Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

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15.05 The International Helsinki Federation (IHF) report of June 2006 noted that:

“The Independent Network for Monitoring and Covering Media Freedom and Independent Journalism reported in July that judicial harassment and political harassment of journalists increased dramatically in April through June 2005. BiaNet also reported that 12 journalist [sic] were charged with ‘disseminating terrorist propaganda’ under the Anti-Terrorism Law, including mainstream journalists who reported on the Kurdish question. According to the annual report of this source, 17 journalists, who discussed current human rights issues and the cancellation of a conference on the Armenian issue by a court in their reports or articles, were prosecuted for ‘influencing the court decision’ and ‘attempting to influence fair trial’.” [10a] (p5)
15.06 On 23 December 2005 the Turkish Daily News reported that:
“In a new twist in the saga of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), writer Zülküf Kışanak and journalist Aziz Özer have been found guilty of insulting the Republic of Turkey and sentenced to five months’ imprisonment each… The court decided that the writer had insulted the republic and sentenced him to a prison term of five months, later reduced to a fine only of YTL 3,000. The prosecutor had demanded a sentence of three years in prison. The same court later sentenced Aziz Öner, owner/editor of periodical Yeni Dünya İçin Çağrı, to five months’ imprisonment for articles that appeared in his magazine. The sentence was later reduced to a YTL 6,000 fine.” [23m]
15.07 The IHD (Human Rights Association) 2005 Balance Sheet on Human Rights Violations in Turkey recorded that 27 people were tried under section 159 of the [old] Turkish Penal Code and section 301 of the new Turkish Penal Code in 18 completed cases. Ten people were acquitted; 15 people were sentenced to 82 months and 3 days imprisonment; a sentence of 45 months and 3 days was converted into a fine and the case against one person was dismissed. A total of 18 additional cases were brought against 39 people under the same articles but these cases were not completed in 2005. [73a] (Violations of right to free speech, thought and belief)