Antistate

Istanbul, April 22, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Turkish authorities to not take eight former employees from the daily Cumhuriyet into custody until the Supreme Court has heard their colleagues’ appeal. At a press conference in Istanbul today, lawyers representing the employees said they would ask authorities to delay acting on a local…

14 trials in one week for Özgür Gündem publisher Over the course of one week, Turkish courts agreed to proceed with 14 cases involving Ziya Çiçekçi, a former publisher of the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem, the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reported. All but one of the cases involve accusations of “making propaganda for a…

Court dismisses trial of Paradise Papers reporter Pelin Ünker The trial of Pelin Ünker, a former reporter for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, who faced charges related to her coverage of the Paradise Papers, was closed on March 28 after the judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, Medyascope reported. Ünker was accused of…

Court convicts Gün Printing House owner and staff An Istanbul court on March 11 convicted seven employees of the Gün Printing House, including the owner, Kasım Zengin, of anti-state charges and sentenced them to prison, the pro-Kurdish Mezopatamya News Agency reported. The court acquitted 15 other employees who were also on trial.

Nairobi, February 15, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed deep concern about a one-year suspension imposed by a Somaliland court on the privately owned Foore newspaper, and called on authorities to drop the charges on appeal.

Düzkan starts jail term for Özgür Gündem campaignJournalist Ayşe Düzkan started serving an 18-month prison sentence in Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul on January 29 over her participation in a solidarity campaign with the daily newspaper Özgür Gündem, the independent news website Bianet reported. A court sentenced Düzkan in November. Before turning herself in, Düzkanb…

Jailed journalist Nazlı Ilıcak sentenced to extra 5-year prison term An Istanbul court on January 22 sentenced veteran journalist Nazlı Ilıcak to five years and 10 months in prison for “exposing secret documents,” the news website Diken reported. Ilıcak, who worked most recently with shuttered outlets Can Erzincan TV and the daily Özgür Düşünce, is…

Journalist jailed over unpaid fines Hakan Gülseven, a journalist who used to work for the pro-opposition (CHP) daily Yurt, was imprisoned on December 20 after failing to pay 31,500 Turkish lira (US$5,974) in three unpaid fines over charges of insult, the news website Artı Gerçek reported.

Anti-state charges for 5 journalists Five journalists from the opposition daily Sözcü were indicted for “willingly and knowingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being in its hierarchical structure,” BBC Turkey reported on December 10. Chief editor Metin Yılmaz, online chief editor Mustafa Çetin, online news coordinator Yücel Arı, and columnists Emin Çölaşan and Necati Doğru…

Court upholds Özgür Gündem sentences A local appeals court in Istanbul on November 29 upheld the earlier prison sentences handed to five of the participants of a solidarity campaign with the daily Özgür Gündem, the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency reported.