(RSF/IFEX) – On 12 September 2002, RSF expressed concern over pressures being exerted on the widow of murdered journalist Kutlu Adali. The pressure is apparently from individuals close to the authorities who are trying to get her to drop a lawsuit against the government in connection with his death. “Kutlu Adali’s wife Ilkay is a […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 12 September 2002, RSF expressed concern over pressures being exerted on the widow of murdered journalist Kutlu Adali. The pressure is apparently from individuals close to the authorities who are trying to get her to drop a lawsuit against the government in connection with his death.
“Kutlu Adali’s wife Ilkay is a key witness in the case against the Turkish government which will be heard by the European Court of Human Rights next month,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard in a letter to the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, Rauf Denktash and the Turkish Secretary for Cypriot affairs, Tayyibe Gülek.
“The threats being made against her suggest that certain people do not want her to testify and do not want this serious case to be dug up again. We ask you to ensure her safety and will hold you responsible for whatever happens to her,” Ménard said.
On 6 September, strangers tried to break into Ilkay Adali’s house and her dog was later found dead outside. She says her phone is tapped and regularly cut off. She believes these actions are aimed at forcing her to drop the family’s complaint against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights for failing to properly investigate her husband’s death. The case will be heard in Strasbourg on 8 October and she is scheduled to testify.
Kutlu Adali, a columnist for the Turkish-Cypriot daily “Yeni Duzen”, was murdered in front of his home on 6 July 1996, soon after he published a story revealing that a former senior officer of the Turkish army in Cyprus had been involved in an attack on a monastery. The story also reported on the misuse of civilian vehicles belonging to the Defence Ministry. Nobody has dared to give evidence about the murder, which remains unsolved.
