Quotes costs Turkish journalist prison sentence

June 9th, 2010

Irfan Atkan has been sentenced to 15 months in prison under Turkey’s draconian anti-terror laws
(more…)

Turkey: Newspaper fined over article criticising army

May 13th, 2010

On 7 May, two newspaper employees were fined over an article criticising the Turkish army’s system of patronage. Over 300 army generals sued the pro-Islamic Vakit newspaper for libel over an article entitled “The country where people who cannot become corporals become generals”.  Haron Aksoy and Nuri Aykon were fined TL616,000 (£275,000) for the 2003 article. In other news, an Istanbul court sentenced two journalists for spreading terrorist propaganda. İrfan Aktan was handed a five-year prison sentence and Merve Erol received a heavy fine for “spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation” over an article for the Express newspaper.

Murder sparks angry protests by Iraqi Kurds

May 11th, 2010

Hundreds of university students assaulted a local parliament building in Erbil, the capital of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on 10 May. The students were taking part in an angry protest against the abduction and killing of Kurdish student and journalist Zardasht Osman. Protesters, many of them dressed in black, marched from the spot where Osman was abducted to the parliament building. They accused security and intelligence forces of being behind the killing. A similar protest will be held on Wednesday in Sulaimaniya.

Turkish mayor sentenced to one year detention for ‘Kurdistan’ reference

April 29th, 2010

Selim Sadak, mayor of the city of Siirt in south-eastern Turkey, was sentenced to 1 year’s imprisonment on 26 April after being found guilty of “spreading PKK propaganda”. Sadak’s conviction is came after he used the term “Kurdiastan” in a statement given to a journalist.

Editor of Kurdish daily faces 525 years in jail

March 8th, 2010

Vedat Kursun, former editor of Azadiya Welat, has been charged with 105 counts of “helping and abetting [the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party] by spreading propaganda” and “glorifying crimes and criminals”. His newspaper published numerous articles regarding statements and activities of the organisation, which his lawyer cites as published under the scope of freedom of expression and right to inform. His successor, Ozan Kilinç, was convicted and sentenced to 21 years imprisonment on similar charges in February.