Harman, a reporter for the now banned socialist weekly Atilim, was detained during a June 15, 1995, police raid on the newspaper’s Mersin bureau.
On June 24, 1995, Harman was formally arrested and charged under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code for allegedly belonging to the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Atilim’s lawyer reported that the prosecution based its case on the argument that the MKLP published Atilim. The prosecution introduced copies of Atilim found in Harman’s possession as evidence of her affiliation with the MLKP and claimed that several unspecified “banners” were found in the Atilim office. The prosecution also alleged that Harman lived in a house belonging to the MLKP. On January 26, 1996, Harman was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison and jailed in Adana Prison. She is currently in Nidge Prison.