Benli, owner and editor of the leftist publications Hedef and Alevi Halk Gercegi, was arrested on or about May 11, 1998, and later charged with “membership in an illegal organization,” a crime under Article 168/2 of the Penal Code. According to court documents, the prosecution charged that Hedef was the mouthpiece of the Turkish Revolutionary Party, and that authorities had found copies of illegal magazines in Benli’s possession. That, along with articles published in Hedef and Alevi Halk Gercegi, was cited as partial proof of Benli’s membership in the organization. He was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison and is currently in Edirne Prison.