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Previous Action Alerts 03/29/07 - TURKEY
March 29, 2007
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Turkey: Update – Agos Trials Continue
Court Cases Against Agos Continue
At the time of his murder on 19 January this year, Hrant Dink the editor of the Turkish Armenian magazine Agos, was on trial in two cases: one, on charges of “insult to Turkishness” for an article quoting from an interview he gave to Reuters in mid 2006, the other for “interference in the judiciary” for an piece published in September 2005 criticising a court decision. On 22 March, a court in Istanbul overseeing the first trial hearing against him to be held since his death, that under Article 301 of the Penal Code, dropped the charges against Dink, yet the trial against his son, Arat Dink, and two codefendants working for Agos, Serkis Seropyan and Aydin Engin, continues. The next hearing to be held on 14 June. They are all accused for the publication in Agos in July 2006 of a piece entitled ‘I vote against 301’ which included a quote from an interview Dink had given to the Reuters news agency in which he stated that he had no doubt that an Armenian genocide had taken place and that he would not remain silent on this issue. International PEN had hoped that, given Hrant Dink’s tragic death and the public calls for the repeal of Article 301 that followed, the opportunity would be taken to close these trial proceedings altogether. It is deeply disappointed with the decision to continue with the case which it sees to be in direct breach of international standards safeguarding the right to freedom of expression.
The second trial relates to another article, published in October 2005, which is being tried under Article 288 of the Penal Code – interfering with the judiciary. The piece questioned a court’s decision to sentence Dink to a six months suspended sentence, again under Article 301 for an article on Armenia, a case that is currently before the European Court on Human Rights. Again, Hrant Dink’s son, Arat Dink and editor Serkis Seropyan, are co-defendants, and, again, International PEN sees the charges as in violation of the right to freedom of expression. The next trial hearing, the first relating to this case since Dink’s murder, is to be held on 18 April.
Investigation into Dink’s Assassination
Meanwhile Dink’s alleged assassin, the 17-year-old Ogün Samast, has been arrested, alongside Yasin Hayal, a known terrorist who had spent some time in prison for having taken part in a bombing of a McDonald’s restaurant in 2004, and Erhan Tuncel, a member of an extreme right wing organisation. Samast is said to have confessed to the murder, and Hayal is said to have told police that it was he who had ordered the killing and supplied the gun that was used to kill Dink. Tuncel is accused of being the mastermind behind the killing, having issued orders to both Samast and Hayal. Turkish newspapers have rumoured that Tuncel was in fact a police informer and had warned police of the planned assassination, advice that was not acted upon. Other reports suggest that there were up to five people, among them Hayal, identified on CCTV footage as being present at the murder. Earlier suggestions that Samast had acted on his own are now dismissed, with the authorities making it clear that this was an organised crime.
Debate on Article 301
Calls for the amendment or repeal of Article 301 of the Penal Code which had been levied against Dink and which many believe marked him out as a target for extremists, were made by the 1,000s who attended Dink’s funeral and protests around his death. Debate is still under way. In late February 2007, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that changes to Article 301 would be part of legislative reforms aimed at meeting EU requirements for continued discussions on Turkey’s application for membership. International PEN has been campaigning for a complete repeal of the law, believing that the concept of “insult” is too vague to enable it be to properly dealt with under criminal legislatoin and can too easily be used against those whose only act has been to comment on sensitive issues.
The Turkish NGO Freedom of Expression Initiative reports that there are around twenty cases under Article 301 currently under way, with a further ten under appeal. Of these PEN has identifed 15 as relating to writers, journalists and publishers. On 15 March, another of what has been series of court hearings over the past two years against publisher Ragip Zarakolu relating to two separate books was held, resulting in yet another postponement, this time to 3 May. Residing in the USA at the time, Zarakolu decided not to attend that hearing in light of Dink’s murder. He expects to be present at the next. Meanwhile, several writers, journalists and academics are living under police protection for fear that they too may be targetted by extremists.
Recommended Action
Appeals to the Turkish authorities may be sent:
- expressing concern that there are currently around 15 trials underway against writers, journalists and publishers accused under Article 301 continue, notably those against Arat Dink, Serkis Seropyan and Aydin Engin of Agos magazine, and publisher Ragip Zarakolu;
- Pointing out that these trials are in contravention of international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 10 of the European Covenant on Human Rights, to which of both Turkey is a signatory;
- Therefore expressing the hope that these trials will be dropped in recognition that they are in breach of the international treaties to which Turkey is committed;
- Supporting calls for the repeal of Article 301 in recognition of the fact that it has been used to bring numerous people to the courts solely for having legitimately expressed their opinions, in direct violation of international human rights standards;
- Referring to the murder of Hrant Dink as an indication of the danger the law brings to individuals accused under it by becoming targets of extremists.
Addresses:
Appeals may be sent to:
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
Turkey
Fax: +90 312 417 0476
Foreign Minister and State Minister for Human Rights
Mr Abdullah Gül
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
Turkey
Fax: +90 312 287 8811