Click here to read Nadire Mater’s personal statement Last week, Nadire Mater, a reporter with Inter Press Service (IPS), learned that she had been formally charged with “insulting” the Turkish military-a crime under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code. If convicted, she faces between one and six years in prison. The charge stems from…
By Nadire Mater Istanbul, September 21, 1999—A local prosecutor in Beyoglu, Istanbul has finally indicted me under Article 159 of the penal code ( “insulting and belittling the military”) for having published the statements of former army soldiers who I interviewed for my book Mehmedin Kitabi(“Mehmed’s Book—Soldiers Who Have Fought in the Southeast Speak Out”). The…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing in response to the Turkish parliament’s approval last month of an amnesty law (law 4454 for 1999) that will secure the release of a number of jailed journalists and writers imprisoned on the basis of their published work and which is expected to temporarily cancel dozens of other prosecutions pending in court.
Click here to read CPJ’s September 17 letter to Prime Minister Ecevit. September 17, 1999—On August 28, the Turkish parliament approved an amnesty bill that will secure the release of a number of journalists and writers who were jailed on the basis of their published work. The law was signed by President Suleiman Demirel on…
June 8,1999 His Excellency Hikmet Sami T&uuulm;rk Minister of Justice Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply alarmed by the recent arrest and indictment of Hasan Deniz, editor of the daily &Oulm;zg&uuulm;r Bakis. On June 4, state prosecutors at the Istanbul State Security Court charged Deniz with violating Article 169…
Istanbul, Turkey, July 23, 1999–The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a report today documenting Turkey’s continuing use of criminal prosecutions to silence journalists who report on sensitive topics, such as the Kurdish question and the role of Islam in politics. At a press conference in Istanbul, a CPJ delegation expressed its concern…
May 5, 1999 His Excellency Selcuk Oztek Minister of Justice Adalet Bakanligi 06659 Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by yesterday’s verdict in the retrial of 11 police officers accused in the January 1996 murder of Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the leftist daily Evrensel. The Afyon court’s decision…
May 5, 1999 His Excellency Selcuk Oztek Minister of Justice Adalet Bakanligi 06659 Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply dismayed by yesterday’s verdict in the retrial of 11 police officers accused in the January 1996 murder of Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the leftist daily Evrensel. The Afyon court’s decision…
(On June 10-after this article had been completed-Andrew Finkel was summoned by an Instanbul Criminal Court to answer charges that he had insulted the Turkish military — a crime under article 159 of the Turkish penal code. The charges stem from a story published in February 1998 in the daily Sabah, in which Finkel reported on…
Ozgur Bakis, June 3, 1999 Full support for Ocalan The PKK supports its leader Ocalan’s proposal for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue, made during his ongoing trial at the island of Imrali. The PKK Executive Council announced that it was prepared to do everything necessary for the success of Ocalan’s efforts for a…