Journalists in State of Emergency – 133
Özgürlükçü Demokrasi publisher and responsible managing editor jailed; Yeliz Koray handed down prison sentence for critical column
09.04.2018
İhsan Yaşar, the publisher of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, and İshak Yasul, the managing editor of the pro-Kurdish newspaper, were jailed pending trial by an Istanbul court on April 6, 2018.
Both Yaşar, who was detained on March 28, during the raid on the newspaper’s head office and its printing company Gün Matbaacılık, and Yasul, who was detained two days later, on March 30, face “membership in a terrorist organization” and “propaganda” accusations.
Three editors of the newspaper, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Hicran Urun, employees Pınar Tarlak, Ramazan Sola and Nedim Demirkıran, as well as former staff member Mehmet Beyazit, arrested on April 4 as part of the same investigation launched on allegations that the newspaper had ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were still in custody as of April 9.
Gün Matbaacılık owner, printing facility workers jailed
In a related development, an Istanbul court on April 5 jailed 20 employees of Gün Matbaacılık, including owner Kasım Zengin, pending trial on the accusation of “knowingly and willingly aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.” Gün Matbaacılık, the company that printed Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, was targeted in the same operation as the newspaper.
Twenty-three suspects who were taken into custody on March 28 as part of that investigation appeared before the prosecutor on April 4 at the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The prosecutor referred 20 of the suspects to Criminal Judgeships of Peace for arrest with the accusation of “knowingly and willingly aiding and abetting a terrorist group.” The 11th Istanbul Criminal Judgeship of Peace arrested printing house workers Cumali Öz, Mehmet Kadir Özkara, Mürsel Demir, Özgür Bozkurt, Kemal Daşdöğen, Süleyman Güneş, Muhammet Özkan and Uğur Selman Kelekçiler on the same charge.
The 12th Istanbul Criminal Judgeship of peace jailed the printing company’s owner Zengin and printing house workers Erdoğan Zamur, Cemal Tunç, İhsan Sinmiş, İrfan Karaca, Kazım Göçer, Mehmet Emin Sümeli, Musa Kaya, Sadettin Demirtaş, Necat Hizarcı, Polat Arslan and Mahmut Abay pending trial on the accusations of “membership in a terrorist organization” and “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization.”
Journalist Mehmet Dursun jailed pending trial
Van-based journalist Mehmet Dursun was arrested by a local court on April 6, three days after he was taken into custody at the Van Police Department, where he reported to give his statement.
A gag order was issued on Dursun’s file. The 5th High Criminal Court of Van jailed Dursun pending trial on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge. The Mezopotamya news agency reported that phone conversations from 2014 between the journalist and his sources were among grounds for the accusations.
Reporter Ahmet Kanbal faces prison term on “propaganda” charges
Ahmet Kanbal, a reporter for the Mezopotamya news agency, will stand trial facing nine years of imprisonment on “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” charge.
Kanbal was taken into custody on February 8 in İzmir as part of an investigation against launched by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office during Turkey’s military operation on Syria’s Afrin. He was released
The indictment concerning that investigation, issued recently and sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in İzmir, accuses Kanbal of “conducting propaganda for a terrorist organization” in a “successive manner” and “by means of the press.” It includes 31 social media posts by Kanbal as well as a news story he wrote concerning a mob attack on the Northern Cyprus-based Afrika newspaper among the grounds for the accusations. Kanbal’s story concerned a group of angry mob attacking the offices of Afrika after the newspaper published a headline story critical of Turkey’s military operation on Afrin. The story also included comments from Afrika’s editor in chief Şener Levent.
The indictment into Kanbal was accepted by the 2nd High Criminal Court of Izmir.
Yeliz Koray handed down prison sentence for column on July 15 coup
Yeliz Koray, the managing editor of the local newspaper Kocaeli Köz, was sentenced by a Kocaeli court to one year and three months in prison on April 5 for a newspaper column she wrote in 2017.
Koray was on trial for “openly inciting hatred and hostility” through her article, which concerned the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, and was published on the first year anniversary of the attempted coup.
The court suspended Koray’s sentence due to Koray not having a previous criminal record. Koray said she would appeal the ruling.
Journalist Ömer Ödemiş taken into custody
Journalist Ömer Ödemiş, the Middle East representative and editor for the online newspaper ABC and TELE 1 Television, was taken into custody on April 7 in Hatay as part of an investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Ödemiş, who was detained on the accusation of “conducting propaganda [for PKK/KCK],” was brought to Ankara. Anti-terror police also searched Ödemiş’s apartment in Ankara, confiscating several documents, books and digital material found in the house.
Aggravated life imprisonment sought for Zaman columnists
A prosecutor on April 5 sought aggravated life imprisonment and an additional 15 years in prison for nine of the 11 former columnists of the shuttered Zaman newspaper on the charges of “violating the Constitution” and “membership in an armed terrorist organization.”
A detailed report on the latest hearing in the “Zaman trial,” monitored by P24 in the courtroom, can be found here.
RED magazine writer taken into custody, released
Nevriye Kurt, a writer for the leftist magazine RED, was taken into custody on April 3 during an early morning police raid on her home in Ankara. Kurt, who was detained on account of her social media posts, was released a day later, on April 4. Police confiscated Kurt’s cell phone during the raid.
Journalist Nedim Türfent in solitary confinement, one year on
Imprisoned journalist Nedim Türfent, a reporter for the shuttered Dicle news agency (DİHA), has been in solitary confinement for the past year, and his numerous pleas with the prison management have not produced any results, the journalist said in a recent letter from prison.
Türfent was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison on the charge of “membership in a terrorist organization” on December 15, 2017, at the end of his trial at the 2nd High Criminal Court of Hakkâri. He is currently serving this sentence at the Van Maximum Security Prison.
In his letter to the Mezopotamya news agency, Türfent highlighted his situation and added that he made numerous requests to the prison management to be placed in a room with other inmates. The prison management rejected his requests, telling him that in such a case he “would write about a [fellow inmate] every day and tell their stories.”
Türfent has been in prison since May 2016, when he was jailed pending trial. He was remanded in pretrial detention throughout his trial.
Journalists in prison
Upon the arrests on April 6 of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner İhsan Yaşar and responsible managing editor İshak Yasul, and Van-based journalist Mehmet Dursun, the number of jailed journalists in Turkey became at least 157. A detailed list can be reached here.
1 Abdulkadir Turay, DİHA reporter
2 Abdullah Kaya, DİHA
3 Abdullah Kılıç, Habertürk
4 Abdullah Özyurt, Zaman reporter
5 Abdulvahap İş, freelance journalist
6 Ahmet Altan
7 Ahmet Feyzullah Özyurt
8 Ahmet Memiş, Haberdar news website
9 Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Zaman journalist
10 Ahmet Turan Alkan, Zaman
11 Ahmet Yavaş, TRT (Erzurum)
12 Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet Foundation executive board chairman
13 Alaattin Güner, Cihan media director
14 Ali Ahmet Böken, TRT News coordinator
15 Ali Akkuş, Zaman
16 Ali Aşikar, Azadiya Welat
17 Ali Babür Boysal, Zaman page designer
18 Ali Bulaç, former Zaman columnist
19 Ali Sönmez Kayar, ETHA reporter
20 Ali Ünal, Zaman columnist
21 Ali Yüce, TRT Radio broadcasts chief
22 Arafat Dayan, Demokratik Ulus
23 Aslı Ceren Aslan, Özgür Gelecek
24 Ayşe Nazlı Ilıcak
25 Ayşenur Parıldak, Zaman, Haberdar
26 Aytekin Gezici, journalist/writer
27 Aziz İstegün, Diyarbakır Zaman representative
28 Barış Ceyhan, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi employee
29 Bayram Kaya, Zaman reporter
30 Behram Kılıç
31 Beytullah Özdemir, Zaman Düzce bureau chief
32 Burçin Dokgöz, former Zaman and Çorum reporter
33 Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, Journalists and Writers’ Foundation
34 Ceren Taşkın, Hatay'ın Sesi
35 Cuma Kaya, Zaman
36 Cuma Ulus, Millet newspaper’s publications coordinator
37 Cüneyt Seza Özkan, Samanyolu TV
38 Çetin Kurşun, Azadiya Welat
39 Emin Demir, freelancer
40 Emre Soncan, Zaman defense reporter
41 Ercan Gün, Fox TV
42 Erdal Süsem, Eylül magazine editor
43 Erdal Şen, former Meydan managing editor
44 Erdoğan Alayumat, Dihaber reporter
45 Erol Yüksel, TRT News Department vice president
46 Erol Zavar, Odak magazine owner and newsroom director
47 Fahrettin Kılıç, Özgür Toplum
48 Faruk Akkan, Cihan news agency
49 Ferhat Çiftçi, Azadiya Welat Gaziantep bureau chief
50 Fevzi Yazıcı, Zaman chief designer
51 Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Türksolu columnist
52 Gurbet Çakar, Hevi women’s magazine
53 Gültekin Avcı
54 Habip Güler, Zaman reporter
55 Hakan Aksel, TRT producer-director
56 Hakan Ergün, Azadiya Welat and Özgür Gündem distributor
57 Hakan Taşdelen
58 Halil İbrahim Mert, TRT (Erzurum)
59 Hamit Dilbahar, Azadiya Welat columnist
60 Hamza Günerigök, TRT
61 Hanım Büşra Erdal, Zaman reporter and columnist
62 Hasan Duman, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi distributor
63 Hatice Duman, Atılım newspaper owner and managing editor
64 Havva Cuştan, ETHA reporter
65 Hayati Yıldız, Azadiya Welat
66 Haydar Ergül, Demokratik Modernite editor
67 Hidayet Karaca, Samanyolu Media Group president
68 Hüseyin Aydın, Cihan reporter
69 Hüseyin Turan, Zaman columnist
70 İbrahim Kareyeğen, responsible editor for Zaman
71 İdris Okur, Cihan New Agency Çorum reporter
72 İdris Sayılgan, DİHA
73 İdris Yılmaz
74 İhsan Yaşar, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi owner
75 İshak Karakaş, Hakın Nabzı editor-in-chief
76 İshak Yasul, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi responsible managing editor
77 İsmail Ersan, Anatolia news agency
78 İsminaz Temel, ETHA editor
79 Kamuran Sunbat, former DİHA Çukurova reporter
80 Kemal Demir, TV 10
81 Kemal Özer, Evrensel
82 Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya editor-in-chief
83 Kubilay Çelik, Antropolog magazine responsible managing editor
84 Mehmet Ali Ay
85 Mehmet Altan
86 Mehmet Baransu, Taraf columnist/reporter
87 Mehmet Dener, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
88 Mehmet Dursun
89 Mehmet Güleş, DİHA
90 Mehmet Gündem
91 Mehmet Kuru, Zaman Eskişehir reporter
92 Mehmet Özdemir, Zaman columnist
93 Meltem Oktay, DİHA reporter
94 Mikail Barut, Özgür Halk former editor
95 Miktat Algül, Mezitli FM broadcast coordinator
96 Mizgin Çay, Radyo Karacadağ
97 Muhammed Sait Kuloğlu, owner of Subuhaber.com
98 Muhammet Taşçılar, Şanlıurfa.com editor-in-chief
99 Muhsin Pilgir, Zaman and Cihan news agency
100 Murat Avcıoğlu, Zaman
101 Murat Çapan, Nokta
102 Murat Dağdeviren, Demokrat Gebze owner
103 Mustafa Erkan Acar, Bugün news editor
104 Mustafa Gök, Ankara bureau chief for Ekmek ve Adalet magazine
105 Mustafa Göktaş, Özgür Gündem Şanlıurfa reporter
106 Mustafa Ünal, Zaman
107 Mutlu Çölgeçen, Millet, newsroom coordinator
108 Mutlu Özay, Cihan reporter
109 Mümtazer Türköne, Zaman columnist
110 Nadir Yücel, Çorum Yıldız local newspaper editor-in-chief
111 Nedim Türfent, DİHA
112 Nizamettin İzgi, Batman newspaper owner
113 Nuh Gönültaş, Bugün columnist
114 Nuri Durna, TRT
115 Nuri Yeşil, Azadiya Welat Dersim bureau chief
116 Nurullah Kaya, Gaziantep Zaman representative
117 Oğuz Usluer, Habertürk former broadcasts coordinator
118 Osman Yakut, Zaman Antalya
119 Ömer Oruç, Cihan newspaper
120 Özcan Keser, TRT reporter
121 Rabia Özkaya, Özgür Halk
122 Ramazan Alkan, Yeni Akit reporter
123 Resul Cengiz, Denizli reporter with Zaman
124 Sadık Demir, Radyo Karacadağ
125 Sait Gürkan Tuzlu, Cihan reporter
126 Salih Erbekler, Radyo Karacadağ
127 Sami Tunca, Mücadele Birliği magazine managing editor
128 Seda Taşkın, Mezopotamya News Agency reporter
129 Semiha Mete, Özgürlükçü Demokrasi reporter/distributor
130 Serhat Şeftali, Zaman regional bureau chief for the Med region
131 Serkan Aydemir, Bitlis Aktüel reporter
132 Serpil Ünal, Mücadele Birliği reporter
133 Sertan Önal, Halkın Günlüğü reporter
134 Seyid Kılıç, TRT News
135 Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat Adana bureau chief
136 Songül Yücel, Önsöz editor in chief
137 Süleyman Acar, Mücadele Birliği editor in chief
138 Şahabettin Demir, DİHA reporter
139 Şeref Yılmaz, Irmak TV
140 Şerife Oruç, DİHA reporter
141 Togay Okay, Özgür Gelecek
142 Tuncer Çetinkaya, Zaman Antalya
143 Turgut Usul, TRT reporter
144 Ufuk Şanlı, former Vatan columnist
145 Ünal Tanık, Rota Haber editor-in-chief
146 Vahit Yazgan, İzmir Zaman bureau chief
147 Veli Büyükşahin, TV10 executive
148 Veli Haydar Güleç, TV10 executive
149 Yakup Çetin, Zaman reporter
150 Yakup Şimşek, Zaman, marketing director
151 Yalçın Güler, TRT (Erzurum)
152 Yener Dönmez, Habervaktim news website
153 Yetkin Yıldız, Aktif Haber website editor
154 Yılmaz Kahraman, Özgür Halk editor
155 Zafer Özsoy
156 Zehra Doğan, Jinha
157 Ziya Ataman, DİHA reporter