1 Mar 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Journalist Ahmet Topcu has been sentenced to 11 months in jail for denouncing a proposal put forward by the Mayor of Rize, in north east Turkey. The mayor, Halil Bakirci, is currently a member of the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP). Topcu had published an article criticising the mayor’s suggestion that “Kurds should have co-wives” and that this would answer the “Kurdish question”. Bakirci was widely condemned at the time and has offered a public apology.
28 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Two Kurdish journalists have been sentenced to ten months of imprisonment each, after attending a demonstration in 2008. Vedat Yilidiz, Dicle News Agency, and Lokman Dayan, Güneydoğu Ekspres, have been convicted of “spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation”. They were among 25 defendants charged with “membership of an illegal organisation”. Both journalists attended the protests in their professional capacities, they said. The demonstration, at which the journalists were beaten by police, concerned the alleged violence against Abdullah Öcalan, the detained leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
17 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has dismissed remarks made by the US ambassador in Ankara. Diplomat Francis J Ricciardone expressed concerns about press freedom in the country. His comments came in response to the detention of four journalists following a raid on opposition news portal Oda TV. The foreign minister said that he did not think it was right for “ambassador to pass judgment on an ongoing criminal investigation”, and claimed press freedom was not the issue.
17 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost
The Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court rejected a bid to release journalist Suzan Zengin in a hearing on Tuesday. She writes for the Worker Peasant newspaper (İşçi Köylü). Charged with “membership of an illegal organisation”, she faces up to 15 years in prison. Her next hearing will take place on 14 June, by which stage she will have been detained for almost two years. Meanwhile, a person known only as K.B. has been arrested for plotting to assassinate Turkish journalist Mehmet Metiner, who believes he was targeted because he adheres to AKP policies.
