Journalist sentenced to 166 years and 6 months in prison
Journalist sentenced to 166 years and 6 months in prison
Vedat Kursun, who is former chief editor and licensee of Turkey’s only Kurdish daily newspaper Azadiya Welat, has been sentenced to 166 years and 6 months in prison.
Reasons for Kurþun's conviction were several items published in the issue of 11 August 2007. Those were the announcement of the death of Mazhar Ilbasan, Demirci Taþtekin and Vural Soydemir, members of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the PKK, as the result of clashes in Tunceli; a poem for PKK members written by Nesih Özcan and a notice saying "We are educated in front of fighters for freedom. The Patriotic 'Norþin' in Mersin".
Court Prosecutor Yakup Yar demanded prison sentence of up to five years for each issue on subject under charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of criminal contents in a total of 103 issues of the newspaper. Furthermore, prosecutor Yar requested imprisonment of up to another ten years for "membership in an illegal organization".
Reasons for Kurþun's conviction were several items published in the issue of 11 August 2007. Those were the announcement of the death of Mazhar Ilbasan, Demirci Taþtekin and Vural Soydemir, members of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the PKK, as the result of clashes in Tunceli; a poem for PKK members written by Nesih Özcan and a notice saying "We are educated in front of fighters for freedom. The Patriotic 'Norþin' in Mersin".
Court Prosecutor Yakup Yar demanded prison sentence of up to five years for each issue on subject under charges of "propaganda for an illegal organization" on the grounds of criminal contents in a total of 103 issues of the newspaper. Furthermore, prosecutor Yar requested imprisonment of up to another ten years for "membership in an illegal organization".
