FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks released a memorandum about Turkey after 6 years. Muiznieks stated that the state of emergency must be stopped.

Human Rights Watch reviews more than 90 country in World Report 2017. HRW, in Turkey chapter of that report, states: “The crackdown that followed the coup attempt was symptomatic of the government’s increasing authoritarianism."

Prof. Dr. Nilgün Toker Kılınç, who signed the “Academics for Peace” declaration and is dismissed with the recent emergency decree, thinks that dismissal is an “act of vengeance” rather than punishment.

Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD) issued a report about the violations of rights that have been committed after the coup attempt on July 15 and during the state of emergency.

Today, the “visiting editors-in-chief” of closed-down Özgür Gündem newspaper started to stand trial. The first hearing, where Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran stood trial, has been postponed to December 15.

The trials of journalists, who participated in the “visiting editor-in-chief” campaign that was started as an act of solidarity with the closed-down Özgür Gündem newspaper, will start tomorrow. Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran will be the first ones to be heard.

Özgür Gündem's executive editor Zana Kaya and editor-in-chief İlhan Kızılkaya had been detained since August 16 and they were arrested yesterday evening.

A new report realesed by Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee, has criticised the Turkish government on multiple counts: Human rights abuse allegations in Kurdish areas, Restrictions on press freedoms and freedom of speech, ect…

Twice-postponed Armenian Genocide draft will be brought to Bundestag's agenda on June 2. Green Party member and Vice President of the Bundestag Claudia Roth spoke to Agos. Reminding that Ambassador of Turkey to Germany Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu warned Bundestag about the draft, Roth said, “We don't accept it. I hope the groups in the parliament won't obey Turkey once again and the draft will be accepted as planned.”

Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran filed a claim for compensation against President Erdoğan, because of his statements about the academics who signed the declaration titled as “We won't be accomplices to this crime”. Oran is one of the signees.