Zarakolu will be incarcerated at an F-type prison that hosts “dangerous convicts and prisoners” in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, alongside 17 other suspects who were also arrested for their alleged links to the KCK.
The publisher’s lawyer, Özcan Kiliç, told the Hürriyet Daily News that they had issued a petition to the Justice Ministry for his client to be imprisoned in the same place as his son Deniz Zarakolu, who is also under arrest in an F-type prison in the Thracian province of Edirne.
“The laws recognize this right, but the procedure is likely to drag on, possibly for months,” Kiliç said, adding that convicts in F-type prisons were placed either in solitary cells or cells that contain up to three people at most.
Zarakolu, 65, is afflicted with health problems, and there are great difficulties regarding the medical treatment of patients in F-type prisons, Kiliç said, adding that they were quite worried by the prospect of the human rights activist being forced to serve time in such a penitentiary.
“Every act can turn into a disciplinary matter. Bans could be issued on letters, books, journals and, even more importantly, on meeting with visitors. There are a great many lawsuits filed in the European Court of Human Rights for this reason,” Kiliç said. The publisher, who is also the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, was questioned in a makeshift hut established next to the Besiktas Courthouse in Istanbul, along with 48 other suspects in the case, including Marmara University Professor Büsra Ersanli.
Kiliç said his client would await trial for months under the difficult conditions of an F-type prison even though has not been convicted of any crime. The entire trial process could take up to a year, the lawyer added.
Zarakolu was arrested due to a public speech he gave in Istanbul in 2010 at the political academy of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which is primarily focused on the Kurdish issue. A secret witness informed on him, according to Kiliç.
Meanwhile, Kiliç said Ersanli would be incarcerated at the Bakirköy Prison in Istanbul under conditions that are slightly better.
Ersanli, who is also represented in court by Kiliç, was not sent to an F-type prison because there are no F-type prisons specifically for women.
Ersanli was also arrested because she lectured at the BDP’s academy.
Twenty-one detained in anti-terror operations in Turkey
A total of 21 people were detained yesterday for allegedly conducting Molotov cocktail attacks in Istanbul on Oct. 29.
The 21 were charged with attacking several spots in the city’s Zeytinburnu district last week, including the district office of the ruling Justice and Democracy Party (AKP) and a vehicle of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The group also clashed with the police. The suspects were detained after police operations in Zeytinburnu and were charged with having ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the agency reported. Police were searching for 25 people in the wake of the Zeytinburnu disturbances; four people are reportedly still being sought. (Hürriyet Daily News, November 7, 2011)
Zarakolu Nominated to Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders
Ragip Zarakolu has today been nominated for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
The goal of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders is to extend recognition and protective publicity to those who are currently involved in front line work for the promotion and protection of human rights. The Award aims to encourage individuals and – exceptionally – organisations who are currently working for the rights of others in conditions hostile to fundamental human rights and who are in need of protection. Special account is taken of those who have demonstrated an active record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means.
The selection of the winning candidates is made by the Jury of the Martin Ennals Foundation. The announcement of the nominees is made around mid March and that of the laureates is made in early May.
The nominator is Tove Skutnabb-Kangas; the three Referees are Professor Shelley Taylor, University of Western Ontario, Canada, Professor emeritus Robert Phillipson, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and Søren Søndergaard, Member of the European Parliament. ([email protected], 7 nov 2011)
A message from Professor Ersanli in Prison
Marmara University Political Science and International Relations Department Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Büsra Ersanli sent a message from prison through Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) MP Hasip Kaplan. Kaplan, along with other four BDP MPs and Co-Chairs Gültan Kisanak and Selahattin Demirtas, visited Metris and Bakirköy Prisons some days ago. Ersanli has been jailed together with some 80 people during raids carried out in the context of the ongoing so called KCK (Kurdish Communities Confederation) operation.
Ersanli send the message below through Kaplan MP.
"During the search in my house, police looked for a document consisting of words ‘autonomy’ and ‘Kurd’ for hours. And they wanted to search the house of my neighbor when they couldn’t find any document but lawyers prevented them.
I wasn’t asked anything about ‘separatism’ or ‘rebellion training for people’. When they asked me ‘why I became a member to the BDP’, I answered that ‘because I saw the hope and horizon for the future only there’.
They asked me about the lessons I gave at the Politics Academy and I answered that I gave lessons of political culture, political system and political parties in Turkey. These subjects are already written on my book published by KA-DER (Association of Supporting and Training of Woman Candidates). What have these got to do with ‘separatism and rebellion’?
I told my lawyers to open a case against all slanders, threats and insults against me. I also thank all academicians who give support.” (ANF, 7 November 2011)
Erdogan says: "I am Nationalist et Statist"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended once again an investigation into a group that is said to be linked with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and said those who criticize some recent arrests as part of the probe are supporting terrorism.
The investigation into the the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), which prosecutors say operate as the urban wing of the PKK, has become controversial after a professor and a human right activist were arrested. Professor Büsra Ersanli and publisher Ragip Zarakolu were arrested last week by an Istanbul court along with 43 others. The suspects in the KCK case have been accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country’s unity and integrity.
“No one should expect us to stop anti-KCK operations,” Erdogan said during an address in the Black Sea province of Rize on Monday. “I am warning those who criticize these operations: You must know the KCK well and if you don’t, then you must learn from people who are experts on it.”
“The statements you make in the media or somewhere else, without knowing what the KCK is linked to and who does what in this organization, amount to support for terrorism, serving terrorism,” he said.
The KCK investigation started in December 2009 and a large number of Kurdish politicians, including several officials from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), have been detained as part of the case since then. The BDP has said the investigation is the government’s method of suppressing its politicians, denying any links between the suspects and terrorist organizations.
Erdogan said his government rejects any discrimination on ethnic grounds, saying “we respect Kurds as much as we respect Turks.”
He, however, reiterated that the government will not allow attempts to create a “parallel state” in Turkey and said he would accept to be called a “statist” or “nationalist” if it is what it takes to make it clear that no state within state is acceptable.
“There can be no second state. If there are those who call me ‘statist’ or ‘nationalist’ because I say this, then I am a statist, then I am a nationalist,” he said.
Erdogan also dismissed suggestions that the police and the military are rivals to each other in the anti-terror efforts. “No one should attempt to create such competition,” he said. “Both institutions are continuing to fight terrorism shoulder to shoulder.”
This summer, the government announced plans to give the police a more effective role in the fight against terrorism, a move that came amid increasing criticism of the military’s handling of the anti-PKK struggle. Ilker Basbug, Turkey’s former chief of General Staff, said in a media interview at the time that the police force does not have the training or organizational structure necessary to fight the PKK in the mountains. (todayszaman.com, 7 nov 2011)
All informations on Zarakolu’s Arrest
Arrested Ragip Zarakolu sent to high-security cell <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#high>
Zarakolu Nominated to Martin Ennals Award <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Nominated>
A message from Professor Ersanli in Prison <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Professor>
KHRP greatly concerned at the arrest of Ragip Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#KHRP>
De Zarakolu à Charlie Hebdo: la liberté d’expression menacée <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Charlie>
Programme d’AYP FM sur l’arrestation de Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Programme>
Appeal and Protest against KCK Arrests <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Appeal>
"Zarakolu Deserves the Nobel Prize, not Prison" <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Deserves>
EMHRN calls for the immediate release of HR activists <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#EMHRN>
OMCT: Arbitrary detention of Zarakolu and Ersanli <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#OMCT>
IPI Condemns Zarakolu’s Arrest <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#IPI>
Front Line’s Concern Over Zarakolu’s Arrest <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Front>
<http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#dossier> Un dossier détaillé sur l’arrestation de Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#dossier>
Ragip Zarakolu: la bonne conscience de la Turquie criminelle – Laurent Leylekian <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#bonne>
Parliamentary Questions in Holland about the detention of Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Parliamentary>
Arrêter des intellectuels, c’est indigne <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#indigne>
Intellectuals protest arrest of publisher in Istanbul <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Intellectuals>
HRW: Arrests expose flawed justice system in Turkey <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#HRW>
EFJ Condemns Arrest of Ragip Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#EFJ>
La première lettre de prison de Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#lettre>
Zarakolu’s first letter from prison <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#first>
Liberté de la presse menacée en Turquie <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#presse>
CCAF: Liberté immédiate pour Ragip Zarakolu ! <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#CCAF>
Lettre au Ministre français des affaires étrangères <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Lettre>
Signature campaign for Zarakolu in Germany <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Signature>
BDP issues warning over arrests and new charter <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#issues>
Human Rights Association’s Protest Against Arrests <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Protest>
Zarakolu and Ersanli arrested by court <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Zarakolu>
IPA: Turkish Freedom to Publish Hero Jailed <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#IPA>
PEN International’s Campaign <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#PEN>
RSF condamne avec vigueur l’arrestation de Ragip Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#vigueur>
Appel du Collectif 1971 à la solidarité avec Ragip Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Collectif>
Ragip Zarakolu’s detention stirs NGO anger <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#NGO>
Appel urgent de Genève pour la solidarité avec Zarakolu <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Appel>
Publisher and Human Rights Defender Ragip Zarakolu Detained <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#Publisher>
Ragip Zarakolu, éditeur et défenseur des droits de l’Homme, arrêté en Turquie <http://www.info-turk.be/399.htm#des>
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