After 20 years in prison, Turkish journalist Hatice Duman says she has no hope of release
Hatice Duman is Turkey’s longest-serving jailed journalist. Now 50, she has been behind bars since April 9, 2003, 20 years into a life sentence on charges including propaganda and being a member of the banned Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Duman, a former editor for the socialist Turkish weekly Atılım, has denied the charges and…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of September 4
Police raid Kurdish magazine office Police raided Istanbul office of the pro-Kurdish magazine Özgür Halk today, the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reported. DİHA reported that the raid, which was in progress at the time of publication, was related to the magazine’s feature commemorating August 15, the date the banned Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) took…
Turkish court arraigns newspaper editors, columnist on terrorism charges
New York, August 23, 2016 – Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against two newspaper editors and a columnist jailed on terrorism charges and release them without delay, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 21
Kurdish wire reporter, newspaper employee arraigned on terrorism charges A court in Turkey’s eastern Van Province today arraigned Erdem Mühirci, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), and ordered him jailed, pending trial, on charges of “being a member of a [terrorist] organization” and “recruiting members for a [terrorist] organization,” DİHA reported. Mühirci…
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of August 14
Released journalists describe beatings in custody, headline ‘Resistance continues’ Journalists from the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, the pro-Kurdish DİHA news agency and broadcaster IMC TV released yesterday alleged that police beat and mistreated them in custody, Özgür Gündem reported on its website, which continues to publish despite a court order temporarily closing the newspaper.…
Journalists released from Turkish jails pending appeal
New York, May 9, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from jail on Thursday of Fusün Erdoğan, former general manager of Özgür Radyo, and Bayram Namaz, a columnist for the weekly Atılım, and urges Turkish authorities to remove restrictions on their travel and lift their prison sentences on appeal.
In crackdown on dissent, Turkey detains press, raids outlet
Istanbul, June 20, 2013–Two journalists were detained and one newsroom raided this week as Turkish authorities continued a broad crackdown on dissent, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to halt its obstruction of journalists seeking to cover the protests that have swept the nation.