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Turkey: A Short Summary of the Court Case
Launched against 56 DTP Mayors
10.4.2008
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April
10, 2008
Freedom of Expression and
Local Democracy in Turkey on trial!
The next trial will be held at 10.40 am on 15 April
2008, at No.5 Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court. The
court is expected to pass a final judgment in this
trial.
Fifty-six mayors, all members of the Democratic
Society Party (DTP), sent a letter addressed to the
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 27
December 2005, expressing their concerns regarding
the proposed prohibition of Roj TV on the grounds
that such a move would violate cultural rights and
the right to freedom of expression (Appendix 1).
In September 2006, Turkish authorities launched a
case against the mayors on the charge of “punishment
of those who deliberately aid and abet an illegal
organization with membership to the organization"
under Articles 220/7 and 314/2-3 of the Turkish
Penal Code (TPC). The prosecutor, with reference to
Article 5 of Law No. 3713 on Fight Against Terrorism
(on increase in penalty of imprisonment and
amercement) and Articles 53 and 58/9 of the TPC (on
exclusion from certain rights), initially demanded
imprisonment from 7.5 to 15 years and exclusion from
political rights and civil service duties.
During the last court hearing on March 11, 2008, the
prosecutor delivered his final opinion as to the
accusations, demanding that the 53 Mayors be
imprisoned up to 2 years on the charge of “praising
a committed crime or a person who committed this
crime” under Article 215/1 of the TPC. Furthermore,www.ekurd.net
under terms of
additional Article 53/1-2-3 of TPC, the prosecution
also demanded that the 53 mayors be excluded from
political rights and civil service duties until they
have served their prison terms, including holding a
civil service position by election or appointment,
voting, standing as a candidate in elections,
establishing or managing any political party, trade
union, association, corporation, or company or
performing any professional occupation. Accordingly,
in the case of conviction, the court may also order
dismissal of the 53 mayors from their public
offices.
The first hearing had been held at No.5 Diyarbakir
Heavy Penal Court on 26 September 2006, during which
the mayors submitted their joint defence (Appendix
2). Diyarbakir Metropolitan Mayor Osman Baydemir
stated in his defence the following: “We are also
upset with the fact that a television channel
broadcasting in Kurdish is operating from abroad. We
consider it more appropriate that this
Kurdish-broadcasting station should be able to
operate within the borders of Turkey in line with
the EU acquis which is being adopted in the
accession process that the government of Turkey is
undergoing. We have written our letter with a view
to point out that the media and press should not be
silenced in order for a democratic life and culture
to flourish in Turkey. In this context, we wanted to
make our point that shutting down Roj TV would not
contribute to democratic life within Turkey”.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY PARTY- (DTP)
BRUSSELS OFFICE
Rue Jourdan 48
1060- Brussels
** Kurds are not recognized as an official minority
in Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in Big
Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to 25 million ethnic Kurds, a
large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise
with the Kurdish PKK for a Kurdish homeland in the
country's mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media. The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet has led
to judicial persecution in 2000 and 2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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