“Ozgur Ulke” banned from publication

**For Background, see IFEX CH alert dated 20 January, 1995** An Istanbul court decided on 2 February that “Ozgur Ulke” was the continuation of the now defunct “Ozgur Gundem”, and that therefore its publication violated the press law which states that “any publication that is clearly a continuation of a publication that was shut down […]

**For Background, see IFEX CH alert dated 20 January, 1995**

An Istanbul court decided on 2 February that “Ozgur Ulke” was the
continuation of the now defunct “Ozgur Gundem”, and that
therefore its publication violated the press law which states
that “any publication that is clearly a continuation of a
publication that was shut down by court order is banned from
publication and will be confiscated.” The law also assigns a
prison term of one to six months for the publishers in such a
case.
The decision by the Istanbul Criminal Court states that there are
24 closure decisions against “Ozgur Gundem”. According to the
paper’s lawyer, these add up to closure for more than a year.
Therefore, this decision is in effect a decision to shut down
“Ozgur Ulke”. In a 23 December, 1993 letter to CPJ, Yildirim
Aktuna, a spokesman for Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, cited the
continued publication of “Ozgur Gundem” as proof of press
freedom’s existence in Turkey. The 24 closure decisions against
“Ozgur Gundem” and yesterday’s decision to confiscate all future
issues of “Ozgur Ulke” clearly defeat Mr. Yildirim’s point.

Recommended Action

Her Excellency Tansu Ciller

Prime Minister

Basbakanlik

06573 Ankara, Turkey

Fax: +(90 312) 417 04 76/230 88 96