There have been a number of trials arising from reporting on Ergenekon, with journalists accused of "violating the confidentiality of the investigation" into Ergenekon, or violating the judicial process of the Ergenekon trials (attempting to influence a trial). [1] The European Commission said in 2010 that the number of cases was "a cause for concern." [2]
Convictions for reporting include Şamil Tayyar, for his book Operasyon Ergenekon (20 months' imprisonment, suspended for five years); and Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu, editor-in-chief of Vakit , sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment. Acquittals include the news coordinator of the daily Radikal , Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, and journalist Ahmet Şık, for a book entitled Kırk Katır, Kırk Satır.
The Ministry of Justice announced that by November 2009 court cases had been opened against 15 journalists on the grounds of "violating the confidentiality of the investigation". The Ministry furthermore declared that since 31 July 2009 3,845 investigations had been launched against journalists. 358 trials were pending and 15 cases resulted in convictions. [3] In its 2010 report on progress for the accession of Turkey to the European Union the European Commission stated inter alia: "The high number of cases initiated against journalists who have reported on the Ergenekon case is a cause for concern. They face prosecutions and trials for violating the principle of confidentiality of an ongoing judicial process. This could result in self-censorship." [2] The footnote 17 stated: "4,091 investigations have been initiated against journalists for breaches of the confidentiality of investigations or attempts to influence a fair trial (Articles 285 and 288 of the Turkish Criminal Code), following their reporting on the Ergenekon case." [2]
In December 2009 Şamil Tayyar, author and journalist with the daily Star was sentenced to 20 months' imprisonment for his book Operasyon Ergenekon ("Operation Ergenekon") on the grounds that he had violated the duty to observe secrecy of an investigation and tried to influence a fair trial. Istanbul Penal Court 2 ruled that the defendant might not commit another crime and the announcement of the sentence could be suspended under the condition that the defendant is put under five years of supervision. [4]
In April 2010 it was reported that over 180 cases had been opened against the daily Vakit (now Yeni Akit ) for reporting on the Ergenekon investigations. [5] Of these cases, 120 are related to not observing the secrecy of investigation (Article 285/1-3 of the Turkish Penal Code). In 17 cases the charges are influencing fair trial; in 30 cases the charges are insulting institutions (Article 125/3 of the Turkish Penal Code). In connection with an article on the killing of Üzeyir Garih that was allegedly committed by Ergenekon the editor-in-chief Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment according to Article 285/1 of the Turkish Penal Code for having violated the duty to observe secrecy. The article had been published on 1 October 2008. [5] Relating to the attack of PKK militants on the gendarmerie station Dağlıca in Yüksekova district, Hakkâri Province on 21 October 2007 Bakırköy Penal Code 2 once again sentenced Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu to 15 months' imprisonment for having violated the duty to observe secrecy. [5]
The news coordinator of the daily Radikal , Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and journalist Ahmet Şık were put on trial for a book entitled Kırk Katır, Kırk Satır ("Forty mules, forty lines") on allegations of having violated the duty to observe secrecy. [6] Kadıköy Penal Court acquitted the defendants on 13 May 2011 stating that the crime had not materialized. [7]
Another reporter of Radikal, İsmail Saymaz, was charged for an article of 8 June 2010 entitled "Love games at Ergenekon" (tr: Ergenekon’da Aşk Oyunu). He was accused with insult, influence of a fair trial and violating the duty to observe secrecy. The hearing was to start on 28 January 2011 at Bakırköy Penal Court 2. [8] In a separate case Erzurum Penal Court 2 decided in April 2011 not to be responsible to hear the complaint of Prosecutor Osman Şanal (who indicted the Ergenekon defendants in Erzincan) that the journalists Ali Dağlar (Hürriyet), İsmail Saymaz (Radikal) and İlhan Taşçı (Cumhuriyet) had insulted him and sent the case to Istanbul, where they should be tried for insulting a civil servant and influencing a fair trial. [9]
Radikal reporter İsmail Saymaz is charged in at least seven cases. Case 7 was launched for "violating the secrecy of an investigation" because of an article published in Radikal on 19 March 2008 entitled "The generals in their summer residences agree that Balbay is the left-wing leader". Saymaz was facing imprisonment of up to 60 years in total. [10] The first hearing of this trial was held on 3 June 2010 at Bakırköy Penal Court 2 according to Article 285 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) (Violations of Communications). [10] Previously, a further six trials were filed against Saymaz for his article about the interrogations of İlhan Cihaner, detained Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan and İbrahim Şahin, former Deputy Head of the Special Operations Department. [10] Another reason for the prosecution of Saymaz was the article entitled "The most reckless state of Ergenekon is in Erzincan" related to the defence of former İliç Public Prosecutor Bayram Bozkurt which was sent to the Ministry of Justice. Bozkurt is tried at the Erzincan High Criminal Court under allegations of "misconduct in office". [10]
Editor-in-chief of the daily Akşam , Mustafa Dolu and former editor Semra Pelek were indicted, because they had published the testimony of Ergenekon defendant, retired General İbrahim Fırtına on 5 January 2010. Bakırköy Penal Court held hearings on 1 November 2010 and 29 March 2011. The next hearing was scheduled for 11 August 2011. [11] After previous trials against İsmail Saymaz, Serkan Ocak and Ertan Kılıç on the grounds of reporting about the Ergenekon investigation and related hearings, now Pelek and Dolu are facing heavy prison sentences as well. [12]
Kadıköy Penal Court 2 is hearing the case of Burhan Ekinci from the daily Taraf , because he published a report of Istanbul Police HQ of 13 November 2009 on the connection of defendants to the killings of Christians in Malatya. There was one hearing on 11 November 2010. [13] Among the 43 cases heard at Kadıköy Penal Court 2, 39 are directed at staff of the daily. [14]
On 1 February 2011 Bakırköy Penal Court 2 started to hear the case of Rıdvan Kaya, chair of the Association for Thought and Education Rights (short in Turkish: Özgür-Der) and the editors-in-chief of the daily Vakit , Ahmet Can Karahasanoğlu and Kenan Kıran charged with insulting civil servants, showing them as target and influencing fair trial. The case is related to their comments on the rejection to release Mehmet Haberal, but the releases of İlhan Cihaner and 14 defendants in the sledgehammer (balyoz) case. The next hearing was scheduled for 23 May 2911. [15]
Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı is the controversial wing and intelligence agency of the Turkish Gendarmerie. JİTEM was active in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. After the Susurluk scandal, former prime ministers Bülent Ecevit and Mesut Yılmaz have confirmed the existence of JİTEM.
Article 301 is an article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish nation, or Turkish government institutions. It took effect on June 1, 2005, and was introduced as part of a package of penal law reform in the process preceding the opening of negotiations for Turkish membership of the European Union (EU), in order to bring Turkey up to Union standards. The original version of the article made it a crime to "insult Turkishness"; on April 30, 2008, the article was amended to change "Turkishness" into "the Turkish nation". Since this article became law, charges have been brought in more than 60 cases, some of which are high-profile. The Great Jurists Union headed by Kemal Kerinçsiz, a Turkish lawyer, is "behind nearly all of Article 301 trials". Kerinçsiz himself is responsible for forty of the trials, including the high-profile ones.
Censorship in Turkey is regulated by domestic and international legislation, the latter taking precedence over domestic law, according to Article 90 of the Constitution of Turkey.
The Zirve Publishing House murders, called the missionary massacres by Turkish media, took place on April 18, 2007, in Zirve Publishing House, Malatya, Turkey. Three employees of the Bible publishing house were attacked, tortured, and murdered by five Muslim assailants.
The Maraş massacre was the massacre of more than one hundred Alevi civilians in the city of Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, in December 1978 by the neo-fascist Grey Wolves and religious conservative community. The tensions were initially ignited by a noise bomb thrown into a movie theater frequently visited by extreme Turkish nationalists. The incident is best remembered for the subsequent campaign of violence directed against left-wingers, mostly Alevis, although some left-wing Sunnis and Kurds were also targeted. Although some 500 perpetrators of the incident were indicted later on, the investigation was kept classified by the government. The real provocateurs setting the stage for the incident were never identified.
Ergenekon was the name given to an alleged clandestine, secularist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey with possible ties to members of the country's military and security forces. The would-be group, named after Ergenekon, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains, was accused of terrorism in Turkey.
The Kurdistan Communities Union or KCK is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of Democratic Confederalism. The KCK also serves as an umbrella group for all the Apoist political parties of Greater Kurdistan, including the PKK, PYD, PJAK, and PÇDK. The term Apoist refers to followers of the ideology of Abdullah Öcalan (“Apo”).
Silivri Prison or officially Silivri Penitentiaries Campus is a high-security state correctional institution complex in the Silivri district of Istanbul Province in Turkey. Established in 2008, it is the country's most modern and Europe's largest penal facility.
Operation Sledgehammer is the name of an alleged Turkish secularist military coup plan dating back to 2003, in response to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) gaining office.
Özgür Gündem was an Istanbul-based daily newspaper in Turkish language that was mainly read by people of Kurdish origin. Launched in May 1992, the newspaper was known for its extensive reporting on the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, and was therefore regularly accused of making propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Its editors and staff have frequently been arrested and tried and resulted in multiple publication bans within Turkey. Since April 1994, the publication continued under different names until Özgür Gündem was relaunched on 14 April 2011.
The Imam's Army is a book by Turkish journalist Ahmet Şık on the life and work of Fethullah Gülen and his Gülen movement. Şık was detained in March 2011, before the book was published, and the draft book was seized by the government and banned, claiming it was an "illegal organizational document" of the secret organization Ergenekon. Şık was detained pending trial, being eventually released pending trial in March 2012. In the interim, in an act of anti-censorship defiance, a version of the book was released in November 2011 under the name 000Kitap (000Book), edited by 125 journalists, activists and academics, and published by Postacı Publishing House.
OdaTV(also known as Odatv.com, Odatv or odaTV), an online news portal based in Turkey, was founded in 2007. It is one of the most followed news portals in Turkey and according to the Alexa statistics, it is the 119th most visited website in the country.
Hanefi Avcı is a former chief of police in Turkey, and author of the best-selling book Haliç’te Yaşayan Simonlar, in which Avcı claimed that the Gülen movement had infiltrated the police and manipulated key trials such as the Ergenekon trials through judges and prosecutors close to the movement. Avcı, a conservative Islamist, was himself once close to the movement, and his children were educated in a Gülen school. Avcı, who in the 1990s testified to parliament in relation to the Susurluk scandal and in 2009 to prosecutors about the mafia links of the Ergenekon organization, was the first Turkish state official to confirm the existence of the Turkish Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit.
Mehmet Baransu is a Turkish journalist and author of Kurdish origin. He is a correspondent for Taraf, and previously worked for Aksiyon (1997–2000). He is the winner of a 2009 Sedat Simavi Journalism Award. Known for investigating the Turkish military, he reported on the "Cage Action Plan" which became part of the Ergenekon trials, and published documents in January 2010 revealing “Balyoz” ("Sledgehammer"), a plan for a coup that was hatched by Turkish military officers in 2003. In January 2010, in connection with Sledgehammer, Baransu delivered a suitcase to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office a suitcase containing evidence of the coup plot such as CDs, tapes, printed documents, and handwritten notes. The Sledgehammer plot involved plans to bomb two mosques in Istanbul, attack a military museum and blame it on religious extremists, and attack a Turkish plane and blame it on Greece. Three hundred and thirty-one of the 365 suspects were sentenced to prison on Sept. 21, 2012, while the remaining 34 were acquitted. Three retired generals were sentenced to life in prison on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government by force,” but their terms were later reduced to 20 years. Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled in June 2014 that the rights of most of the convicted suspects had been violated, and ordered the immediate release of 236 of them. The rest were released later. A new trial began on Nov. 3, 2014. Reports released in December 2014 and February 2015 claimed that some of the evidence in the case was fabricated.
İsmail Saymaz is a Turkish investigative journalist for the newspaper Radikal. He has published articles and books on the Turkish deep state and Ergenekon, including a 2011 book on links between the 2007 Zirve Publishing House massacre and the 2006 killing of Andrea Santoro, and another 2011 book on former police chief Hanefi Avcı. He has won a number of awards for his work.
İlhan Cihaner, is a former Turkish prosecutor and a parliamentary deputy for the Republican People's Party (CHP). He was the Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan from 2007; he resigned in 2011 in order to stand for election. He is a suspect in the Ergenekon trials. He is a columnist for the soL newspaper.
The Şemdinli incident occurred on 9 November 2005 when a bookshop in Şemdinli, Hakkari Province, Turkey was attacked with grenades. One person died and several were injured in the attack on the Umut bookshop. The attack was carried out by Turkish Gendarmerie personnel, who were caught in the act by local residents. The men are said to have worked for the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. Two hand grenades were thrown, and a further two retrieved from the car of Kaya and İldeniz, which was registered to the local Gendarmerie. In 2010 grenades with the same serial number were found in a house in Erzincan as part of the Ergenekon investigation. The incident has been compared with the Susurluk scandal for the light it casts on the Turkish "deep state".