(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 January 1998 press release, RSF recalls that, on 8 January 1996, Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the extreme left daily “Evrensel”, was beaten to death by police in Istanbul (see IFEX alerts). Two years later and after twelve hearings, the trial of the eleven police officers accused of the murder […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In an 8 January 1998 press release, RSF recalls that, on 8
January 1996, Metin Goktepe, a journalist with the extreme left daily
“Evrensel”, was beaten to death by police in Istanbul (see IFEX alerts).
Two years later and after twelve hearings, the trial of the eleven police
officers accused of the murder is still not over. Five of the eleven
officers remain in detention.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 1 December, 10 November, 9 October, 17
September, 22 August, 30 July 1997, and others**
A reenactment of the murder at the crime scene, the Eyup sports complex,
took place on 5 January 1998. That day, one of the accused officers,
Fikret Kayacan, reportedly made threats on the life of key prosecution
witness Deniz Ozcan. This incident, says RSF, is a flagrant example of
the threats and pressure to which witnesses and members of the Goktepe
family have been subjected since the death of the journalist.
On 25 December 1997, during the last hearing in the trial of the police
officers in the Afyon Court of Assizes (in western Turkey), the court
reviewed a report on the autopsy done on Goktepe’s body. The court had
been requesting this document from medical authorities for months.
Two years after Goktepe’s death, RSF condemns the threats made against
members of his family and prosecution witnesses, and seeks real
protection for these individuals. RSF expresses hope that the next
hearing in the case — scheduled for 22 January — will lead to
significant progress in the trial.
