The trial of forty-eight police officers accused of the murder of journalist Metin Goktepe in Istanbul on 8 January 1996 began on 18 October in Aydin. However, the delegation from Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) present at the trial has serious concerns regarding the conditions in which the hearings will take place. **Updates IFEX alerts dated […]
The trial of forty-eight police officers accused of the murder of
journalist Metin Goktepe in Istanbul on 8 January 1996 began on
18 October in Aydin. However, the delegation from Reporters sans
frontieres (RSF) present at the trial has serious concerns
regarding the conditions in which the hearings will take place.
**Updates IFEX alerts dated 16 July, 30, 12
and 9 January 1996**
None of the officers charged was present in Aydin. While their
absence may not be illegal, it is nonetheless both surprising and
worrying. Furthermore, it would seem that this is the first time
that people charged with murder have not been obliged to be
present during their trial. The judge deplored the fact that the
officers have yet to be heard by the public prosecutor. Moreover,
none of their statements has yet been transmitted to the Court.
Only five of the witnesses called on to give evidence by the
lawyers representing the Goktepe family were present. It would
seem that those who remained absent have been under pressure not
to testify. Last July, one of the principal witnesses for the
prosecution, Deniz Ozcan, was kidnapped and tortured.
RSF also has serious doubts about the choice of Aydin, 600
kilometres from Istanbul, for the trial, and regrets that demands
to have the trial transferred to Istanbul were rejected.
Although the presiding judge has refused to restrict public
access to the hearings, RSF points out that the trial of
Goktepe’s killers is, at this stage, neither fair nor equitable.
Too many hindrances to the judicial process have been noted. In
particular, Istanbul police chief Orhan Tasanlar, whose
responsibility cannot be denied in the death of Goktepe, does not
yet figure among the accused.
Background Information
Goktepe, a journalist for the newspaper “Evrensel”, died in
suspicious circumstances after being detained by police on 8
January. He is thought to have been beaten to death (see IFEX
alert).
