Turkey: Case Against U.S. Journalist Suspended
New York, November 16, 1999 — A Turkish criminal court today officially “froze” its case against American journalist Andrew Finkel, the Associated Press reported. Turkish authorities informed Finkel in June that he had been charged with “insulting the Turkish military,” an offense that carries a penalty of up to six years imprisonment. The charge was…
CPJ Dangerous Assignments
Cartoon by Dogan Guzel (Published in Ozgur Ulke on December 11, 1994) On May 17, 1996, an Istanbul criminal court convicted Güzel, a cartoonist with the Kurdish nationalist daily Özgür Ülke,under Article 160 of the Turkish Penal Code (insulting the Turkish Republic). He was sentenced to 10 months in prison. The basis of the conviction was a…
CPJ Dangerous Assignments: Sirnak 1998
Sirnak—Like other journalists before me, I was taken to the southeast on a trip organized by the Turkish Joint Chiefs of Staff. Most of our time was spent in and around Sirnak, a border garrison town that has become symbolic of all the problems of that region. Nowadays, the principal landmark in Sirnak is the…
Turkish Journalist Assassinated
Calls on Prime Minister to Launch Immediate Investigation and to Bring Perpetrators to Justice New York, N.Y., October 21, 1999-The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed outrage at the assassination today of prominent academic and journalist Ahmet Taner Kislali. Kislali, a regular columnist for the daily Cumhuriyet,was killed today in a bomb attack in front of his…
Alan Finkel Indicted in Istanbul
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns in the strongest terms today’s indictment of Andrew Finkel, a free-lance journalist based in Istanbul who reports for Time magazine and the Times of London and appears on CNN. In a hearing today, Finkel, a British national, was charged with “insulting state institutions” under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code. The charge comes in response to a February 1998 article Finkel wrote for the daily Sabah titled “Shurnak 1998,” which discussed Turkey’s ongoing military operations against the Kurds in the southeast. An expert panel’s report, submitted to the court, concluded that Finkel did not insult the military. Another hearing has been scheduled for November 16, pending the report of a second panel of experts on the validity of the charges. If convicted, Finkel faces up to six years in prison.
Nadire Mater charged with “insulting the Turkish military”
Click here to read Nadire Mater’s personal statement Last week, Nadire Mater, a reporter with Inter Press Service (IPS), learned that she had been formally charged with “insulting” the Turkish military-a crime under Article 159 of the Turkish Penal Code. If convicted, she faces between one and six years in prison. The charge stems from…
Mehmed’s Book Author Faces Six Years
By Nadire Mater Istanbul, September 21, 1999—A local prosecutor in Beyoglu, Istanbul has finally indicted me under Article 159 of the penal code ( “insulting and belittling the military”) for having published the statements of former army soldiers who I interviewed for my book Mehmedin Kitabi(“Mehmed’s Book—Soldiers Who Have Fought in the Southeast Speak Out”). The…