secretary of the faculty called me one hour later and told me that I had been made redundant".

The Istanbul 13^th High Criminal Court imposed a publication ban on the weekly Emperyalizme ve Oligarşiye Karşı Yürüyüş ('Marching against Imperialism and Oligarchy') magazine ("Yürüyüş" magazine in short) because of alleged "propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of the article entitled "We are on the way to Kızıldere". The article refers to the massacre in the village of Kızıldere which happened 38 years ago. Court Judge Ömer Diken furthermore decided on 4 April to confiscate the current issue of the magazine published on the very same day. Besides the mentioned article, the 22^nd issue's cover reads "Kızıldere, we are coming". The court decreed for "spreading propaganda for a terror organization" based on both headlines. However, the name of the organization was not specified. The article describes the journey from Istanbul to Kızıldere. The journey sets out at the Gazi district of Istanbul at the grave of Dursun Karataş, leader of the Party and Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of the Turkish People (DHKP-C) who died on 12 August 2008. Karataş is remembered as the "uncle" by members of the People's Front. The publication of the magazine was banned for one month according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Act (TMY), the confiscation decision was based on article 25/2 of the Press Law. The court announced that an investigation was launched by the Public Chief Prosecutor about magazine owner and editorial manager Metin Bulut. Magazine officials said in a written statement, "Of course we write about the people around Mahir that died. [Mahir Çayan is one of the founders of DHKP-C.] It is not a crime to write about Kızıldere and about the revolutionary manifesto created at Kızıdere. The real crime is the attempt to silence the voices of the revolutionists".

In a press release on the occasion of the Day for Murdered Journalists, Turkish Journalists' Society (TGC) President Orhan Erinç said that the negative approach towards journalists left the doubts about democracy as pressing as ever. The press release was made at the Divanoğlu Sultan Mahmut Mausoleum, where murdered Serbesiti newspaper editor Hasan Fehmi Bey was laid to rest in 1909. Erinç drew attention to the fact that from the killing of journalist Hasan Fehmi on 6 April 1909 till the latest murder of journalist Cihan Hayırsevener in Bandırma (southern coast of the Sea of Marmara) on 18 December 2009 a total of 62 journalists were killed in Turkey within the past 100 years. Erinç appreciated the efforts of the laureates and criticized the latest decisions of cases against journalists which resulted in "probation" and "postponing the pronouncement of the judgement". He also reminded to the recent conviction of Nazlı Ilıcak, previous member of the TGC steering board. "Turkish journalists are doing their profession under probation in a country said to be very democratic nowadays. We as the TGC are careful not to make any assessment before a court decision has not been finalized. In our opinion, fair prosecution has been harmed in terms of freedom of expression and journalism. The government inhibits the continuation of trials by postponing the pronouncement of judgement, because you do not have the right to apply to the court of appeals unless the judgement has been pronounced".

European Court of Human Rights

The case opened by Abdurrahman Dilipak against the file related to the complaint of Güven Erkaya has reached its final state. Erkaya had opened a trial against Dilipak because his house was exempt from seizure after the journalist had been convicted to a heavy monetary fine on the grounds of his article entitled "If the pasha does not listen to reason". Dilipak is still negotiating with Erkaya to reach an amicable agreement while the pronouncement of judgement concerning the trials against Hurşit Tolon and İlgaz Zorlu are expected soon.

On 2 June, the ECHR decreed for the payment of € 17,000 (approx. TL 32,300) in compensation for politician Abdulkerim Bingöl. Bingöl had been sentenced to imprisonment under charges of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" on the grounds of a speech he delivered at the Democratic People Party (DEHAP) congress. The State Security Court (DGM) had sentenced Bingöl to imprisonment of one year and six months according to the former Article 312 of the Turkish Criminal Law. The politician had quit his duty as a Muslim prayer leader in order to become a DEHAP candidate in the elections. He had previously served a prison sentence of seven months because of his thoughts he expressed on the Kurdish question on 28 February 2003. The ECHR unanimously decided for an illegal restriction of Bingöl's right to freedom of expression.

On 12 June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentenced Turkey to a monetary fine of € 22,600 (TL 44,000) in compensation because of the one-month publication suspension imposed on the two pro-Kurdish weekly newspapers Yedinci Gün (Seventh Day) and Toplumsal Demokrasi (Social Democracy). 12 Turkish press professionals had applied to the ECHR, namely the owners, executive directors, editors-in-chief, news directors and journalists of the two weekly newspapers. In the 15 June hearing, the ECHR decreed that there had been a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerned with freedom of expression. The Strasbourg court pointed to a recent identical complaint, the case of Ürper and Others v. Turkey, in which it had found a violation of Article 10. It then "saw no particular circumstances in the present case requiring it to depart from the previously drawn conclusions. The Court observed that the suspension of the publication and distribution had not been imposed on concrete news reports or articles, but on the future publication of entire newspapers". The ECHR criticized the domestic courts, which "restricted the essential role of the press as a public watchdog in a democratic society". The publication of Yedinci Gün and Toplumsal Demokrasi newspapers was suspended for one month in January 2008. The decisions taken by high criminal courts were based on article 6/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (printing or publishing propaganda for a terrorist organization).

On 8 June, the ECHR decreed for a monetary fine of € 3,000 in compensation for each of the applicants Ercan Gül, Deniz Kahraman, Zehra Delikurt and Erkan Arslanbenzer. The complainants had been arrested in November 1999 under charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization" because they allegedly shouted slogans in favour of the TKP/ML organization (Turkey Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist). The ECHR found Turkey guilty of violating the right to freedom of expression. The Strasbourg-based court emphasized that the slogans were shouted in the course of a legal demonstration and did not refer to violence. The court stated that in a democratic and pluralistic society even shocking or disturbing thoughts should be tolerated. The court deemed the sanctions and procedures as "disproportionate" and decided for a monetary fine of € 12,000 in total. The decision was taken by a five to two majority vote.

On 8 June, The European Court of Human Rights unanimously convicted Turkey of a violation of freedom of expression because of seizing the book "Tarkan, the Star Phenomenon" ('Tarkan, Yıldız Olgusu'). The ECHR decreed for a € 2,000 monetary fine in compensation to be paid to applicant Özcan Sapan, executive of Chiviyazıları Publishing. Another € 1,000 has to be paid for court expenses, so the total fine for Turkey sums up to € 3,000 (TL 6,000). The book is based on a study into the star phenomenon of the popular Turkish singer Tarkan carried out by Assoc. Prof. Dr N. Aysun Yüksel, member of the Faculty of Communication at the Anatolian University. The study was published by Chiviyazıları Publishing. In her study, Yüksel focused on the social and economic dynamics of the development of a star phenomenon on the example of Tarkan. She found out that stars carry certain functions in the consumption society. The book was published in 2001 and its copies were later on seized upon a decision by the Istanbul 11^th Criminal Court of First Instance. The singer Tarkan Tevetoğlu, domestically and internationally known as Tarkan, applied to the court in Istanbul on 17 September 2001 for the confiscation of the book. The book comprises 31 portraits taken from different press publications and three magazine covers. Tarkan had demanded to ban the book because of an alleged attack on the singer's reputation and personality. The court decided in favour of Tarkan's request three days later and decreed for a seizure of the book. On 3 September 2001, Tarkan filed a lawsuit for a compensation claim with publisher Sapan.

On 20 May, the ECHR convicted Turkey of violating freedom of expression in the case of USA citizen Norma Jeane Cox. Cox had applied to the ECHR because she had been banned from re-entering Turkey due to her religious activities. Having worked as a lecturer at Istanbul University and the Middle East Technical University in Ankara during the 1980s, she was expelled and banned from re-entering the country by order of the Ministry of the Interior in 1986 on account of statements she had made before students and colleagues on Kurdish and Armenian issues. After returning to Turkey later, she was arrested in 1989 while distributing leaflets protesting against the film "The Last Temptation of Christ", and subsequently expelled again. When leaving Turkey after a visit in 1996, an entry was made in her passport stating that she was banned from entering. She has been unable to return to Turkey since then. The ECHR decided to solely examine the case under article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights considering "freedom of expression" in regard to "the applicant's failure to submit any reports documenting her claim that reports had been compiled about her on account of her religious activities". In the session on 20 May, "the Court considered that the ban on re-entering Turkey imposed on the applicant on account of her previous conversations with students and colleagues constituted an interference with her rights under Article 10". The court accepted that this interference was made by the state in the "interest of national security or national integrity". However, any restrictions imposed on the rights guaranteed under Article 10 had to be "necessary in a democratic society". "The Court observed that there had never been any suggestion that the applicant had committed an offence by voicing controversial opinions on Kurdish and Armenian issues and no criminal prosecution had ever been brought against her". The ECHR decreed for a violation of Article 10 and sentenced Turkey to a monetary fine of € 12,000 in compensation.

On 20 May, the ECHR unanimously decided for a violation of freedom of speech regarding the seizure of Günlük Evrensel newspaper ('Daily Universal'). The newspaper allegedly continued its publication after it had been suspended as the result of a raid. Turkey has to pay a total of € 9,000 (approx. TL 18,000) in compensation to newspaper officials Fevzi Saygılı and Nizamettin Taylan Bilgiç. The Istanbul State Security Court had ruled for a one-month suspension of the Yeni Evrensel ('New Universal') newspaper in November 2000. The publication of the Yeni Evrensel newspaper was suspended on 22 July 2001. The next day, the Günlük Evrensel newspaper started publishing. The police notified the newspaper of the decision to close down the daily on 8 September 2001. They informed the prosecution when they became aware of the situation. However, the Zeytinburnu (Istanbul) Prosecution was of the opinion that the Günlük Evrensel was the continuation of the Yeni Evrensel newspaper and decided to seize its last two issues.

Penalties of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK)

"Genocide" penalty for Habertürk

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) decided to impose a broadcasting ban on the Turkish television station Haber Türk on the grounds of writer Sevan Nişanyan's thoughts on the "Armenian genocide". Nişanyan was a guest at the program "One to one" hosted by Fatih Altaylı and had referred to the killing of a huge number of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. RTÜK took the decision on 16 June and notified Haber Türk on 21 June. The Council indicated that Nişanyan, one of several guests in the program, "exceeded the limits of criticism" with his statements that allegedly "humiliated the Republic of Turkey". RTÜK suspended the broadcast of one program of "One to one". The "One to one" program on issue was broadcasted on 9 March 2010 at 8.00 pm during the process when the Armenian Bill was accepted by the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. The Council based the punishment on article 4(i) of Law no. 3984 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Broadcasts as amended by Law no. 4756 on "Broadcasting Standards". Accordingly, "broadcasts shall not offend the personalities of individuals beyond the limits of criticism, shall respect the right to reply and rectification". Haber Türk can apply to the Administrative Court to annul the decision. RSF criticised the procedures of RTÜK in an announcement.

Warning for "Ladies' Farm"

RTÜK issued a warning to Kanal D by reason of an episode of the series "Lady's farm" broadcasted on 19 March 2010. The character "Güllü", featured by actress Özgü Namal, cursed her father and older brother in the episode on subject. According to RTÜK, the broadcast was "opposing national and moral values of society and the structure of the Turkish family".

On 16 June, RTÜK imposed a monetary fine to Show TV on the grounds of alleged "encouragement to hatred via a broadcast". The program on subject was aired on 15 February and showed clashes in the course of demonstrations in several provinces. By majority vote, RTÜK decided for a violation due to "encouragement to resort to violence" and "racism". RTÜK member and lawyer Mehmet Dayak did not support the decision. Dadak said that the topic of the news was of public benefit. He demanded to review the principle of "proportionality" in case the penalty should be given.

Smoking banned from TV screens

Based on Law No. 4207 on Preventing the Hazards of Tobacco Products, RTÜK is determined to ban any pictures of cigarette consumption from television. The Ankara 4^th Magistrate Criminal Court decided that programs produced before the law was enforced should not be sanctioned. On 4 April it turned out that RTÜK filed an appeal against this decision. RTÜK wants the Court of Appeals to reverse the judgement for the public interest and stated that there were "no exceptions regarding the date of production of the program". Protest was voiced against the ban of cigarette pictures. People criticized that 'classic' productions were distorted because even then any pictures of cigarettes were blurred.

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* The report cannot be a complete documentation of all incidents - it rather gives an idea about the variety and density of current implementations that target press freedom and freedom of expression.

For more information: BİA Media Monitoring Desk,      Tel: (0212) 251 15 03, Fax: (0212) 251 16 09,        E-mail: hukuk@bianet.org