Beşikçi, a prominent writer and journalist, was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison for an article he wrote in the now-defunct Yeni Ülke daily. Since then, he has been convicted in other cases for articles he published on the Kurdish question in the now defunct Özgür Gündem and for books he has written on the matter. By the end of 1994, the prison sentences he had received totaled 67 years. More cases against him are pending.