Turkey: Petition to free Turkish singer

October 14th, 2010

More than 1000 people have signed petition calling on authorities to drop trial against singer and Ferhat Tunç, who is facing a prison sentence of up to 15 years after a speech he made at a cultural festival of Siirt. The case against the defendant is being heard at the Diyarbakir 4^th High Criminal Court. During a 1 October hearing, his joint lawyers claimed that Tunç’s speech, who was this year’s winner of the Index on Censorship/Freemuse award for his propagation of freedom of speech and human rights, should be assessed within the boundaries of freedom of expression. The court postponed the case to 4 November in order to gather missing documents.

Shortlist announcement for the Freedom of Expression Awards 2010

March 11th, 2010

The 10th annual Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards honour those who, often at great personal risk, have given voice to issues and stories from around the globe that would otherwise have passed unnoticed
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