Articles by IPS Communication Foundation – Bianet
Islamic newspaper’s columnist charged with “denigrating the armed forces”
(BIANET/IFEX) – Authorities have filed a lawsuit against Abdurrahman Dilipak, a columnist for the Islamic newspaper “Anadolu’da Vakit”, for his article titled “Cübbe Sarik” (“Religious cloak and turban”), which was published on 13 February 2008. He is accused of “denigrating the armed forces through media.” The case was filed following the complaint made by the […]
Publisher of controversial history book convicted on one charge, acquitted on another
(BIANET/IFEX) – On 17 June 2008, the Istanbul 2nd Court of First Instance ruled on the case of Ragip Zarakolu, the owner of Belge Publishing. Zarakolu was on trial for “denigrating the State and the Republic” and “insulting Atatürk’s memory”, for publishing George Jerjian’s book, entitled “History Will Set Us Free”. Zarakolu was convicted of […]
Conscientious objector Halil Savda sentenced to five months in prison for speaking in support of Israeli conscientious objectors
(BIANET/IFEX) – Halil Savda, a conscientious objector, who is already in jail for supporting other conscientious objectors, was sentenced on 2 June 2008 to five months in prison for supporting two Israeli conscientious objectors. Sultanahmet First Court of First Instance in Istanbul sentenced Halil Savda to six months in prison for supporting in a press […]
ECHR orders compensation for Izmir human rights activist convicted over statement on US military involvement in Afghanistan
(BIANET/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of a 27 March 2008 BIANET statement: ECHR Sentences Turkey in IHD Case Turkey has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to pay 1,000 YTL (approx. 500 euros) in compensation in a ruling on appeals brought by two human rights activists from the […]
Kurdish newspaper’s editor jailed while awaiting possible trial on charges over articles
(BIANET/IFEX) – Vedat Kursun, editor of the Kurdish newspaper “Azadiya Welat”, has been in police custody since 5 February 2008, accused of “continuously spreading PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) propaganda.” The Diyarbakir Public Prosecutor has demanded that Kursun, who is also the license holder for the newspaper, be imprisoned for his alleged crime. In deliberations at […]
Access to Indymedia-Istanbul and YouTube websites blocked by court orders
(BIANET/IFEX) – Access to the Indymedia-Istanbul website has been blocked following a court decision. Access to the Wordpress and YouTube websites is also currently blocked. Turkey continues to close down whole sites because of individual contributions, a measure which has been condemned by both BIANET and Reporters without Borders (RSF). The Indymedia-Istanbul website, an independent […]
Academic given 15-month suspended sentence for comments about Ataturk
(BIANET/IFEX) – An Izmir court has sentenced Prof. Atilla Yayla to a suspended 15-month prison sentence for saying that Kemalism was “more regressive than progressive.” He was sentenced under Law No. 5816, which protects the memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The court announced the sentence for Yayla over utterances he made at a conference entitled […]
CAPSULE REPORT: Flood of “insult” lawsuits contradicts army’s professed tolerance of criticism
(BIANET/IFEX) – The following is a 13 March 2008 BIANET capsule report: Chief of Army: “I am Open to Criticism” Chief of General Staff Yasar Büyükanit expressed in an interview that he was open to criticism. So why are so many people are taken to court for “denigrating the armed forces”? Speaking to journalist Fikret […]