Il was a reporter for the now defunct far-left magazine Devrimci Emek and served as its editor from 1993 to 1994. Court documents state that Il was arrested and charged under Article 168/2 of the penal code for alleged membership in the Turkish Communist Leninist Labor Party’s (TKEP-L) youth organization. The prosecution also alleged that in December 1994 he rented a house 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.”
At the end of 1999, CPJ was unable to confirm whether Il was still in prison and is continuing its research into the case.