Özgür Gündem

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Turkey sentences 4 Özgür Gündem journalists to jail on terror charges

Istanbul, February 16, 2020 – Turkish authorities should cease prosecuting former staffers of the shuttered Özgür Gündem newspaper and not contest their appeals, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the 23rd Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes convicted three former editors and the former publisher of pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem on terrorism charges, and…

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Turkey to begin retrial of RSF representative, other press freedom advocates on terrorism charges

Istanbul, February 1, 2021 – Turkish authorities should immediately drop all charges against the journalists and press freedom advocates currently facing a second trial on trumped-up terrorism charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 3, the Thirteenth Istanbul Court of Serious Crimes is scheduled to begin hearings in the retrial of Erol…

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during a parliamentary group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on June 25, 2019. Two journalists are to stand trial, in separate cases, on charges of insulting the president. (AFP/Adem Altan)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 23, 2019

‘Insult’ trial for Free Journalists Initiative spokesperson Hakkı Boltan, a spokesperson for the Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGİ), is due to stand trial in Diyarbakır on charges of “insulting the president” and “insulting a public servant because of their duty,” the news website Gazete Karınca reported. The charges are related to Boltan’s public statements about President…

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People read papers by the Bosporus in Istanbul in April 2019. A journalist this week started a prison sentence for insulting Turkey's president in a speech. (AP/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 9, 2019

Journalist in jail for insulting presidentOn June 13, Yavuz Selim Demirağ, a columnist for the nationalist daily Yeni Çağ, started an 11-month and 20-day prison sentence for “insulting the president,” according to his column published the same day. The column featured an update from the newspaper that said that the journalist had turned himself and…

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A man holds a sign reading 'Writers' freedom is not guaranteed' outside an Istanbul court during a trial connected to the now shuttered paper Özgür Gündem, in December 2016. A court sentenced seven former journalists from the paper to prison on May 21, 2019. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of May 19, 2019

7 journalists sentenced in Özgür Gündem trial An Istanbul Court on May 21 sentenced seven journalists from the shuttered pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem to prison after they were convicted of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization,” the Mezopotamya News Agency reported.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, pictured giving a speech in Ankara on April 18, lashed out at a Financial Times report on Turkey's economy. (Presidential Press Service via AP/Pool)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 14, 2019

Sözcü journalists on trial At a hearing for journalists from the opposition daily Sözcü, in Istanbul, on April 18, the prosecutor asked that seven staff members be found guilty for “willingly and knowingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being in its hierarchical structure,” the news website Diken reported. The prosecutors argued that Sözcü was aiding…

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Protesters hold up copies of the pro-Kurdish daily Özgür Gündem during a rally in Istanbul in June 2016. Turkish courts will proceed with 14 cases against a former publisher of the now shuttered newspaper. (AFP/Oan Kose)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of April 7, 2019

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…

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Fireworks are seen in Istanbul on April 1, during elections. A court in the city convicted eight individuals of anti-state charges for their role in a solidarity campaign with the pro-Kurdish newspaper, Özgür Gündem. (Reuters/Kemal Aslan)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of March 31, 2019

Eight sentenced over Özgür Gündem campaign An Istanbul court on April 3 sentenced seven guest editors who took part in a solidarity campaign with the now shuttered daily, Özgür Gündem, the television and news website Medyascope reported.

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A Banksy mural of Turkish journalist Zehra Doğan, in New York. Doğan was freed this week after completing her prison sentence. (AP/Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of February 24, 2019

RSF Turkey representative in court Erol Önderoğlu, the Turkey representative for the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was in court in Istanbul on February 25 alongside Şebnem Korur Fincancı, a columnist for the leftist daily Evrensel and president of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, and Ahmet Nesin, a writer and a columnist…

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A view of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul on January 28. Journalist Ayşe Düzkan has started serving an 18-month prison sentence in an Istanbul prison over her participation in the Özgür Gündem solidarity campaign. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of January 28, 2019

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…

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