Authorities have detained Erdal Süsem since February 2010 on charges of helping lead the outlawed Turkish Maoist Communist Party, or MKP. The charges, for which he was sentenced to life in prison in May 2010, relate to Eylül Sanat Edebiyat Dergisi (September Arts Literature Magazine), a leftist culture magazine that the journalist started while in prison for an earlier arrest in the 2000s.
In a letter published in February 2012 by the independent news website Bianet, Süsem said he had been detained on the MKP accusations and charged in February 2010. He said the evidence against him consisted of journalistic material such as books, postcards, and letters, along with accounts of his newsgathering activities such as phone interviews. Süsem made similar statements in a letter to the Justice Ministry that was cited in news accounts.
Authorities alleged that Süsem’s magazine produced propaganda for the party.
Süsem started the magazine, which featured poetry, literature, and opinion pieces from imprisoned socialist intellectuals, during an earlier imprisonment at Tekirdağ F-Type Prison. After producing the initial four editions on a photocopier from prison, Süsem transformed the journal into a print publication after his 2007 release and circulated 16 more issues.
In September 2017, the journalist’s lawyer, Fazıl Ahmet Tamer, told CPJ that a court in May 2010 found Süsem guilty of being a leader of the banned group and sentenced him to life in prison. According to Tamer, prosecutors said that the magazine being produced by prisoners was evidence of Süsem’s ties to an illegal organization. Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the verdict on September 24, 2011.
Süsem’s earlier imprisonment stemmed from allegations in March 2000 that he stole a police officer’s handgun that was later used in a murder. Süsem pleaded not guilty to the gun theft and murder charges. The gun possession and related charges against Süsem were twice rejected by Turkey’s Supreme Court, which ruled in 2005 and 2007 that there was insufficient evidence to link Süsem to the crimes.
However, without new evidence, after Süsem was imprisoned in 2010 on propaganda charges, the Supreme Court reversed its stance and convicted him in 2011 on gun theft, murder, and other charges and reinstated a life sentence.
The court proceedings that led to his conviction were marked by inconsistencies. For example, in his Bianet letter, Süsem wrote that the police officer, whose stolen gun was later used in a number of crimes, testified that Süsem was not the person who had stolen it. Witness descriptions of the suspect did not match the journalist, his wife Eylem Şahlar Süsem told CPJ.
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights declined to pursue Erdal’s 2011 case, according to court records.
Eylem Süsem told CPJ in November 2023 that the Constitutional Court ordered a retrial in September of that year, and the first hearing was held in October. She said her husband was not brought to court for the hearings, instead attending through teleconference.
CPJ monitored the December 15, 2023, hearing in which the 12th Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes decided to uphold the sentence and keep the journalist in prison. During that hearing, Süsem spoke to the court by teleconference and said the case lacked evidence that he was a member of any illegal organization and he had committed any crime. The head judge interrupted him several times, asking him to cut his arguments short.
Elçin Arı, Süsem’s current lawyer, told CPJ that they will appeal the decision once more at the Supreme Court of Appeals. Süsem’s lawyer and wife both told CPJ that they do not have much hope for the appeal’s success and they expect the journalist to serve the rest of the sentence.
Arı told CPJ in late 2024 that they had yet to hear from the Supreme Court of Appeals about their appeal.
Arı said that Süsem is set to be released conditionally, under judicial control, on December 26, 2032, if the appeal is rejected and his current sentence is allowed to stand. She added that Süsem would be eligible one year before that date for transfer to an open prison, where he would be allowed to leave during the day but need to return in the evening.
Süsem was being held in the Edirne F-Type Closed Prison in the western city of Edirne, his wife told CPJ. Dicle Fırat Journalists Association, a press freedom group based in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır, published a letter from Süsem dated March 21, 2022. The journalist said he is unable to access the publications he wants, and it takes months to receive publications on arts and literature.
Süsem’s wife said in 2023 that they are allowed a one-hour visit per week at the Edirne Prison, and alleged that visitors are harassed by prison personnel. Leftist publications are not allowed in the prison, and the prisoners can only watch the TV and radio channels the authorities allow, she added.
Eylem Süsem told CPJ in May 2024 that she and Erdal Süsem had divorced, and she would no longer be able to provide information about the journalist.
Süsem’s health is fine and there have not been any rights violations in the past year, his lawyer Arı told CPJ in November 2024.
In November 2022, Süsem published a novel titled “Kusursuz Cinayet” (“The Perfect Murder”).
CPJ’s email to the Turkish Ministry of Justice in November 2024 did not receive any reply.