Journalist indicted

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is condemning in the strongest terms the 10 June 1999 indictment of Andrew Finkel, a free-lance journalist based in Istanbul who reports for “Time” magazine and “The Times of London” and appears on CNN. **New case and update to IFEX alerts of 9 June and 20 May 1999** In a hearing today, […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is condemning in the strongest terms the 10 June 1999
indictment of Andrew Finkel, a free-lance journalist based in Istanbul who
reports for “Time” magazine and “The Times of London” and appears on CNN.

**New case and update to IFEX alerts of 9 June and 20 May 1999**

In a hearing today, Finkel, a British national, was charged with “insulting
state institutions” under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code. The charge
comes in response to a February 1998 article Finkel wrote for the daily
newspaper “Sabah” headlined “Shurnak 1998,” which discussed Turkey’s ongoing
military operations against the Kurds in the southeast. An expert panel’s
report, submitted to the court, concluded that Finkel did not insult the
military. Another hearing has been scheduled for 16 November, pending the
report of a second panel of experts on the validity of the charges. If
convicted, Finkel faces up to six years in prison.

After today’s hearing, Finkel said that the charges against him are but the
latest example of the Turkish authorities’ use of provisions of the penal
code to harass and intimidate his Turkish colleagues. “Because Prime
Minister Ecevit has himself stood in the darkness, as an imprisoned
journalist,” said Finkel, “it behooves him to join in the campaign to change
these repressive practices.”

The indictment of Finkel for his journalistic work violates the fundamental
norms for free expression as guaranteed under international law, and follows
a disturbing pattern of attacks on the press in Turkey in recent weeks.

CPJ last wrote to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on 19 May, expressing their
deep alarm at the 18 May conviction of “Cumhurriyet” columnist Oral Calislar
on the charge of disseminating “separatist propaganda” under Article 8 of
the Anti-Terror Law. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison by the Istanbul
State Security Court. The charge against Calislar stemmed from a 1993 book
he wrote, titled “The Kurdish Problem with Ocalan and Burkay.” The book
contains interviews – originally published in “Cumhurriyet” in June and July
1993 – with Kemal Burkay, head of the Kurdistan Socialist Party, and
Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, who is now
awaiting trial in Turkey on treason charges.

In an 8 June letter to Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk, CPJ protested the
arrest and indictment of Hasan Deniz, editor of the daily “Özgür Bakis”. On
4 June, Deniz was charged in the Istanbul State Security Court with
violating Article 169 of the Penal Code (aiding an illegal organization) and
immediately arrested. According to staff at “Özgür Bakis”, the charge
against Deniz stems from the newspaper’s publication of an article on 3 June
1999, headlined “PKK Gives Support to Öcalan’s Project.” The article
reported on a statement issued by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
supporting the call by Öcalan for an end to violence and a “democratic
solution” to political violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels.

In July 1997, the prime minister told CPJ’s delegation that as a former
journalist who had been imprisoned for his work, he “considered freedom of
expression as a vital component of democracy.”

Recommended Action

His Excellency Bulent Ecevit

Prime Minister

Basbakanlik

06573 Ankara, Turkey

Fax: +90 312 417 0476

E-mail: ddlbsl@tccb.gov.tr