Mesut Bozkurt, Atilim
Imprisoned: June 15, 1995

    Bozkurt, bureau chief of Atilim's Iskenderun office, was convicted of membership in the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP), evidently on the basis of his work for the paper. He was arrested during a police raid on Atilim's offices in June 15, 1995.
    Court documents reveal that copies of Atilim-described by the prosecution as "bulletins" of the MLKP-comprised the principal evidence in his trial. The prosecution also said that Bozkurt had rented a house in Mersin on behalf of the MLKP, and that police searching the premises found unspecified "illegal documents." It is not clear whether these confiscated documents were introduced as material evidence.
    Bozkurt was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison on January 26, 1996, along with Atilim colleagues Fatma Harman, Bulent Öner, and Hasan Abali.

Fatma Harman, Atilim
Imprisoned: June 15, 1995

    Harman, a reporter for Atilim, was taken into custody during a police raid on the newspaper's Mersin bureau in June 15, 1995. CPJ believes that her arrest was the result of a crackdown on the publication and that she has been imprisoned for work as a journalist.
    Harman was formally arrested on June 24, 1995, and sentenced on January 26, 1996, to 12 years and six months in prison under Article 168 of the Penal Code. Atilim's lawyer reports that she was convicted of membership in the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) on the argument that Atilim was the publication of that group. The prosecution reportedly offered copies of Atilim found in Harman's possession as evidence of her affiliation, and said that several unspecified banners were found in the Atilim office. Further, the prosecution said that Harman and Bulent Öner, another Atilim reporter, lived together in a house belonging to the MLKP. Harman is in Adana Prison.

Ibrahim Çiçek, Atilim
Imprisoned: March 15, 1996

    The use of articles from Atilim as material evidence against Çiçek leads CPJ to believe that he was prosecuted for his work as a journalist. According to court documents, Çiçek, former editor in chief of the leftist weekly Atilim, testified that he was detained on March 15, 1996, on his way to his father's home, and his wife was detained the following day at their home. Çiçek was charged with membership in an illegal organization, but his lawyer reports that the only evidence against Çiçek was his affiliation with Atilim, which the state asserted was the mouthpiece of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).
    According to the Ministry of Justice, Çiçek "was taken into custody in relation to the armed attack carried out by the MLKP illegal leftist organization against government office buildings in the Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul as well as the offices of the MHP political party in the same district around 1 a.m. on March 14, 1996. The incident prompted the decision of the Istanbul State Security Court to detain Mr. Çiçek with his collaborators on March 29, 1996. Currently, he is in Bayrimpasa Prison in Istanbul."
    Court documents show that Çiçek was charged with being a leader of the MLKP (Article 168/1 of the Penal Code)-specifically, of ordering an armed assault on the offices of an ultra-right-wing party in Istanbul-and of running Atilim. The prosecutor produced as evidence a story that appeared in Atilim's March 23, 1996, issue, about the assault on the ultra-right-wing party in Istanbul. Two people gave statements to authorities which implicated Çicek. According to the defense statement, Çiçek said that he was tortured by police, but made no confession. He was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Serpil Günes, Alinteri
Imprisoned: September 7, 1996

    Günes, an editor and owner of Alinteri, was arrested in Izmir when police raided a vacation apartment where she and several of her Alinteri colleagues were staying. She has been in jail since her arrest.
    The prosecution stated that police found a counterfeit identification card in Günes' possession, and seized unspecified illegal publications and handwritten documents which purportedly linked her and her colleagues to the Turkish Revolutionary Communist Union (TIKB). Günes was accused of membership in an outlawed organization based on the these allegations, as well as on witness testimony. Günes denied all the accusations.
    Former Alinteri staffers said Günes was charged and convicted of violating Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law (propagandizing on behalf of an outlawed organization) and Article 312 of the Penal Code (inciting racial hatred) for articles published in the newspaper during her tenure. She was also charged with membership in the TIKB.
    Günes' lawyer told CPJ that there had been about 20 cases against her as editor and owner of Alinteri, all of which were suspended following the August 14, 1997, amnesty for editors. Her lawyer said Günes has been fined nearly one billion TL in her capacity as owner of Alinteri. CPJ sees in these previous convictions a pattern of state harassment against Alinteri for publishing news and dissenting opinion.
    As a result of the raid, Günes was also charged in a separate indictment with "membership in an outlawed organization" under Article 168 of the Penal Code. Günes' lawyer characterized her conviction in this case as a "political decision" and said that she received the maximum 15-year sentence because the state considers Alinteri the mouthpiece of the TIKB. Günes is in Usak Prison.

Erhan Il, Devrimci Emek
Imprisoned: February 16, 1996

    Il is a reporter for the magazine Devrimci Emek, and was editor in chief from 1993 to 1994. Court documents state that Il was arrested and charged under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code with belonging to the Turkish Communist Leninist Labor Party's (TKEP-L) youth organization. The prosecution also alleged that he rented a house in December 1994 for the TKEP-L, stored weapons for the organization, and possessed a counterfeit I.D.
    Il's colleagues at Devrimci Emek told CPJ that he was prosecuted on the basis of articles published in the magazine during his tenure as editor. In response to an inquiry from CPJ, the Ministry of Justice stated that Il was convicted "according to amended Article 8/1 of the Anti-Terror Law [disseminating separatist propaganda], and not according to Article 168 of the Penal Code[.]" He is in Byrampasa Prison.
 

Serdar Gelir, Mücadele
Imprisoned: April 16, 1994

    Gelir, Ankara bureau chief for Mücadele, was detained on April 16, 1994, and arrested 10 days later for being a member of an illegal organization. CPJ believes he has been imprisoned for attending an opposition rally as a reporter and his association with Mücadele.
    During the trial, the prosecution introduced into evidence a handwritten note-written on a copy of Kurtulus magazine-found in Gelir's possession, which discussed local elections in Turkey. Excerpts from the document said that "the state has held elections in Kurdistan by force, with the force of 150,000 soldiers. The state has shown that it can hold elections in this region by blood. By disqualifying the representatives of the Kurdish people, by massacring the Kurdish people, that [sic] the state can get the results it wants from the elections."
    The prosecution also claimed that Gelir had handwritten a four-page document that discussed revolution, colonialism, and armed struggle. Prosecutors further alleged that Gelir had attended an illegal demonstration and distributed copies of the magazine. This was cited as proof of his membership in Dev Yol, an outlawed organization affiliated with Dev Sol. They said that Gelir had confessed to the accusations in police custody but later recanted.
    In his defense, Gelir insisted that he was covering the demonstration for Mücadele, and his lawyer added that Gelir had filed a story on the event. Gelir said that he had been detained on April 6 and held for 16 days but was released due to lack of evidence. On April 25, he was arrested again and then charged. Gelir cited the Turkish government's hostility toward the press, which he said that such groups as RSF and the Press Council have documented.
    The Ministry of Justice told CPJ that Gelir was tried under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code and Article 5 of the Anti-Terror Law 3713 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Ankara State Security Court for being a member of an armed, illegal leftist organization (Revolutionary Left/Dev Sol). Court records, however, indicate that he was sentenced to 12 years and six months in Ankara Closed Prison.

Aysel Bölücek, Mücadele
Imprisoned: October 11, 1994

    Bölücek, a correspondent in Ankara for Mücadele, was arrested at her home and charged under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code, based on information the police had obtained and on a handwritten document allegedly linking her to Dev Sol. She has been in prison since her arrest.
    Court documents show the state also used as evidence the October 8, 1994, issue of Mücadele, arguing that the weekly was the publication of Dev Sol. The prosecutor claimed that the October 8 issue insulted the security forces and state officials, and praised Dev Sol guerrillas who had been killed in clashes with security forces.
    The defense argued that it was illegal for the defendant to be tried twice for the same crime. (Earlier in 1994, Bölücek had been acquitted of a charge of membership in Dev Sol for which the primary evidence had been the same handwritten document.) The defense accepted the claim that Bölücek had written the document, but said that she was forced under torture to write it while in police custody. The defense also said that a legal publication could not be used as evidence, and that the individuals who made incriminating statements about Bölücek to the police had done so under torture and subsequently recanted. Bölücek was sentenced to 12 years and six months on December 23, 1994. She is being held in Canakkale Prison.

Burhan Gardas, Mücadele
Imprisoned: March 23, 1995

    Gardas, the Ankara bureau chief for Mücadele, has been the target of several prosecutions since 1994 relating to his work as a journalist.
    Court records state that Gardas was detained on January 12, 1994, at his office. During a search of the premises, the police reportedly found four copies of "news bulletins" of the outlawed Dev Sol. The prosecution also said that police found banners with left-wing slogans and photographs of Dev Sol militants who had been killed in clashes with security forces. The prosecution said that when Gardas was taken into custody he shouted anti-state slogans. The prosecution said that Gardas was using Mücadele's office for Dev Sol activities. He was charged with violating Article 168/2 of the Penal Code.
    Gardas denied all charges. His attorney argued that the confiscated illegal publications were part of the magazine's archive, and that Gardas had been tortured while in detention. His lawyer presented a medical report to document the torture. Gardas was released on May 14, 1994, pending the outcome of his trial. While awaiting the verdict, he was arrested again on March 23, 1995, on new charges of violating Article 168/2 of the Penal Code, this time in connection with his activity as Ankara Bureau Chief of Kurtulus (the successor publication to Mücadele).
    The police raided his office in connection with the later charges and seized three copies of Kurtulus "news bulletins" and six articles from Kurtulus regarding the announcement of some illegal rallies. His second trial was held at the Number 2 State Security Court of Ankara. Court documents reveal that the prosecution's evidence against Gardas consisted of his refusal to talk during a police interrogation-allegedly a Dev Sol policy-and his possession of publications which the prosecution contended were the mouthpieces of outlawed organizations, including Mücadele and Kurtulus. The state also introduced the statements of Ali Han, who worked at Kurtulus' Ankara bureau and stated that Gardas was a Dev Sol member. Gardas denied the claim, and his defense argued that his silence during police interrogation was a constitutional right and proved nothing.
    On July 4, 1995, the Number 1 State Security Court of Ankara sentenced Gardas to 15 years in prison on the Mücadele charges. In 1996, he was sentenced to an additional 15 years on the second set of charges. He has thus been convicted twice of membership in Dev Sol, in each case based on his work as a journalist. Gardas is reportedly serving these sentences successively at Aydin Prison.

Özlem Türk, Mücadele
Imprisoned: January 17, 1995

    Türk, a reporter for Mücadele in Samsun, was arrested at a relative's home and charged with being a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, an offshoot of Dev Sol. She has been in prison since her arrest.
    Court documents state that the prosecution cited as evidence the fact that Türk collected money for Mücadele, as well as a handwritten autobiography allegedly found in the home of a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front. Two people stated that she was a member of the group.
    Türk maintained that the money she had collected came from sales of copies of Mücadele. The same court documents reveal that Türk said she was forced to confess to the charges under torture. The only material evidence presented in the case were copies of legal publications-Mücadele, Tavir, and Devrimci Genclik-found at her home, and copies of her alleged autobiography. Police provided expert testimony to authenticate the incriminating document.
    According to court documents, Türk was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She is in Canakkale Prison.

Necla Can, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: April 9, 1995

    CPJ believes Can, a reporter for the leftist weekly Kurtulus, was imprisoned for attending an insurgent's funeral in her capacity as a journalist.
    Trial documents obtained in December 1997 state that Can was apprehended by police at her home on April 9, 1995, after two people made incriminating statements about her to authorities. They alleged that Can was a member of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) but later recanted. Can was tried along with 19 other alleged members of the DHKP-C.
    Can's lawyer told CPJ that the basis for the charge against her had been her attendance at the funeral of a member of the DHKP-C. In defending Can, her lawyer had said that she had been there as a journalist. The lawyer also said that Can had testified in court to being beaten while in custody.
    Can was tried along with 19 other alleged members of the DHKP-C. Can was convicted on December 21, 1997, and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code. She is in Istanbul's Umraniye Prison.

Özgür Güdenoglu, Mücadele
Imprisoned: May 24, 1995

    Güdenoglu, Mücadele's Konya bureau chief, was arrested, charged, and convicted under Article 168 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 12 years, 6 months in prison for alleged membership in Dev Sol. CPJ believes his prosecution is related to the state's well-documented harassment of Mücadele. He is in Konya Prison.

Kamber Inan, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: July 11, 1995

    CPJ believes Inan has been jailed as part of a campaign of harassment against Kurtulus, for which he was a reporter. Inan was arrested in his home in Istanbul and charged under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code for membership in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). Court documents obtained from Inan's lawyer in December 1997 said that he had refused to answer questions during his detention and upon conviction was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He is in Bayrampasa Prison.

Ufuk Dogubay, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: July 27, 1995

    CPJ believes that the prosecution of Dogubay, a former editor of Kurtulus, was motivated by his work as a journalist and is part of a pattern of harassment against the magazine. Court documents state that Dogubay was arrested and imprisoned on July 27, 1995, and accused of writing a document that indicated that Kurtulus was the publication of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). He denied the charge, but an expert witness for the prosecution concluded that he had written the document. The prosecution cited statements from two people allegedly incriminating Dogubay, and claimed that Dogubay shouted leftist slogans during his arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code. The court documents refer to him as a journalist and an engineer. He is in Sagmalcilar Prison.

Sadik Çelik, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: December 23, 1995

    Although Çelik was detained and formally charged with membership in the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), the state's case rested almost exclusively on his activities as a reporter and Zonguldak bureau chief for Kurtulus.
    Court documents state that Çelik was detained on December 23, 1995. The prosecution asserted that Kurtulus was the publication of the DHKP-C, and that Çelik's position with the magazine proved he was a member of the group. Çelik was accused of conducting "seminars" for the DHKP-C in the magazine's office, propagandizing for the organization, transporting copies of the magazine from Istanbul to Zonguldak by bus, and organizing the paper's distribution in Zonguldak. The prosecution said that Çelik's name appeared in a document written by a leader of the DHKP-C (it is not clear whether the document was introduced as material evidence). Moreover, the prosecution said Çelik's refusal to testify in police custody proved his guilt.
    The defense argued that the prosecution could not substantiate any of its claims. Çelik acknowledged distributing the magazine in his capacity as Kurtulus' bureau chief. He said that he held meetings in the office to discuss matters pertaining to the magazine. The defense presented the statements of two Kurtulus reporters, corroborating Çelik's statements.
    Çelik was sentenced on October 17, 1996, to 12 years and six months in prison. Court documents indicate he was sent to Ankara Closed Prison.
    He was reportedly released in February 1998.

Asaf Sah, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: January 4, 1996

    CPJ believes that Sah, an Antakya reporter for Kurtulus, was imprisoned as part of the state's campaign of harassment against the magazine. Sah was convicted under Article 169 of the Penal Code for aiding an outlawed organization. He was sentenced on April 16, 1996, to three years and nine months in jail and is currently in Nevsehir Prison.

Yazgül Güder Öztürk, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: March 31, 1996

    CPJ believes Öztürk has been prosecuted as part of the state's harassment of Kurtulus, for which she was a reporter. Court documents obtained in December 1997 state that Öztürk was detained and imprisoned on March 31, 1996, charged with violating Article 168/2 of the Penal Code for membership in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Salvation Party-Front (DHKP-C). The prosecution accused her of gathering information for DHKP-C in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, and Konya, in central Turkey. She was also accused of attending unspecified illegal demonstrations in Istanbul and the funeral in Adana of two members of the DHKP-C who were killed during a robbery in Ankara.
    According to Öztürk's lawyer, the prosecution additionally claimed that she had coordinated the propaganda activities of the DHKP-C.
    In her defense, Öztürk cited her work as a journalist and denied all charges. She was convicted of membership in the DHKP-C and is in Bayrampasa Prison.

Ayten Öztürk, Kurtulus
Imprisoned: October 13, 1997

    Court documents suggest strongly that Öztürk has been imprisoned because she published and edited Kurtulus. In September 1997, Öztürk was already facing charges, under Article 7 of the Anti-Terror Law, of spreading propaganda in the press on behalf of an outlawed organization. Those charges were voided on September 4 by an Istanbul State Security Court in accordance with the government's August 14 amnesty for editors. On September 19, however, a warrant was issued for her arrest for a violation of Article 168/1 of the Penal Code-a statute not covered by the amnesty.
    Özturk surrendered to the court on October 13, and thereupon was charged with leading the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). The main evidence cited at her trial was her publication and distribution of an unspecified "special edition" of Kurtulus. The prosecution also said she had met with two alleged members of the DHKP-C. She was convicted on December 24 and sentenced to 12 years and six months. She is currently in Ankara Closed Prison.

Utku Deniz Sirkeci, Tavir
Imprisoned: August 6, 1994

    CPJ believes that Sirkeci, the Ankara bureau chief of the leftist cultural magazine Tavir, was imprisoned for attending the funeral of a Dev Sol activist in his capacity as a journalist. He was convicted of membership in Dev Sol and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.
    Court records show the state accused Sirkeci of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a bank in Ankara, but the documents do not stipulate what evidence was introduced to support this charge. It is not clear that a Molotov cocktail was ever thrown. Prosecutors also cited Sirkeci's attendance at the funeral of a political activist to support the charge that he was a Dev Sol member. Sirkeci maintained he attended the funeral in his capacity as a journalist. During the trial, he provided detailed testimony of his torture at the hands of police, who he alleged coerced him to confess. He is in Ankara Closed Prison.

Baris Yildirim, Tavir
Imprisoned: March 21, 1995

    CPJ believes that Yildirim, a columnist for the leftist cultural magazine Tavir, was imprisoned for his work as a journalist. He was arrested, charged, and subsequently tried and convicted under Article 168 of the Penal Code for membership in Dev Sol, but interviews with his colleagues in 1996 indicated that his conviction was based largely on the fact that he worked for the magazine.
    The prosecution stated that Yildirim was arrested in Izmir and tried in the State Security Court for membership in Dev Sol. Informants told the court that Yildirim was a spokesman for the organization, taking part in throwing Molotov cocktails, and hanging banners around Izmir on orders from the organization. The prosecution alleged that he had participated in the occupation of the center-right True Path Party's Izmir offices.
    Yildirim was convicted on December 17, 1996, and sentenced to 12 years and six months. He is being held in Buca Prison in Izmir.

Bülent Sümbül, Özgür Halk
Imprisoned: April 24, 1995

    Sümbül, a reporter in the Diyarbakir bureau of the pro-Kurdish monthly magazine Özgür Halk, was arrested during a police raid on his Diyarbakir office. CPJ believes that the state's case stemmed from Sümbül's work as a journalist.
    Sümbül's lawyer told CPJ his client had been accused of violating Article 169 of the Penal Code, aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). To establish Sümbül's guilt, the prosecution relied on photographs of alleged PKK members which they claimed Sümbül delivered to an imprisoned colleague in Diyarbakir Prison. Sümbül's lawyer responded: "When you take something to the prison, everything is searched. There is no way that he [Sümbül] could have given her the photos of some PKK members. The guards would have found them...inside the stationery. So, he [Sümbül] denies that he had given [the imprisoned colleague] the photos."
    The prosecution's statement said that Sumbul was also accused of "being the leader of an organizational cell, taking an active role in an illegal organization, [and] acting as liaison for militants in rural and urban areas." According to this lawyer, the prosecution also produced a written confession, which police coerced him to sign.
    Sümbül denied the charges. He was convicted and sentenced to three years and nine months. He is in Bismil Prison.

Mehmet Çakar, Partizan Sesi
Imprisoned: February 13, 1995

    Çakar, Izmir bureau chief of the leftist monthly Partizan Sesi, was arrested and charged with being a member the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party.
    According to Çakar's lawyer, the prosecution had based its case on the fact that Çakar had distributed copies of the magazine. The prosecution also said that Çakar had met with two members of an unspecified outlawed organization-a charge that Çakar denied, according to his attorney. Court documents obtained in December 1997 verified the lawyer's statements.
    Çakar's lawyer told CPJ that his client had been convicted of membership in the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party and sentenced to 12 years and six months in Bursa Prison.

Hasan Özgün, Özgür Gündem
Imprisoned: December 9, 1993

    CPJ believes that Özgün's imprisonment is a result of his work as a journalist and is of a piece with the state's well-documented harassment of Özgür Gündem. Özgün, Diyarbakir correspondent for Özgür Gündem, was taken into custody during a police raid on the paper's Diyarbakir bureau and charged under Article 168 of the Penal Code with being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). He was sentenced to 12 years and five months in prison.
    Transcripts of Özgün's trial show that the prosecution based its case on what it described as Özgür Gündem's pro-PKK slant. The prosecution also used as evidence copies of banned PKK publications (Serkhabun and Berxehun) found in Özgün's possession, as well as photographs and biographical sketches of PKK members found in the newspaper's archive. The state further cited Özgün's possession of an unauthorized handgun as evidence of his membership in the PKK.
    In his defense, Özgün maintained that the PKK publications were used as sources of information and that the photos of PKK members found in the archive were related to interviews the newspaper had conducted. Özgün admitted to purchasing the gun on the black market, but denied all other charges.
    The Ministry of Justice replied to CPJ's request for information saying that "In fact, Mr. Özgün had extensive ties to the PKK terrorist organization. Accordingly, he was convicted of the following charges: being an active member of the PKK terrorist organization; being a courier for the PKK's mountain team; inciting the public to participate in propaganda activities organized by the PKK; informing the PKK of rich locals who could be targeted for extortion and ransom schemes organized by the organization; supplying food and medicine for the members of the PKK terrorist organization; carrying a gun without a license; providing arms for PKK mountain teams; distributing separatist propaganda material on behalf of the PKK terrorist organization."
    RSF and International PEN have voiced strong objections to Özgün's prosecution. RSF reported that on the day after Özgün's arrest, more than 150 journalists and employees of Özgür Gündem were arrested throughout the country. RSF noted that the accusation against Özgün was based on the discovery in the Özgür Gündem office of petitions signed by detained PKK members. Responding to an RSF letter, the Turkish Embassy in France stated that "Mr. Hasan Özgün, not having the title of journalist, was accused of belonging to the terrorist organization PKK, for having organized activities on behalf of this organization, for publicity and praise of said organization in the paper, for having given the organization the names of wealthy people for levying a compulsory tax for financing PKK, for possession of an illegal weapon, for having smuggled arms to terrorists posted in the mountainous areas of southeastern Anatolia, for having kept in his house and distributed numerous pamphlets and other pro-PKK publicity materials."
    According to RSF, Özgün told the court that petitions belonging to detained PKK members had been entrusted to him by people close to the prisoners so that he could write an article about their case. Özgün denied ever having been a PKK member and complained that both he and Özgür Gündem were being persecuted.
    International PEN, in its mid-year 1997 report, concluded that Özgün did not receive a fair trial, noting that he had additionally been accused of arranging medical treatment for PKK guerrillas and having communicated with PKK guerrillas in prison. PEN's report said that "part of the evidence [was] said to relate to [an] interview with [a] PKK leader published in Özgür Gündem. Defense says the [same] interview was run in other Turkish newspapers without charges being brought."
    Özgün is currently in Aydin Prison.

Kemal Sahin, Özgür Gündem
Imprisoned: November 1995

    Sahin, the former editor in chief of Ozgür Gündem, was arrested and charged with membership the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). CPJ believes that his prosecution and imprisonment are part of a campaign of harassment against Özgur Gündem.
    Sahin had initially been convicted of violating Articles 6, 7, and 8 of the Anti-Terror Law and Article 312 of the Penal Code for articles published in the newspaper during his tenure as editor. Court documents from his trial on the Article 8 charges (disseminating separatist propaganda) show that among the numerous, mostly unspecified articles cited by the prosecution was one that appeared in Özgür Gündem on October 10, 1994, titled "Escape from the Army."
    Sahin was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison and fined more than 319 million TL (US$1,595) for the Article 8 conviction. It is unclear whether he was ever imprisoned on these charges, which were subsequently suspended by the government's August 14 limited amnesty for editors. Additional charges were brought against him under Article 168 of the Penal Code, however, for which he was arrested, charged, and eventually imprisoned.
    Sahin's lawyer told CPJ that the new charges against him were based on the testimony of Sahin's brother, who accused him of being a member of the PKK. It is unclear whether Sahin's brother had been coerced into giving this testimony. Sahin is being held in Umraniye Prison in Istanbul.