Horuz, editor of the leftist publications Ozgur Gelecek and Isci Koylu, was arrested and later charged with “membership in an illegal organization,” a crime under Article 168/2 of the penal code. Prosecutors based the case against Horuz on interviews he had allegedly conducted with leftist guerrillas, which Ozgur Gelecek published in 2000 and 2001.
The state also based its case on the testimony of an alleged former militant who claimed that the journalist belonged to the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party. Horuz was convicted on June 18, 2002, and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.