Caselist - PEN International

64freedom of expression since 1960 for the Writers in Prison Committee’s50th Anniversary Campaign – Because Writers Speak Their Minds. Inthe days running up to his arrest, he had been campaigning for the releaseof his son, Deniz Zarakolu, (see above) who had been arrested threeweeks earlier on 7 October 2011. Honorary member of: PEN Turkey,German PEN, Netherlands PEN, San Miguel Allende PENImprisoned Investigation December 2011 ‘KCK’ Mass arrestsAround 40 journalists were arrested on 20 December 2011 duringcrackdowns of newspapers and news agencies across the country. Mostremain detained, charged under the Anti Terror Law (ATL) for beingalleged members of the Union of Kurdish Communities (KCK), said tobe an umbrella organisation of Kurdish groups, including the bannedKurdish Workers Party (PKK). The arrests has raised alarm in Turkeyand internationally that the ATL may be being used to suppress legitimatecommentary and activities. Dunja Mijatovic, Special Representative ofthe Media for the OSCE stated “It is important to know exactly whythese media professionals were arrested. Although governments have anunquestioned right to fight terrorism, it should be carried out withoutsilencing the press and curbing the public’s right to be informed. Thisright includes reporting on sensitive issues, such as terrorism.” By 22December the number arrested had risen to 49 and all had been broughtto Istanbul’s Besiktas Court after having had health checks. Theyare reported to have shouted out “Free Press Can’t Be Silenced” tosupporters. The press freedom organisation, BIANET listed the namesas follows. After the court hearing, 13 were freed – some of whom toface trial without detention, leaving 36 still detained. (PEN is seekingdetails of all those who were freed but who who may still be includedon this list).Ramazan Pekgöz (Dicle News Agency-DIHA, editor, Diyarbakır)Mazlum Özdemir (DIHA correspondent,Diyarbakır)Fatma Koçak (f) (DIHA News Desk Manager,İstanbul)Kenan Kırkaya (DIHA representative, Ankara)Sadık Topaloglu (DIHA correspondent,Urfa)Semiha Alankus (DIHA editor, Diyarbakır)Çagdas Kaplan (DIHA correspondent, Istanbul)Ömer Çelik (D HA correspondent, Istanbul)Güneş Ünsal (DİHA English Desk,Istanbul)Zuhal Tekiner (DİHA concessionnaire, Istanbul)Pervin Yerlikaya (DİHA-Istanbul)Nilgün Yıldız (DİHA correspondent , Mardin)Zeynep Kuray (f) (Birgün daily correspondent)Nahide Ermiş(f) (Özgür Halk and Demokratik Modernite magazine boardof editors)Ömer Çiftçi (Demokratik Modernite magazine concessionnaire)Davut Uçar (Etik Ajans, manager)Hüseyin Deniz (Evrensel daily correspondent, former Özgür Gündememployee)Ismail Yıldız (former DIHA employee)Sevinç Tuncelli (former DIHA employee)Dilek Demirel (former Özgür Gündem employee)Sibel Güler (f) (former Özgür Gündem employee)Ertuş Bozkurt (Fırat Distribution)Şeref Sümeli (former Fırat Distribution employee)Çagdas Ulus (Vatan daily correspondent)Nevin Erdemir (Özgür Gündem daily)Eylem Sürmeli (former Özgür Gündem employee)Nurettin Fırat (Özgür Gündem daily columnist)Ayse Oyman (f) (Özgür Gündem)Yüksel Genç (Özgür Gündem columnist)Oktay Candemir (former DIHA employee)Ziya Çiçekçi (f) (Özgür Gündem daily concessionaire and responsibleeditor)Haydar Tekin ( former Fırat Distribution employee)Safiye Torman (Demokratik Modernite magazine employee, Van)Selahattin Aslan (Demokratik Modernite employee)Irfan Bilgiç (former Fırat Distribution employee)Ali Fidan (Fırat Distribution, Istanbul)M. Emin Yıldırım (Azadiya Welat editor-in-chief)Saffet Orman (IC)Imprisoned – Investigation - Ergenekon InvestigationSince June 2007 there have been a series arrests of leading military,political, police, intellectual and other figures. Now numbering over 200,they are accused of membership of a neo-nationalist organisation knownas “Ergenekon”. Its aim is said to be to to overthrow the governmentand linked to recent assassinations, including that of Hrant Dink (above).There have been concerns about the conduct of the investigatpemion andthat some of the arrests may be of persons targetted solely for their views.The first to be charged, 86 defendants, went on trial in October 2008..A second trial against 56 others opened in July 2009. In early August2009 a third group of people, numbering 52 were indicted as part ofthe Ergenekon investigation. It was subsequently announced that trials ofthose accused under the second and third indictments would be merged.Among the defendants are writers, journalists and academics whosecases PEN is monitoring. While some may hold nationalistic views thatrun counter to PEN International’s charter ,there are concerns that theonly evidence against them is their writings. The prosecutors claim thatsome of these writings “in the wake of assassinations that underminepublic authority, defendants attempted not only to mislead the publicbut also carried out propaganda [for Ergenekon] in their writings.”Updates: the 188th hearing of the first round of people to be arrested washeard on 13 July 2011 when it was reported that of the 108 defendants,27 were in prison.Mustafa BALBAY: writer and columnist for Cumhuriyet. Among eightpeople arrested in early July 2008 as part of a series of arrests of membersof the nationalist group Ergenekon. Released to stand trial. Balbay wasre-arrested on 7 March 2009 and taken to Metris prison. Bianet reportsthat the reasons for their re-arrest is unknown but that they face lifesentences if convicted. Cumhuriyet editor in chief, Hikmet Çentinkaya,told the media “What happened in the past 8 months to cause thesearrests? We don’t know if there is new evidence or not. … [Balbay] is aKemalist and Republican. If those constitute crimes, I wouldn’t know.”Other commentators consider the arrests of those such as Balbay are awarning to the opposition. Trial opened on 21 July 2009. At a hearing on19 November 2009, Balbay made a statement in which he denied chargesof inciting an armed uprising. Specifically he is accused of taking partin secret meetings where leading figures, including generals, discussedplans for a coup. Evidence against Balbay are notes that he says he tookas part of his journalistic activities during meetings with various figureswho were subsequently also arrested in the Ergenekon trial. If convicted,he faces between 16-80 years in prison. He told the court that randomnotes had been rearranged by the prosecution in way that they had notbeen written down, given dates (he says he does not date his notes), and toform a diary that would then incriminate him and serve to strengthen theclaim that a coup was being staged. He stated that he does not believe thatthe government can be overthrown in a coup, and that he was acting onlyas a journalist “witness of the era he or she is living in”. Update: on 23June 2011 Balbay’s request for release was dismissed by the Istanbul 13 thHigh Court, and a further appeal dismissed by the 14 th High Court thefollowing week, on 29 June, was also dismissed. Place of Detention: asof August 2011 held at Silivri No 1 L Type Prison. Honorary member:PEN TurkeyDr Yalçin KÜÇÜK: writer, economist, historian and socialist. Knownciritic of the AKP. Author of numerous books on socio-economics. Accusedof sympathies with the PKK and sentenced to two years in prison in the late1990s for interview with its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Arrested on 7 January2009 for investigation in the ‘Ergenekon’ case. Released 22 January 2009to face trial as part of the third wave of indictments, opening 7 September2009. As of Augsut 2011 he was held in Silivri No. 2 L Type prison. On 22November 2011 he appeared before Istanbul 16 th High Criminal Court toappeal against his sentence. The trial was postponed to 26 December 2011.Tuncay ÖZKAN: writer and journalist. Arrested on 27 September 2008,and trial due to commence on 20 July 2009. A journalist since the mid-1990s, working for print and broadcast media, he reportedly specialisesincovering corruption, drug crime, and terrorism, specifically that linkedto religious extremism, and on international relations. His many articlesappeared in newspapers including Milliyet, Radikal and Aksam. Reportedlydetained as of August 2010.Hüseyin Soner YALÇIN: journalist for Oda TV and the Hürriyetnewspaper. Held under the Ergenekon investigation for, among others,membership of an armed organisation (Ergenekon) and holding classifiedinformation. Held in Silivri No 1 L Type prison as of September 2011.Deniz YILDIRIM: chief editor for Aydinlik reportedly detained alongwith Ulusal Channel news chief Ufuk Akaya as of August 2010. Theyhave been in prison since September 2009 on charges of phone tapping.Imprisoned Investigation cases(excluding KCK and Ergenekon above)*Baris AÇIKEL: editor in chief of Devrim Yolunda Isçi Köylü(Revolutionary Workers and Peasants). Reported detained as ofNovember 2011.Bedri ADANIR: d.o.b. 1983. owner of the Aram Publishing Houseand representative of Hawar newspaper. Arrested on 5 January 2010on charges under Article 7/2 of the Anti Terror Law for publishing OnCulture and Arts, a collection of speeches by the leader of the bannedKurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. The book is saidto refer to Ocalan as “chairman” and PKK members as “guerillas”and “martyrs”. He is accused of “spreading propaganda for an illegalorganisation”. The publishing house had originally been raided inOctober 2008 and charges made against Adanir in May 2009. HoweverAdanir has been out of the country, and was arrested on his return fromIraqi Kurdistan. Initially he faced three separate trials, but these havenow been merged into one. One relates to the book, the other two toarticles he wrote for his newspaper. The first hearing was held on 25February 2010. He was ordered to remain detained due to the “qualityof the crimes” he is accused of. His publishing house is described by theauthorities as an outlet for PKK publications.Trial: In the hearing on 6May 2010, the prosecutor stated that 38 books were confiscated in a raidon the publishing house on 14 September 2008 which were either bannedor decided to be seized. The prosecutor furthermore claimed a four countcharge of “propaganda for an illegal organization” based on articles andcontents published in May 2009. The prosecutor demanded a seven countsentence for Adanır according to article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (TMY)and punishment under allegations of “committing a crime on behalf of aterrorist organization without being a member of the organization” basedon articles 314/3 and 220/6 of the Turkish Criminal Code plus article 5 ofthe TMY related to an increase of the penalty. In summary, Adanır facesprison sentences of up to 50 years. Update: at a hearing on 6 May 2011,the prosecutor explained that the materials seized contained interviewswith families of killed PKK members, as well as statements praisingthe PKK leadership. Details of the articles and charges can be found inthis article http://bianet.org/english/english/122037-detained-publisheradanir-faces-50-years-prison-sentence.The next hearing was set for 17November 2011. Present situation: Adanir remains detained following arefusal of his request for release pending trial in March 2011.Erdogan ALTAN (ALKAN), Kadri KAYA: Batman based journalistand reporter for the Dicle News agency. Arrested and imprisoned on19 April 2011. Among a number of people arrested for their allegedinvolvement in an “illegal organisation”. Reported still detained as ofNovember 2011.*Ali BULUS: DIHA Mersin representativ. Reported in September 2011 tostill be detained serving a six year and three month sentence*Ali ÇAT: Azadiya Welat journalist said to be detained in September 2011serving a seven year one month sentence.Ersan ÇELIK: journalist for the DIHA news agency. 1) Sentenced with26 other people on 14 January 2010 to six years in prison on accusationof membership of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) by the Malatya HighCriminal Court no 3. In March 2008 some 100 people were arrested fortheir alleged mewmbership of the Patriotic Democratic Youth Council(PDYC) linked to the PKK. 30 were arrested of which 26 were freed aftertwo months in pre trial detention. They were accused on the testimonyof one man who claims to have recognised them as members (not clearwho this person is). Lawyers point out that he did not recognise them atprevious hearings and had given incorrect names. With reference to Çelik,his lawyer pointed out that at the defence witness had clearly stated thathe knew Çelik as a DIHA journalist and that he did not have connectionswith the PDYC. 2) On 13 May 2011 he was sentenced to ten months inprison by the Diyabakir 6 th High Criminal Court on another charge ofhaving “disclosed the identity of a police officer on anti-terror duties” inan article on the death of a student killed during a demonstration in 2009.Çelik cited the names of the officers accused of the shooting in his article.He was unable to attend the hearing because of his detention. An appealhas been launched.Ibrahim ÇIÇEK, Bayram NAMAZ, Sedat SENOGLU, ZiyaULUSOY: editor in chief, journalist, journalist, journalist, deputy editorand journalist respectively for the newspaper Atilim: Also among thosedetained is Fusun Erdogan (f) a radio journalist. Arrested under Article6 of the Anti Terror Law on 10 September 2006. Trial proceedings againstthem opened on 13 April 2007. Accused of being members of the MarxistLeninist Communist Party (MKLP) deemed to be a terrorist organisation.Concerns centre on the non-disclosure by the authorities of the reasonsfor their arrest. Trial: The first trial was marked by clashes betweensupporters and police, during which tear gas was used. At a hearingheld on 26 October 2007 at the Istanbul 10 th Heavy Penal Court, therewere protests when it was announced that all the defendants in this casewould continue to be held in pre-trial detention. Around 24 May 2011lawyers questioned the veracity of a document said to have been seizedduring “Operation Gaye” during which the defendants were arrested.They requested a review of the evidence. They also pointed out that the 65