Articles by IPS Communication Foundation – Bianet
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 […]
“Günlük Evrensel” newspaper, BIANET facing charges for article on ultranationalist group; charges against “Cumhuriyet” for violating ban dismissed
(BIANET/IFEX) – Prosecutor Muhittin Ayata in Istanbul has ruled that the prohibition on publishing or printing articles on the operations against the ultranationalist group Ergenekon is “unjustified”; he also ended legal proceedings against “Cumhuriyet” newspaper for violating the ban. The Ergenekon case started with the discovery of a weapons arsenal in Ümraniye, Istanbul, in 2007. […]
Various Diyarbakir authorities charged for publishing information in Kurdish or allowing language’s use at public events
(BIANET/IFEX) – A number of municipalities and local mayors in Diyarbakir are facing criminal proceedings for using Kurdish in their communications with the public, or even for simply allowing it to be used by citizens during public events. Diyarbakir is a Kurdish-majority city in the south-east of Turkey which has exploded in size because of […]
Lawyers demand change of judge in murder trial of three Zirve Publications employees
(BIANET/IFEX) – On 25 February 2008, hearings were held in the murder case of journalist Hrant Dink and in the separate case of three employees of Zirve Publications, also known as the “Malatya murders”. The future of Turkey’s democracy will be determined by the extent to which the shady connections in these murders are able […]
Suspects in journalist Hrant Dink’s murder and their lawyer removed from court after anti-Armenian hate speeches, interference with testimony
(BIANET/IFEX) – At the fourth hearing of the Hrant Dink murder trial on 25 February 2008, the court finally reacted to the intolerable behaviour of the defendants and their lawyer, Fuat Turgut. The fourth hearing had brought its usual share of tension, as the defendants and Turgut continued to behave aggressively toward the Dink family […]
Writer on trial for referring to Armenian genocide, urging others to do the same
(BIANET/IFEX) – During a protest gathering to condemn journalist Hrant Dink’s murder, writer Temel Demirer called on others to commit the same “crime” as Dink: to recognise the factuality of an “Armenian genocide.” He is now facing trial under Articles 301 and 216. The day after Dink’s murder on 19 January 2007, Demirer read a […]