(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Justice Minister Hikmet Sami, RSF protested the imminent imprisonment of Fikret Baskaya, editorialist and academic, and journalist Zeynel Abidin Kizilyaprak, both of whom were sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in jail. “By punishing the simple expression of an opinion with imprisonment, the Turkish justice system brutally slams […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Justice Minister Hikmet Sami, RSF protested the imminent imprisonment of Fikret Baskaya, editorialist and academic, and journalist Zeynel Abidin Kizilyaprak, both of whom were sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in jail.
“By punishing the simple expression of an opinion with imprisonment, the Turkish justice system brutally slams the door on any evolution toward European standards and, by extension, toward the European Union,” stated Robert Ménard, secretary-general of the organisation. “We call on you to intervene and ensure that judicial authorities stay the prison terms given to Fikret Baskaya and Zeynel Abidin Kizilyaprak. Furthermore, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists Asiye Zeybek Güzel, Hasan Özgün, Mustafa Benli and Kemal Evcimen, and a fair and equitable trial for journalist Nureddin Sirin.” (See IFEX alerts of 18 April and 7 March 2001, 22 and 20 December 2000, and 7 December 1999.)
According to information obtained by RSF, Baskaya was condemned by the State Security Court for “disseminating separatist propaganda by way of the press” based on Article 8/1 of the anti-terrorist law, and his sentence was confirmed by the Cassation Court on 26 January 2001. The enforcement of his sentence was delayed until 29 June, following an appeal by his lawyer. On that date, Baskaya will be incarcerated. The editorialist wrote, in an article entitled “Is This a Historical Process?”, published on 1 June 1999 in the pro-Kurdish daily “Özgür Bakis”, that “Turkish leaders have always considered the Kurdish problem to be one of public order, when it is in fact a national problem, and have thought they could resolve the problem through a chauvinist, racist and nationalist political agenda.”
Kizilyaprak, publisher of a supplement in the daily “Özgür Bakis” entitled “From 1900 to 2000, The Kurdish People”, was sentenced to a 16-month prison term and fined 1,612 million Turkish liras (approx 1,700 euros or US$1,383), a sentence that was confirmed by the Cassation Court on 14 May. The journalist was found guilty of “separatist remarks”, and sentenced under Article 8 of the anti-terrorist law. The supplement was seized before it was even distributed on 2 February 2000. The journalist must begin his prison term sometime in June.
RSF recalls that in its last “Regular report on the progress made by Turkey on the path to membership”, the European Commission judged that “the situation with regards to freedom of expression remains a concern” and that Turkey’s rapprochement with the European Union is linked to its respect for human rights, most notably with its respect for Article 10 of the European Convention, which guarantees free expression, and the right to inform and be informed.
RSF also sent a copy of its letter to the president of the European Commission and the deputy European members of the European Parliament’s delegation that visited Turkey on 6 May.
