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MORE TURKISH JOURNALISTS CHARGED WITH PLOTTING
Agence France Presse
March 7, 2011 Monday 4:06 PM GMT
Seven people including prominent journalists were detaineed at the
weekend for allegedly plotting against the Islamist-rooted Turkish
government, media reports said Monday.
Prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, who is carrying out the probe into the alleged
gang aiming to topple the government, rejected criticisms that the
arrests aimed to intimidate journalists, media reports said Monday.
Oz said the probe was not related to the journalists' work or ideas
but to "evidence that is impossible to disclose now for confidentiality
of the investigation," the daily Milliyet reported.
Among those arrested was Nedim Sener, a prominent journalist who last
year received the International Press Institute's World Press Freedom
Hero award for a book that blamed the security forces for the 2007
murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Ironically, journalist Ahmet Sik, also among the suspects, is credited
with being among the first journalists to report that some generals
were plotting to oust the government, months before the probe began
in June 2007.
Police had raided suspects' homes early Thursday, drawing condemnation
from the EU and international media watchdogs as well as from Turkish
media.
It was the latest episode in a long-running probe into Ergenekon,
a purported secularist network that allegedly plotted assassinations
and bombings to destabilise the governnment and prompt a military coup.
The suspects include six journalists and an academic. All journalists
are known critics either of the investigation or the police.
Three of the journalists are from the opposition website odatv.com,
whose owner and editors were arrested last month under the same
investigation.
Professor Yalcin Kucuk, a fierce government critic, is also among
those arrested.
The latest arrests are based on some documents obtained from odatv.com,
media reports said.
According to one of those documents, Kucuk shapes the editorial policy
of the website, said Today's Zaman, a pro-government newspaper.
Thousands of people, including journalists, took to the streets Friday
in Istanbul and Ankara to condemn the arrests. Colleagues of Sener
and Sik also waited in front of the courthouse at the weekend until
the two were sent to jail.
Newspapers on Monday criticised the probe against journalists,
emphasising that they were questioned mainly on their journalistic
work.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected any responsibility
Thursday, voicing hope the judiciary would "complete the process
speedily."
But President Abdullah Gul said he was "worried" about the latest
developments as they cast a pall over Turkey's reputation overseas.
Critics charge the investigation, launched in 2007, has degenerated
into a campaign to bully critical media and the opposition.
From: A. Papazian
Agence France Presse
March 7, 2011 Monday 4:06 PM GMT
Seven people including prominent journalists were detaineed at the
weekend for allegedly plotting against the Islamist-rooted Turkish
government, media reports said Monday.
Prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, who is carrying out the probe into the alleged
gang aiming to topple the government, rejected criticisms that the
arrests aimed to intimidate journalists, media reports said Monday.
Oz said the probe was not related to the journalists' work or ideas
but to "evidence that is impossible to disclose now for confidentiality
of the investigation," the daily Milliyet reported.
Among those arrested was Nedim Sener, a prominent journalist who last
year received the International Press Institute's World Press Freedom
Hero award for a book that blamed the security forces for the 2007
murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Ironically, journalist Ahmet Sik, also among the suspects, is credited
with being among the first journalists to report that some generals
were plotting to oust the government, months before the probe began
in June 2007.
Police had raided suspects' homes early Thursday, drawing condemnation
from the EU and international media watchdogs as well as from Turkish
media.
It was the latest episode in a long-running probe into Ergenekon,
a purported secularist network that allegedly plotted assassinations
and bombings to destabilise the governnment and prompt a military coup.
The suspects include six journalists and an academic. All journalists
are known critics either of the investigation or the police.
Three of the journalists are from the opposition website odatv.com,
whose owner and editors were arrested last month under the same
investigation.
Professor Yalcin Kucuk, a fierce government critic, is also among
those arrested.
The latest arrests are based on some documents obtained from odatv.com,
media reports said.
According to one of those documents, Kucuk shapes the editorial policy
of the website, said Today's Zaman, a pro-government newspaper.
Thousands of people, including journalists, took to the streets Friday
in Istanbul and Ankara to condemn the arrests. Colleagues of Sener
and Sik also waited in front of the courthouse at the weekend until
the two were sent to jail.
Newspapers on Monday criticised the probe against journalists,
emphasising that they were questioned mainly on their journalistic
work.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected any responsibility
Thursday, voicing hope the judiciary would "complete the process
speedily."
But President Abdullah Gul said he was "worried" about the latest
developments as they cast a pall over Turkey's reputation overseas.
Critics charge the investigation, launched in 2007, has degenerated
into a campaign to bully critical media and the opposition.
From: A. Papazian