(CPJ/IFEX) – On 27 February 1998, representatives of CPJ and the Press Council of Turkey urged Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to accelerate pending reforms of Turkish press laws and to request an immediate review of 12 cases of imprisoned reporters and editors, who the two groups say have been convicted on the basis of their […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – On 27 February 1998, representatives of CPJ and the Press
Council of Turkey urged Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to accelerate pending
reforms of Turkish press laws and to request an immediate review of 12 cases
of imprisoned reporters and editors, who the two groups say have been
convicted on the basis of their work as journalists. Press Council Chairman
Oktay Eksi and CPJ Executive Director William A. Orme, Jr. asked the Yilmaz
government to give the highest priority to the release of these journalists
as a sign of its continued commitment to press freedom.”Real journalists
should not be in prison”, said Yilmaz. “I do not consider any of these
people security risks.”
**Updates cases – see text**
In a private meeting on 26 February 1998, Prime Minister Yilmaz agreed to
examine the cases, and he reported that one legal reform initiative expected
to be approved by parliament next month could result in the release of
several of Turkey’s imprisoned journalists. He added that he is confident
that a major overhaul now under way of Turkey’s penal code would end most
criminal prosecutions of journalists. It will take at least six months for
the Turkish parliament to
conclude debate and pass the proposed legislation, he said. “We are
gratified that our collaboration with CPJ is producing important results”,
said Eksi. “It is clear from our conversations with the prime minister that
he shares our goals. It is our hope that within a few months Turkey will no
longer be mentioned as a country that imprisons more journalists than any
other, but will instead be seen as a model for the strengthening of press
freedom.”
Said Orme, “We are greatly encouraged by the prime minister’s commitment to
continuing reform. We hope that he will make the release of these 12
imprisoned journalists a matter of the highest priority, as the court
records make it absolutely clear that they were convicted unjustly, with
prosecutors citing as evidence of alleged illegality their legally published
journalistic work.”
The imprisoned journalists discussed in yesterday’s meeting are Ismail
Besikci, Hasan Ozgun, Serdar Gelir, Mehmet Cakar, Bulent Oner, Kemal Sahin,
Ibrahim Cicek, Bulent Sumbul, Asaf Sah, Ayten Ozturk, Sadik Celik and Haluk
Gerger (see case details below).
The Press Council-CPJ initiative on behalf of the 12 journalists was
endorsed by the International Press Institute and the World Press Freedom
Committee, among other journalists’ organizations.
CPJ and the Press Council also held meetings with Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem, Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu, Human Rights Minister Hikmet Sami
Turk, and the state minister in charge of media.
CPJ, the Press Council and other journalism groups have documented many
other cases of journalists who have been imprisoned in Turkey on charges not
directly related to freedom of expression. CPJ has identified as many as 20
others in Turkish prisons who it believes were convicted because of their
work as journalists or because of their affiliation with publications
subjected to official harassment in the past. Most were accused of alleged
membership in, or
support for, banned underground leftist factions or illegal armed separatist
groups. The Press Council believes that while many of these prosecutions
were marred by due process violations, these cases should not be categorized
as press freedom violations. Both organizations urged the government to
review all cases of journalists who may have been prosecuted because of
their work or affiliation with legally circulating publications.
In July 1997, a high-level CPJ delegation led by Vice Chairman Terry
Anderson and board members Peter Arnett and Josh Friedman met with Prime
Minister Yilmaz and his cabinet to seek an end to the prosecutions of
journalists and the release of imprisoned journalists, including 1996 CPJ
International Press Freedom Award recipient Ocak Isik Yurtcu. The initiative
was supported strongly by the Press Council of Turkey, which also
participated in the July meetings.
Yilmaz promised the delegation in July that his then week-old government
would take immediate steps to free imprisoned journalists and would present
a sweeping press law reform package to parliament. He said journalists and
others should no longer be prosecuted on the basis of “their thoughts and
their opinions.” In August 1997, Turkey’s parliament passed an amnesty law
that led to the release of seven jailed editors, including Yurtcu. According
to CPJ, at least 30 other journalists have been released from Turkish
prisons since Yilmaz took office.
The 12 imprisoned Turkish journalists discussed with Prime Minister Yilmaz
are:
Ismail Besikci, imprisoned since 13 November 1993:
Besikci, a prominent scholar and author of numerous books and articles on
the Kurds in Turkey, was arrested and charged with violating the Anti-Terror
Law for an article he wrote in the now- defunct dailies “Yeni Ulke” and
“Ozgur Gundem” and for books on the subject. By the end of 1997, he had been
sentenced to more than 100 years in prison, with additional charges pending
against him (see IFEX alerts dated 27 May 1997 and18 February 1998).
Hasan Ozgun, “Ozgur Gundem”, imprisoned since 9 December 1993:
Ozgun’s imprisonment was consistent with a pattern of official harassment of
“Ozgur Gundem.” Ozgun, Diyarbakir correspondent for “Ozgur Gundem”, was
taken into custody during a police raid on the paper’s Diyarbakir bureau and
charged under Article 168 of the Penal Code, with membership in the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was sentenced to 12 years and five months
in prison.
Kemal Sahin, “Ozgur Gundem”, imprisoned since November 1995:
Sahin, former editor-in-chief of “Ozgur Gundem”, was arrested and charged
with membership in the outlawed PKK. His prosecution and imprisonment
conforms to a pattern of harassment against “Ozgur Gundem.”
Serdar Gelir, “Mucadele”, imprisoned since 25 April 1994:
Gelir, Ankara bureau chief for the now-defunct weekly magazine “Mucadele”,
was arrested for allegedly belonging to an illegal organization. He was
arrested after covering an opposition rally for “Mucadele.” He filed a story
on the event. He was sentenced to more than 12 years.
Mehmet Cakar, “Partizan Sesi”, imprisoned since 13 February 1995:
Cakar, Izmir bureau chief of the leftist monthly “Partizan Sesi”, was
arrested and charged with membership in an outlawed organization. The
prosecution based its case on the fact that Cakar had distributed copies of
“Partizan Sesi” and had allegedly met with members of an outlawed
organization. In court, Cakar denied the latter accusation. He was sentenced
to 12 years and six months.
Bulent Oner, “Atilim”, imprisoned since 15 June 1995:
Oner was taken into custody during a police raid on the newspaper’s Mersin
bureau on 15 June 1995. He was charged on 24 June 1995 with membership in
the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), an accusation he
denies. Government investigators allegedly found numerous unspecified
“documents” linking Oner to the MLKP. Oner was convicted and sentenced to 12
years and six months.
Ibrahim Cicek, “Atilim”, imprisoned since 15 March 1996:
Cicek, the editor-in-chief of the leftist weekly “Atilim”, was charged with
membership in an illegal organization. According to his attorney, the only
evidence against Cicek was his affiliation with “Atilim”, which prosecutors
asserted was an organ of the MLKP, making Cicek allegedly a leader of the
banned organization. He was also accused of ordering an armed assault on the
offices of an ultra-right-wing party in Istanbul; the prosecutor’s evidence
was a story in “Atilim” on 23 March 1997, about the assault. Cicek said that
he was tortured by police while in custody. He was sentenced to 15 years
(see IFEX alerts dated 19, 21 and 26 March 1996).
Bulent Sumbul, “Ozgur Halk”, imprisoned since 24 April 1995:
Sumbul, a reporter in the Diyarbakir bureau of the pro-Kurdish monthly
magazine “Ozgur Halk”, was arrested during a police raid on the magazine’s
Diyarbakir bureau and charged under the Anti- Terror Law for allegedly
aiding the PKK. Prosecutors accused him of “being the leader of an
organizational cell, taking an active role in an illegal organization, [and]
acting as liaison for militants in rural and urban areas.” Sumbul denied the
charges. He was convicted and sentenced to three years and nine months.
Sadik Celik, “Kurtulus”, imprisoned since 23 December 1995:
Celik was detained and formally charged with membership in the outlawed
revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). The state’s case
rested almost exclusively on his activities as Zonguldak bureau chief for
“Kurtulus.” Celik was accused of conducting “seminars” for the DHKP-C in the
paper’s office, of publishing reports in “Kurtulus” which were allegedly
DHKP/C “propaganda”, and of distributing “Kurtulus” in Zonguldak. Celik was
sentenced on 17 October 1996 to 12 years and six months.
Asaf Sah, “Kurtulus”, imprisoned since 4 January 1996:
Sah, an Antakya reporter for “Kurtulus”, was imprisoned as part of a pattern
of official harassment against the magazine. Sah was convicted under Article
169 of the Penal Code for aiding an outlawed organization. He was sentenced
on 16 April 1996 to three years and nine months.
Ayten Ozturk, “Kurtulus”, imprisoned since 13 October 1997:
Ozturk, the publisher and editor of “Kurtulus”, was charged with membership
in the DHKP-C under Article 168/1 of the Penal Code. Ozturk surrendered to
the court on 13 October 1997. The main evidence cited at her trial was her
publication and distribution of an edition of “Kurtulus.” She was convicted
on 24 December 1997 and sentenced to 22 years and five months.
Haluk Gerger, imprisoned since 26 January 1998:
Gerger, a political scientist and writer, was jailed in Gudul Prison
following the Court of Cassation’s ratification of a one-year sentence
imposed by the Court of Appeals in December 1997. Gerger was convicted under
Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law. The charged was based on a 15 December
1993, article he wrote in “Ozgur Gundem” about the PKK. He was also fined
208 million Turkish lira for the article (see IFEX alerts dated 17 October
1995, 31 May 1996, 29 January 1998 and 18 February 1998) .
