The Kurdistan Anschluss (part 1)

Well; I guess it's time for a new article about Kurdistan. Why ? Because it annoys me to see Nationalist Kurds so happy because some little progress they've made the couple of years.

Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk after he kicked some Allied asses. He stated that the people from Thrakya and Anatolia had various ethnical backgrounds and needed to forget these. It worked with the most ethnical groups like the Laz people, Greeks, Albanians, Circassians and others but not with the Kurds in the Southeast who demanded autonomy that Atatürk had promised them during the War. Ataturk said: "Aminakoydum bekleyin bi ya." which is translated as: "******* **** can you wait for a second." since he was busy with kicking some fanatical muslims their asses. The Kurds were not happy with his answers and started to revolt. After that they lost, they took the tradition of Greeks and Armenians over that they've not been defeated but genocided at Dersim.

Some years happen, shit happens in Europe and the Cold war starts. Turkey, a former ally of the Socialists, sides with Nato and joins it leaving the Soviet Union behind them. The reason for this was because the Soviets wanted some land and Ismet didn't wanted to give it to them and shit. Some military coups find place since those radical muslims don't know to stop. One of the most famous military coups was in 1980 when Kenan Evren took over. He and his military Junta implemented some dracanious laws like forbading the Kurdish language. This is how also the story of the upressed Kurds began you know. Always being targeted by the outside world it was not that Turkish communists, Turkish socialists, Turkish liberals, Turkish ultra-nationalists were arrested/tortured/killed during 1980 by the Military Junta, it only happened to the Kurds.

The badass sandnigger beating Junta

Because of these laws Abdullah Ocalan founded the PKK, a guerilla force that fought the Turkish army in the southeast. They first wanted an independent Communist Kurdistan, since their support of the Soviet Union fell away and Ocalan was arrested by Turkish special commandos because those poor Greeks couldnt afford his hotel anymore.

Now Erdogan wants to become president of a country that 40 percent hates him, 20 percent has no comment and 40 percent that wants to stick a cactus in his ass. To become dictator president he needs +50 percent of the votes. It's likely that the political wing of the PKK named the BDP will support Erdogan to become president. The reason why is because Erdogan is working to release Abdullah Ocalan for peace in the Southeast of Turkey. With peace I mean that the PKK/BDP will control the Southeast of Turkey on the first sight, the PKK will be controlled by Erdogan behind the scenes. You can already see this progress in the elections before, the AKP places their worst candidates in the Southeast so that the Kurds living there mostly chose BDP candidates. Another thing is the fact that Erdogan has put most of the Turkish Generals in prison during the Ergenekon trails while releasing more and more PKK "activists".

Green are Kurds + black is oil

This will mean the first expansion of Erdogan's Neo-Ottoman Empire. During the Syrian Civil War Kurds have created their own fortress in the also Oil rich Northeast of Syria. This Region is mainly controlled by the Kurds who support the PYD which is a branch of the PKK. There are also some kurds who oppose the PKK/PYD. The PYD themselves even spoken out their support for joining Turkey in a federation.

Nasser about the Muslimbrotherhood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX4RK8bj2W0

Dönerstan

The Turkish Flag

Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Al-Jumhuriyyah al-Türkiyyah), offically United States of Türkiye, is America's youngest brother in Middle East and Southeastern Europe, therefore a sibling of Israel. As a country made up by bunch of Anatolian sandniggers, Turkey is known by importing shitloads of fascist immigrants decent citizens selling kebab and shit who are willing to contribute to the society. Turkey also is the most secular country on earth, as first introduced by Young Turks against the Ottoman sultan. Turkey also is a troll country that stole everything from their neighbours, but stating such facts lies will get you jailed criticized in Turkey. Most of the Turks say they're proud of their Central Asian roots, but infact most of them are just a bunch of Greeks and Armenians in denial. In Turkey, the national hero is Atatürk, who is hated by radical Muslims, gypsy Kurds and shit, he is the usually regarded as deity and worshipped as such in every national holiday.


History

Historically, Turkey used to be a cool land before the Turks arrived, because Greeks were always pwning Trojans, Anatolians and everything else and eventually Hellenizing them, like a boss. However their party didn't last long as Oghuz Turks arrived to Anatolia and pwned Byzantine Greeks. From this day Turks became the boss of Anatolia and damaged the name of glorious Greek nation. This is how the years-standing Greek-Turkish drama you hear in internet, forums, media and other bullshit started. As Turks became the sole boss of the land, they decided to convert to Islam and became sandniggers. Due to this, the Christendom got butthurt and decided the to pillage the land punish the Turkish warlord for the decision of becoming sandniggers. After years of war the Turkish warlords understood their mistake when Kaykaus told to his right-hand officer, "Dude wtf we're Turks not sandniggers, let's punish those sandniggers in Middle East instead". The decision of Kaykaus got appreciated by Christendom and the Seljuk Turks allied with Crusaders against Muslims in Fifth Crusade. However, this didn't go well because Muslim sandnigger general Saladin pwned them all. This failure got local lords inside Seljuk Empire mad so they all wanted to create their own sandnigger state. When Mongols attacked and pwned Anatolia, all the Anatolian sandnigger states earned their freedom. However, this time they began butchering each other. Among these, the Ottoman dynasty managed to rape them all and conquer them, and eventually the Byzantine homosexuals, they gave rise to their glorious empire which is later known as Ottoman Empire.


The Ottoman dynasty, unlike other Turkish dynasties, were hardcore jihadists. They kept jihadding tirelessly to Europe, Middle East, Arabia (which is ironic because it's Arabs who invented jihad) and Iran. They jihadded, jihadded and jihadded... and reached the maximum size of territory. But unlike other jihadist empires, they respected their minorities... till that day. Like any empire, due to rise of nationalism every nation they conquered kicked them in the butt. Even Turks. Turks got mad at the padishah because he was just sitting on his arse watching how foreign bastards fucking up Anatolia. Contrary to this, padishah got really mad at this and decided to help Allied powers divide Anatolia like a cake. This where things get exciting. As a response, a mythical human being called Atatürk has been fallen from skies to protect the Turkish nation. As a glorious Turkish nationalist, he took the lead of Turkish rebels and began pwning Brits, Frenchmen, Armenians, Greeks and other retards. After defeating Greeks, it's claimed that Atatürk cried that he has avenged Hector and Trojans, which proves the fact that Turks are actually Trojans. As a result got Greeks butthurt and wanted to respond that major defeat. Seeing their Armenian brothers crying "We have been genocided, not defeated!", Greeks also adopted that idea and claimed Turks did not really kill Greek soldiers but innoncent peaceful harmless people instead. Anyway, while Greeks and Armenians were busy with this drama, Atatürk, like a master troll, did not give a fuck about any of these and performed major reforms upon Turkish nation by modernizing and secularizing the whole country. Because he, like Young Turks and Kaykaus, knew that Turkish nation cannot stay as sandnigger anymore because it's too mainstream, fail and backwards. Today there are 983,764,984,000,000 Turks living on earth. 10% of them live in Anatolia, %80 live in Germany and other parts of world, and the rest lives in seas and oceans of the world but got assimiliated into whale society.

Turkey < North-Korea

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu recently said “We are not North Korea” while reacting angrily to U.S. think tank Freedom House’s latest report, which puts Turkey in the same class as that country in terms of press freedom.

Even though it is near the bottom of Freedom House’s list, Turkey is better than North Korea in this respect, of course. There is one area, however, where North Korea seems better than Turkey, even though it is run by a dictator whose mental faculties are questionable.

The government of “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong-un at least felt the need to apologize for the collapse of a 23 story building in North Korean capital Pyongyang last week, killing we don’t know how many people.

In similar fashion, the president of democratic South Korea, Park Geun-Hye, apologized once again a few days ago for the Sewol ferry disaster, which left a large number of people dead. She also took personal responsibility for her government’s handling of the incident.

It seems that these are things we will never see in this country, where the gut reaction of the government is to try and protect itself first in major disasters, let alone apologize for any negligence or take on any responsibility.

This is what Prime Minister Erdogan did during his press conference when he went to Soma shortly after the disaster, which left over 300 dead miners in its wake. For him there was no official negligence and one of Turkey’s words disasters was merely “an act of fate.”

His second reaction was to support those who may be criminally responsible, arguing instead about how this mine had been inspected and given a clean bill recently, rather than trying to assure an outraged public that those responsible would be brought to justice. He also slandered the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), whose deputy for the region tried not so long ago to have a parliamentary inquiry into conditions in the Soma mine after repeated reports that things were well there.

Erdoğan claimed that the CHP was only trying to discredit his Justice and Development Party (AKP) and argued – totally falsely as it turns out - that the CHP deputy in question had not mentioned Soma once in his address to Parliament after bringing the topic up.

Neither does Erdoğan appear to be perturbed by the contradiction involved in his government’s asking for a parliamentary inquiry into this disaster now, disregarding the fact that if the CHP’s request had been met this disaster might have been averted.

One can’t help wonder how he has the courage to commit himself to positions that leave him looking bad in the end. In addition to this, we now have an Erdoğan who chases demonstrators booing his government, and slaps them after cornering them in a supermarket with his bodyguards.

So it is no surprise that his chief advisor should take his cue from his boss and repeatedly kick another demonstrator held down by two paramilitary policemen. As if this was not bad enough, we also have a government spokesman who tries to present all of this as normal, who blames demonstrators for creating chaos, and who also accuses the media of exaggerations that harm Turkey’s reputation abroad.

Where does the courage for this “chutzpah” come from?  It comes from the 43 percent garnered in the ballot box in the last local elections, and the arrogant assumption that Erdoğan be elected Turkey’s next president, come what may.

Is the fact that the AKP wins elections with comfortable majorities, however, an indication that it is democratic, and therefore sensitive towards the public’s democratic needs? Not by a long shot. That is why people are taking to the streets.

If you disregard the pluralistic aspect of democracy and use ballot box successes to impose majoritarian rule on a diverse society, then those whose democratic rights have been hijacked will take to the streets to express their anger. It is as simple as that, and this seems set to continue in Turkey as the government turns the country into a quasi police state in the name of “democracy.”

Turkish Nationalism

A common misconception blames Turkish nationalism as the cause of Armenian massacres in Turkey; however, Turkish nationalism did not exist before the 1920s and sometimes Ottoman nationalism is confused with Turkish nationalism. Starting in the 1920s, Turkish nationalism was founded upon the determination of the Turks to survive World War I. The Sevrés Treaty and Sykes-Picot agreements were part of the Entente Powers' & their Anti-Turkish Nationalist allies' plans to divide the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

As a response to Anti-Turkish Nationalism that had begun to ethnically cleanse Anatolia, Turks united behind Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to defend themselves from utter destruction, brought upon various rebellions in the Ottoman lands and the Entente powers marching their armies across Anatolia guided by hundreds of thousands of local non-Muslims sick of Ottoman rule.

When it was Ottoman land, the Entente powers and their local allies fought side by side. After the Bolshevik revolution, Russia had to retreat. After World War I was settled, the British and French retreated knowing they don't want to prolong world war I and broke their promises of rich kingdoms carved from Ottoman land to the local non-Muslims. Ataturk and the Turks of course, had an easier time fighting rebels rather than consistent pressure from European powers.




Is Nationalism rational?
I want to point out, that nationalism is not rational or reasonable. It is by definition, irrational. It is emotion-based, created usually by the rulers to keep solidarity and unity of a nation. Its goal is to unite people for a cause, and it is a motivator. Just like religiosity.

This is very important when understanding human history.

It is plausible and very likely, that Ataturk understood this, so instead of implementing a sense of superiority in Turks over other nationalities, Ataturk promoted inclusiveness and unity. He told people to forget their ethnic groups/religious-identities and previous grievances/hatreds or other revenge-feelings over World War I.

He wanted a clean slate for the Turkish people. He wanted different ethnic and religious groups to unite without bickering with each other. I believe the United States did a great job of this later in the 20th century, but Turkey has always had war and so this was not as easy.

Ottoman Nationalist Armenian Genocide Plans

Ottoman nationalism was an attempt by certain members of the Committee of Union and Progress (Young Turks) to unite the empires’ peoples to fight off the enemies of the empire. The problem was there were too many ethnic and religious groups within the Ottoman Empire that really did not care much about the Ottomans. Why should they care for Ottoman unity? Why would non-Muslims support Ottoman Islamic rule? Sometimes Ottoman Nationalism is confused with Turkish Nationalism and Armenian authors love to reference any hint at Ottoman Nationalism as a motivation or source for "exterminating Armenians."

The issue here is that while the Ottoman Empire is the sick man of Europe trying to save itself from extinction by making attempts at Ottoman-unifying feelings of solidarity, as well as getting the Caliph to issue fatwas against the British in hopes that Arabs will stop rebelling against the Ottomans and unite with Ottoman armies, it was not really interested in suppressing or oppressing anyone.

The Ottomans faced dire extinction. They needed all the help they can get. They had for a time recruited many Christians into the army as conscripts to help fight against the European powers (until they started deserting and taking weapons/ammunition with them). Thus the Ottomans learned a hard lesson in loyalty, and decided that Christians can't always be trusted with weapons.

Everyone acted rationally in that case. The Armenians rebelled, because they were sick of Ottoman rule. They collected weapons, they stole them from the Ottomans, they sabotaged their war effort. It made total sense if you desired to create an Armenian state. They were right to do so.

But the Ottomans were also right to suppress those rebels and not trust the Armenians. They were right to try and keep their empire together (unless you believe empires to be immoral), but they were right in the sense of preserving their empire and their own survival.

CUP Ottoman leadership

The CUP wanted to unite the empire, but they did not intend to rid the Ottoman Empire of its Islamic Empire status. The CUP could not possibly rid the empire of its conservative thinkers or religious people. Instead of replacing Ottoman Islamic rule, Islamic systems and schools, they simply added new European systems alongside the old, because they knew how easily Sultans and Ottoman governments have been overthrown when radical reformers took power.

Sometimes Armenian-Genocide proponents claim that Turkish nationalism, which they claim "Pan-Turkism" or "Turanism" is what fueled and motivated genocide against Armenians. Armenian author Vahakn Dadrian who strongly supports the Armenian Genocide thesis, writes in his book that Talaat Pasha (Minister of Interior) and the CUP met secretly and planned an anti-Foreigner nationalist genocide plan. Dadrian sources British Vice Consul Arthur B. Geary, since he was one of the few diplomats to receive Talaat Pasha's secret speech. However, the source does not mention plans to kill, but merely mentions the difficult "task of Ottomanizing the empire" because without Ottomanization the leaders knew they would soon be victims of revolts such as the problems they witnessed in the Balkans.

The Ottomans saw how quickly nationalistic feelings spread in the Balkans. The Armenians saw how successful nationalistic rebellion was against the weak Ottoman Empire that is right in the midst of also fighting a World War. Can you imagine a better chance to carve out your own nation?

This isn't to say that Armenians were wrong to do so. No, if they felt oppressed, then they had every right to rebel. But if the Ottomans felt their power threatened then from their perspective they did what was necessary to preserve their empire, and that is to stop rebellions. This was not abnormal or irrational for any empire to do.

Ridding the empire of Christians would have only fueled the Christian Nationalism that was growing in the empire and increase European Powers using imperialism and nationalism to destroy the empire. One has to only read the Tehcir Law (Relocation and Immigration Laws) that relocated Armenians in Eastern Anatolia to understand the intent of the Ottoman government. The Tehcir Law was the most primitive solution of any government to silence future revolutions as a quick and hasty response to Armenian rebellions such as in Van during war-time.

Ziya Gokalp, Turanism

Mr. Dadrian and other pro-Armenian-Genocide authors usually claim that Ziya Gokalp, who had also been a member of the CUP Young Turk government, was responsible for Turanism and thus helped the CUP "set the philosophical base for the eradication of the Armenians" according to Haigazn Kazarian, an Armenian scholar.

The reality is Ziya Gokalp only talked about Turanism in his poem Turan and book The Principles of Turkism, in a very non-political manner. His philosophy according to all interpreters of his work is completely based on Turkish culture and language rather than political unity. Ziya Gokalp talks about Turkish nationalism as a "sharing of education and culture."

Gökalp's theory of nationalism was radically different from other nationalisms at the time. He believed that one became part of the 'Turkish Nation' "through education in its values, not through 'blood' or 'spirit'."His theory was not racialist. In effect, one could say, everyone who wanted to be part of the Turkish nation could do so. It required willpower and education, not having ancestors with the right skin color.

Ziya Gokalp may have influenced the growth of Turkish nationalism in the 1920s but back in 1909 the political atmosphere did not allow a disassociation with Islamic unity. Ziya Gokalp was a humanitarian and his thoughts were mostly poetic and cultural in nature, he did not expect or request anyone to fulfill pan-Turkism.

Ziya Gokalp’s writings may have influenced certain Ottoman readers, but the exposure was very limited and would have certainly been rejected by Ottoman leaders because of the urgent problems all over the empire that took precedent.

History of Turkish Nationalism

Turkish Nationalism started mainly in the 1920s, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence. The Greek Republic’s invasion in the Western Turkey supported by the British, and the Armenian Republic’s invasion of Eastern Turkey supported by the Russians, the Armenian Legion’s invasion of Southern Turkey supported by the French until the extermination of Turkish civilian population was noticed by the French and the legion disbanded, had all contributed to forced migration of Turks to the center of Anatolia and the development of Turkish Nationalism based on self-defense and fear of extermination.

The destruction of Turks was the worst human tragedy of World War I. A U.S. investigation by Arthur E. Sutherland and Captain Emory H. Niles was recently declassified by the United States National Archives. The report tells a gruesome story that was detailed by Mr. Sutherland and Captain Niles in Eastern Turkish provinces right after World War I in August 1919.

In the report, the Muslim population of Bitlis decreased by 26,000, Van province by 38,000, and in Beyazit by 2,540. The houses of Muslims by 1919, 6,500 houses in Bitlis, 3,397 in Van, and 360 in Beyazit had been burned to the ground. In Van province over 3,000 Turkish/Kurdish villages were destroyed compared to only 99 Armenian villages. Many Armenian population and houses were also destroyed but the destruction of Muslim lives and property was at a much higher percentage.

Nationalism of Greeks, Armenians, and other Balkan nations were forged out of racial beliefs of ethnic superiority, the illusionary belief that Christians are better rulers than Muslims, and the nationalistic goal of territorial claims. In contrast, Turkish nationalism was formed out of a necessity to survive the attacks and destruction of other nationalists.

This doesn't make nationalism rational in anyway, but nationalism born out of nation-building versus nationalism born out of self-defense, are distinctly different. Though sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.




The destruction had forced hundreds of thousands of Turkish speakers to migrate to central Turkey and the many other ethnic groups along with them that were thought of as inferior by Greek and Armenian nationalists. This devastation fueled Turkish nationalism and the people's trust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk grew as the enemy drew closer to central Turkish province of Ankara.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly, which was newly formed in opposition to the Ottoman government in Istanbul that was trying to appease the Allied Powers, had at first tried to restrict the authority of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. However, as the Greek army had marched from the Western coastal city of Izmir to the province of Ankara where citizens of Ankara city could hear the guns and artillery of the Greek army, the Assembly gave all their authority to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk organized his armies and slowly drove the Greek invasion back to Izmir. After many battles they finally drove the Greek army to evacuate back to Greece. The Greeks had burned agriculture, livestock, food stockpiles, factories, shops, buildings, and even burned down forests in their deliberate policy to weaken the new Turkish Republic as they retreated back to Greece. They slaughtered thousands of Turkish civilians believing that when they come back there would be less recruits for the Turkish army. When the Turks had arrived, Izmir city was burning to the ground. Although few in number, some Greek nationalists blame Turks for the fire in Izmir, claiming that they were trying to burn the Greeks of Izmir. The idea that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who liberated his own industrious port city of Izmir, would for some reason burn his own city, is beyond absurd and such beliefs are irrational nationalistic idealism in which the nationalist is for some reason never at fault.

The Armenian legion was formed to invade Cilicia (Southern Turkey) with the help of French supplies and officers. However, by December 1921, the Turkish nationalists were able to slowly fend off the Armenian legion and liberate their cities. The French noticing the destruction caused by the Armenian legion on civilian populations decided their interests lay in Syria and not in Cilicia so they made a deal with the Turkish Grant National Assembly in Ankara and withdrew from Cilicia.

The invasions in the East by the Armenian Republic, which had now ceased to receive aid from Russia due to the Bolshevik Revolution, had caused much destruction of Turks and Kurds in Eastern Turkey. The conflict had created an ethnic communal warfare where both sides were disorganized guerrilla bands seeking revenge for past massacres and wars. Ethnic hatred grew as proper government or civil order disappeared, replaced by massacres, ethnic cleansing, and warfare. The local Armenians banded together with Armenian nationalism that had been born in the 1870s, fueled by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks) and the Hunchaks who opposed Islamic rule of Christian Armenians. The Armenians remembered the Ottoman Relocation Laws (today Armenians claim it was an Armenian Genocide), and the Turks and Kurds remembered the Armenian betrayal and enforcement of Russia, both of which brought equal death and destruction to the people of Eastern Anatolia. Nevertheless, with the help of Kazim Karabekir Pasha, the Turkish nationalists had finally arrived to easily drive away the disorganized and unaided Armenians.


The destruction had forced hundreds of thousands of Turkish speakers to migrate to central Turkey and the many other ethnic groups along with them that were thought of as inferior by Greek and Armenian nationalists. This devastation fueled Turkish nationalism and the people's trust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk grew as the enemy drew closer to central Turkish province of Ankara.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly, which was newly formed in opposition to the Ottoman government in Istanbul that was trying to appease the Allied Powers, had at first tried to restrict the authority of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. However, as the Greek army had marched from the Western coastal city of Izmir to the province of Ankara where citizens of Ankara city could hear the guns and artillery of the Greek army, the Assembly gave all their authority to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk organized his armies and slowly drove the Greek invasion back to Izmir. After many battles they finally drove the Greek army to evacuate back to Greece. The Greeks had burned agriculture, livestock, food stockpiles, factories, shops, buildings, and even burned down forests in their deliberate policy to weaken the new Turkish Republic as they retreated back to Greece. They slaughtered thousands of Turkish civilians believing that when they come back there would be less recruits for the Turkish army. When the Turks had arrived, Izmir city was burning to the ground. Although few in number, some Greek nationalists blame Turks for the fire in Izmir, claiming that they were trying to burn the Greeks of Izmir. The idea that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who liberated his own industrious port city of Izmir, would for some reason burn his own city, is beyond absurd and such beliefs are irrational nationalistic idealism in which the nationalist is for some reason never at fault.

The Armenian legion was formed to invade Cilicia (Southern Turkey) with the help of French supplies and officers. However, by December 1921, the Turkish nationalists were able to slowly fend off the Armenian legion and liberate their cities. The French noticing the destruction caused by the Armenian legion on civilian populations decided their interests lay in Syria and not in Cilicia so they made a deal with the Turkish Grant National Assembly in Ankara and withdrew from Cilicia.

The invasions in the East by the Armenian Republic, which had now ceased to receive aid from Russia due to the Bolshevik Revolution, had caused much destruction of Turks and Kurds in Eastern Turkey. The conflict had created an ethnic communal warfare where both sides were disorganized guerrilla bands seeking revenge for past massacres and wars. Ethnic hatred grew as proper government or civil order disappeared, replaced by massacres, ethnic cleansing, and warfare. The local Armenians banded together with Armenian nationalism that had been born in the 1870s, fueled by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks) and the Hunchaks who opposed Islamic rule of Christian Armenians. The Armenians remembered the Ottoman Relocation Laws (today Armenians claim it was an Armenian Genocide), and the Turks and Kurds remembered the Armenian betrayal and enforcement of Russia, both of which brought equal death and destruction to the people of Eastern Anatolia. Nevertheless, with the help of Kazim Karabekir Pasha, the Turkish nationalists had finally arrived to easily drive away the disorganized and unaided Armenians.



Definition of Turkish Nationalism

The problem of Turkish nationalism was that the people of the Turkish nation were of a wide variety of ethnic groups, genes, and races. As such, Turkish nationalism was inclusively defined as either anyone who speaks Turkish or who calls him or herself "a Turk."

Hence, the Turkish nationality has been created from mainly Greek, Armenian, Circassian, Tatar, Laz, Abhazian, Azerbaijanian, Georgian, Assyrian, Jewish, Albanian, Macedonian, Bulgarian Muslim, Sephardic Jew, and Turkish ethnicities and religions. In essence, it is a melting pot of all Anatolian people ranging from the gene pools of Asia and the Balkans.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's speeches clarified that everyone knows the many different ethnicities and religions their ancestors are from, but to create unity and success, people need to put aside their differences and past history as it only fuels hatred and revenge. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said that no matter what ethnicity or religion as long as you want to be a Turk you are a Turk.

The common traits of the Turkish nation are simply language, culture, tradition, common citizenship and activity, very similar to the make-up of the United States. Unlike European, Arabic, and Balkan nations, there are no exclusive ideas involved in defining a Turkish national. Not having a certain common trait does not exclude one from calling oneself a Turk.

The religious make-up of the majority of Turkey being predominantly Islamic is not a mark that excludes non-Muslims from being Turkish. The religious make-up is an effect of forced migration of Muslims from Europe and the Caucuses into Turkey, and the ethnic cleansing of Jews by Christian nationalists including Jewish migration to Israel, and the internal political problems of Turkey in comparison to more successful and richer European nations in which Christians are attracted and migrate to. Regardless, there are still a considerable number of Christians, Jews, and other religious people in Turkey today. Many Armenians and Greeks in Izmir and Istanbul have remained in those cities for centuries and no one has tried to displace them.

Turkey always #1

Quick: What country jails the most journalists?

If you guessed China, you were close, but no cigar. Twenty-seven reporters are in prison there, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York. If you guessed Iran, you’re getting warmer—forty-two in prison there—but you’re still off.

How many of you guessed Turkey?

Measuring strictly in terms of imprisonments, Turkey—a longtime American ally, member of NATO, and showcase Muslim democracy—appears to be the most repressive country in the world.

According to the Journalists Union of Turkey, ninety-four reporters are currently imprisoned for doing their jobs. More than half are members of the Kurdish minority, which has been seeking greater freedoms since the Turkish republic was founded, in 1923. Many counts of arrested journalists go higher; the Friends of Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener, a group of reporters named for two imprisoned colleagues, has compiled a detailed list of a hundred and four journalists currently in prison there.

The arrests have created an extraordinary climate of fear among journalists in Turkey, or, for that matter, for anyone contemplating criticizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. During my recent visit there, many Turkish reporters told me that their editors have told them not to criticize Erdogan. As I detail in my piece in the magazine this week, the arrests of journalists are part of a larger campaign by Erdogan to crush domestic opposition to his rule. Since 2007, more than seven hundred people have been arrested, including members of parliament, army officers, university rectors, the heads of aid organizations, and the owners of television networks.

Mind you, Turkey is a democracy, or at least, it’s supposed to be. Erdogan’s triumph, and that of his party, in 2002, represented an epochal shift in Turkey’s political history. The election threw out an entrenched secular minority that had governed the country since its founding, often suppressing the majority of moderately religious Turks. In his nine years in power, Erdogan has transformed Turkish society in many positive ways. But, more and more, Erdogan’s Turkey is coming to resembled Putin’s Russia—a kind of one-party democracy.

If you bring this up with Turkish authorities, you won’t get very far. When I raised the issue of domestic repression with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, last month, he told me in an irritated voice that his government wasn’t responsible. Ibrahim Kalin, an Erdogan adviser, told me that most of the arrested journalists were not journalists at all, but terrorists or criminals. “Just because you have a press card doesn’t mean you’re a journalist,” Kalin said.

In December, Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, wrote to Erdogan to ask to him to stop citing C.P.J.’s annual report as evidence of press freedom in Turkey, which Simon called “perverse.” The report, compiled last year, confirmed that eight journalists were in jail in Turkey because of their work. (No number to be proud of, to be sure; as Simon pointed out to Erdogan, it put Turkey “just behind Burma.”) But Simon has since said that the report was incomplete, and hampered by, among other things, the extreme difficulty of verifying arrests in Turkey, and that eight was a starting point, a “minimum.” In recent weeks, Simon has sent a team to Turkey to review more than a hundred cases to determine the real number of journalists in prison. He told me he expects the number to climb significantly, probably closer to the figure of ninety-four released by the Journalists Union of Turkey. In late December, for instance, Simon sent a letter to Erdogan condemning the arrests of some thirty journalists in raids around the country. (Most of those reporters are still in prison, he said.)

“It’s incredibly cynical of Erdogan to cite C.P.J. as proof of press freedom,” Simon said. “Turkey is a highly repressive country.”

Remember, too, that when you start arresting journalists, the freedom for those not in jail shrinks, too. One of the journalists I interviewed while I was in Turkey was Nuray Mert, a brave and outspoken columnist for Milliyet, a daily newspaper. Last year, after Erdogan publicly criticized Mert, her public-affairs television show was cancelled. Two weeks ago, she told me that her editors at Milliyet had fired her.

Journalists in Turkey

Turkey: 40 journalists in prison

Hatice Duman, Atılım
Imprisoned: April 12, 2003

Duman, former owner and news editor of the socialist weekly Atılım (Leap), was serving a life term at Gebze Women's Closed Prison in Kocaeli on charges of being a member of the banned Marxist Leninist Communist Party, or MLKP, producing propaganda, and "attempting to change the constitutional order by force." Duman was also charged with seizing weapons and forgery of an official document, among other charges, in relation to her association with MLKP, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

CPJ believes the charges are baseless and unsubstantiated after viewing the available court documents, including the indictment.

As evidence of the membership and propaganda charges, authorities cited Duman's attendance at MLKP demonstrations and the testimony of confidential witnesses. Duman's lawyer, Keleş Öztürk, told CPJ that his client was targeted because Atılım had opposed administration policies.

The weapons and forgery charges were mainly pegged to the alleged confession of a witness, Duman's husband, who later said he had been questioned under torture.

Duman was convicted on all charges on May 4, 2011, according to local press reports.

In October 2012, the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld Duman's life sentence. Duman's lawyers appealed to a higher appellate court, Turkey's Constitutional Court, and were awaiting a verdict in late 2013.

Mustafa Gök, Ekmek ve Adalet
Imprisoned: February 19, 2004

Gök, Ankara correspondent for the leftist magazine Ekmek ve Adalet (Bread and Justice), is charged with being a member of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Salvation Party/Front (DHKP/C), according to his defense lawyer, Evrim Deniz Karatana. Gök faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

He was being kept at the Ankara F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Karatana told CPJ that the evidence against the journalist consisted of his news coverage and attendance at political demonstrations. She said Gök had been targeted for his reporting on politics and human rights, along with his beliefs as a socialist. Karatana said her client suffers from Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which has led to a loss of sight and balance. She said that he was jailed despite having a medical document that says he is severely disabled and ineligible for incarceration.

Gök was also serving a life term on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, forgery, bombing, and murder, all dating back to the early 1990s, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. The life sentence was withdrawn in 2002 when Gök was released on parole for health reasons, Karatana told CPJ. But when Gök was rearrested in 2004 on the DHKP/C membership charges, the life term was reinstated, she said. She said they had appealed the reinstated life term, but the appeal was rejected.

Fusün Erdoğan, Özgür Radyo
Imprisoned: September 8, 2006

Erdoğan, former general manager for the leftist Özgür Radyo (The Free Radio), was being held at Gebze Women's Closed Prison.

Authorities alleged Erdoğan used radio station assets to support the banned Marxist Leninist Communist Party, or MLKP. A full list of the charges against Erdoğan-obtained by CPJ from Turkey's Justice Ministry-include "breaching the Constitution," "forming organizations with the intention of committing crimes," "possessing hazardous substances without permission," "endangering public safety intentionally," "damaging property," and "forgery of official documents," among others.

On November 5, 2013, Erdoğan, along with several other defendants, was found guilty of the charges and sentenced to life in prison by the Tenth Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul, the independent news portal Bianet reported.

Zulfü Erdoğan, the journalist's lawyer and sister, told CPJ that the case against Fusün Erdoğan had been fabricated because the journalist and her news outlet had opposed the administration. She said the main evidence on all charges against her client was a 40-page document that supposedly included the names and personal information of MLKP members. The lawyer questioned the authenticity of the document, saying it was not seized from her client's home or office and that no evidence connected it to her client.

Erdoğan spent more than seven years in prison before a verdict against her was given-an extraordinarily long period that was also the subject of a complaint before the European Court of Human Rights. Zulfü Erdoğan said the journalist suffered from a thyroid disease and needed medical attention.

Erdoğan is appealing the sentence before Turkey's Constitutional Court-the last instance of domestic redress. The appeal was pending in late 2013.

Bayram Namaz, Atılım
Imprisoned: September 8, 2006

Namaz, a columnist for the weekly socialist newspaper Atılım (Leap), was charged with possession of dangerous materials, forgery of official documents, breaching the Constitution, forming organizations with the intention of committing crimes, endangering public safety, making threats, breaking and entering, damaging public property, and others, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

The official indictment, which was obtained by CPJ, did not contain any evidence of the alleged criminal activity.

Atılım is affiliated with the Socialist Party of the Oppressed, or ESP, which is a lawful organization. Gülizar Tuncer, Namaz's lawyer, told CPJ that the state considered the paper and party to be fronts for the illegal Marxist Leninist Communist Party, or MLKP. In an indictment, authorities said Namaz was arrested with others at a house in Aydın's Nazilli district in western Turkey, where the fourth general congress of the MLKP was held. Namaz said he was picked up by police at another location and brought there.

Authorities alleged that Namaz possessed a fake identification and that identification documents belonging to him were found in an MLKP house in Kayseri Province. As evidence against him, authorities also cited a 2005 article about an MLKP conference that was published in a Kurdish-language journal. Tuncer said her client was not the author of the article.

Tuncer said Namaz had been working under constant police surveillance for years, making it impossible for him to lead a secret life as a member of an illegal organization.

On July 12, 2013, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled that Namaz had been kept in prison for an exorbitant amount of time without a verdict, according to news reports. The court told Turkey to pay compensation of 6,600 euros to Namaz. Turkish authorities complied.

On November 5, 2013, Namaz, along with several other defendants, was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life in prison by the Tenth Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul, the independent news portal Bianet reported. The journalist was being held at Edirne F Type High Security Closed Prison.

Lawyer Tuncer told CPJ that the defense believed the verdict to be "unlawful."Namaz has appealed his verdict before Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals. The appeal was pending in late 2013.

Faysal Tunç, Dicle News Agency and Özgür Gündem
Imprisoned: April 5, 2007

Tunç, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency and the daily Özgür Gündem (The Free Agenda), was serving a sentence of six years and three months on charges of producing propaganda for, aiding and abetting intentionally, and being a member of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Tunç was charged and convicted of using the media to perform those activities, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

It was unclear why Tunç was still being held after his sentence should have expired.

After his case was heard, Tunç's lawyers were themselves imprisoned as part of an investigation into the Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK.

In March 2012, Tunç sent a letter to the independent news portal Bianet in which he alleged that authorities had set him up for a false arrest. In April 2007, he said, he offered a woman he believed to be a member of the Democratic Society Party, a legal entity that was the forerunner of today's Peace and Democracy Party, some assistance in finding lodging. Tunç said he did not know the woman and now believed she had acted as an agent of the police. Within days, he said, he was detained on charges of aiding a member of a terrorist group.

In 2011, Tunç was transferred to the Rize Kalkandere L Type Prison in Rize, where he was being held in late 2013, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Mustafa Balbay, Cumhuriyet
Imprisoned: March 5, 2009

Balbay, a columnist and former Ankara representative for the leftist-ultranationalist daily Cumhuriyet (The Republic), was detained as part of the government's investigation into the alleged Ergenekon plot, a shadowy conspiracy that authorities claimed was aimed at overthrowing the government through a military coup.

Balbay was initially detained on July 1, 2008, brought to Istanbul, and questioned about his news coverage and his relations with the military and other Ergenekon suspects. Police searched his house and the Ankara office of Cumhuriyet and confiscated computers and documents, but released him four days later. Balbay was detained a second time in March 2009 and placed at Silivri F Type Prison in Istanbul pending trial. He was moved to solitary confinement in February 2011.

His lawyers filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights alleging violations of due process. Despite being imprisoned, Balbay was elected a parliamentary deputy on the Republican People's Party ticket in Izmir province in the June 2011 election.

The charges against Balbay included being a member of an armed terrorist organization; attempting to overthrow the government; provoking an armed uprising; unlawfully obtaining, using, and destroying documents concerning government security; and disseminating classified information.

The evidence against Balbay included documents seized from his property and office, the news stories he produced, wiretapped telephone conversations, and secretly recorded meetings with senior military and government officials. Balbay denied the government's accusations and, in columns written from prison and in court hearings, repeatedly said that the seized notes and recorded conversations were related to his journalism.

In its indictment, the government said Balbay had kept detailed records of his meetings with military and political figures. Authorities alleged that Balbay had erased the notes from his computer but technicians were able to retrieve them from the hard drive. The notes-some of which dated back to the period before the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, won power-showed military officials discussing how they could alter Turkish politics. For example, in notes dated April 6, 2003, a general identified as Yaşar asked the columnist: "Tell me, Mr. Balbay, can a coup be staged today with this media structure? It can't. You cannot do something today without the media backing you. You are the only one entreating secularism. The other papers are publishing photographs of women with covered heads every day, almost trying to make it sympathetic."

In public comments, Balbay said he had been keeping the notes for journalistic purposes, including for use in a potential book. He said the government's indictment quoted excerpts out of context and in a way that made him appear guilty. In the indictment, Balbay was quoted as saying that he had erased the files after concluding their use would not be right.

Participants in the conversations included İlhan Selçuk, the now-deceased chief editor of Cumhuriyet and an Ergenekon suspect before his death in June 2010; Generals Şener Eruygur, Aytaç Yalman, and Şenkal Atasagun; and former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The indictment identified Selçuk as a leader of Ergenekon and accused Balbay of acting as secretary in organizing meetings and keeping notes under cover of journalism. Military officials considered Cumhuriyet a favorite because they shared the paper's positions on secularism and the Kurdish issue.

The government also said it found classified documents in Balbay's possession, including military reports on neighboring countries and assessments on political Islam in Turkey. Balbay said news sources had provided him with the documents and that he was using them for journalistic purposes.

Two taped conversations at the gendarmerie headquarters-dated December 23, 2003, and January 5, 2004-were also cited as evidence. The government alleged that, among other topics, Balbay and other participants had discussed whether political conditions would allow a coup. Balbay said such discussions were theoretical and constituted no criminal intent.

The government also cited Balbay's news coverage, including a May 2003 story headlined "The Young Officers Are Restless." The phrase had been used previously in Turkish politics and was seen as code for a potential military coup. The story claimed that Hilmi Özkök, then the military's chief of general staff, had warned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about perceived anti-military pressure from the ruling AKP. Özkök denounced the story as false at the time. Authorities claimed that Balbay's own notes showed that Atilla Ateş, then the commander of Turkish land forces, had congratulated him for the piece by saying, "You did your duty."

In August 2013, the 13th Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul sentenced Balbay and at least 19 other journalists to varying prison terms in the Ergenekon case, according to news reports. Balbay was given a term of 34 years and eight months for allegedly "attempting to overthrow the Turkish Government or trying to prevent its duty to perform," according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Balbay appealed the verdict before Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals. The appeal was ongoing in late 2013. He was being held at the Ankara L Type Closed Prison No. 1, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list.

Ahmet Birsin, Gün TV
Imprisoned: April 14, 2009

Birsin, general manager of Gün TV, a regional pro-Kurdish television news station in southeastern Turkey, was charged with "leading an armed terrorist organization by organizing its activities" and "violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations," according to information provided to CPJ by Turkey's Justice Ministry in November 2013. Birsin's lawyer, Fuat Coşacak, told CPJ that the charges were retaliatory and without basis.

Authorities publicly claim that the pro-Kurdish media are aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK. The government says the journalists produce propaganda in favor of the banned organizations.

Birsin described his arrest in a May 2009 letter published in the daily Gündem. He said police came to his office on the night of April 13, 2009, searched the building, and confiscated archival material, computer hard drives, laptops, cameras, and other broadcast equipment. Birsin, imprisoned at Diyarbakır D Type High-Security Closed Prison, could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.

Birsin's trial was ongoing in late 2013.

Deniz Yıldırım, Aydınlık
Imprisoned: November 8, 2009

Yıldırım was the chief editor of the ultranationalist-leftist Aydınlık (Enlightenment), then a monthly, when police detained him at his house in Istanbul as part of the government's investigation into the alleged Ergenekon plot, a shadowy conspiracy that authorities believed was aimed at overthrowing the government through a military coup.

He was being held at Silivri L Type Closed Prison No. 1 in Istanbul on initial charges of being a member of a terrorist organization, violating privacy rights, and disclosing state secrets. According to the indictment, Yıldırım received a recording from Ergenekon conspirators and published its contents. The recording purported to include a 2004 phone conversation between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in which the two discussed the sensitive issue of Cyprus' political status.

As evidence, authorities cited Yıldırım's published work and other recordings allegedly found during a police raid of the Aydınlık offices. Yıldırım said he had no ties to Ergenekon. Mehmet Aytenkin, his lawyer, told CPJ that his client was arrested because Aydınlık was critical of the government.

In August 2013, the 13th Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul convicted at least 20 journalists, including Yıldırım, in the Ergenekon case, and sentenced them to various terms in prison, according to news reports. Yıldırım was sentenced to 16 years and 10 months on charges of "acquiring confidential documents concerning the security of the State," "obtaining and distributing personal data illegally," and "membership of an armed terrorist organization," according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Yıldırım is appealing the verdict before Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals. The appeal was pending in late 2013.

Seyithan Akyüz, Azadiya Welat
Imprisoned: December 7, 2009

Akyüz, Adana correspondent for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, was serving a 12-year term at Ceyhan M Type Closed Prison in Adana, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Akyüz was initially charged with aiding the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. Authorities cited as evidence his possession of banned newspapers and his presence at a May Day demonstration in İzmir. He was later convicted of membership in an armed terrorist organization, the PKK.

Authorities publicly claim that the pro-Kurdish media are aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK. The government says the journalists produce propaganda in favor of the banned organizations.

The trial in Adana made national news when the judge refused to allow Akyüz and other defendants to offer statements in their native Kurdish. A report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also found that court officials withheld case documents from Akyüz's lawyer for more than a year.

Legal representation for Akyüz and other detained Azadiya Welat journalists changed in 2012. The new defense lawyer, Cemil Sözen, who represented Akyüz on appeal, told CPJ in 2012 that he could not comment because he was not yet familiar with the case. In 2013, the defense was still unable to get full access to Akyüz's case documents.

Kenan Karavil, Radyo Dünya
Imprisoned: December 7, 2009

Karavil, editor-in-chief of the pro-Kurdish radio station Radyo Dünya in the southern province of Adana, served more than three years in prison before being convicted on charges of being a member of the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, and the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

In January 2013, the Eighth Court of Serious Crimes in Adana Province sentenced Karavil to 25 years in prison, his lawyer, Vedat Özkan, told CPJ. Özkan said the journalist will appeal the case.

As evidence, authorities cited news programs that Karavil produced, his meetings with members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, and his wiretapped telephone conversations with colleagues, listeners, and news sources, Özkan told CPJ. In one phone conversation, the lawyer said, Karavil discussed naming a program "Those Who Imagine the Island." He said the indictment considered this illegal propaganda because it referred to the imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was being held on İmralı Island.

In a letter to media outlets, Karavil said authorities had questioned him about the station's ownership and the content of its programming. Court officials refused to allow Karavil to give statements in his native Kurdish language, Özkan said.

Karavil was serving his term at the Kırıkkale F Type High Security Closed Prison in Adana, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Erdal Süsem, Eylül Sanat Edebiyat Dergisi
Imprisoned: February 1, 2010

Süsem, editor of the leftist culture magazine Eylül Sanat Edebiyat Dergisi (September Arts Literature Magazine), was being held at Edirne F Type Prison on charges of helping lead the outlawed Maoist Communist Party, or MKP. Authorities alleged that Süsem's magazine produced propaganda for the party. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

In a letter published in February 2012 by the independent news portal Bianet, Süsem he had been detained on MKP accusations and charged in February 2010. He said the evidence against him consisted of journalistic material such as books, postcards, and letters, along with accounts of his newsgathering activities such as phone interviews. Süsem made similar statements in a letter to the Justice Ministry that was cited in news accounts.

Süsem had started the magazine during an earlier imprisonment at Tekirdağ F Type Prison. The magazine featured poems, literature, and opinion pieces from imprisoned socialist intellectuals. After producing the initial four editions by photocopy from prison, Süsem transformed the journal into a standard print publication after his 2007 release from prison, circulating another 16 issues.

Süsem's earlier imprisonment stemmed from March 2000 allegations that he stole a police officer's handgun that was later used in a murder. Süsem pleaded innocent to the gun theft and murder charges. The gun possession and related serious charges against Süsem were twice rejected by Turkey's Supreme Court, which ruled-in 2005 and 2007-that there was no sufficient evidence to link Süsem to those alleged crimes.

However, without new evidence, and after Süsem was imprisoned in 2010 on the propaganda charges, the Supreme Court reversed its initial stance and convicted him in 2011 on the previous gun theft, murder, and other charges. The court also reinstated a life sentence.

The court proceedings that led to his conviction were marked by a number of inconsistencies. For example, in his Bianet letter, Süsem wrote that the police officer, whose stolen gun was later used in a number of crimes, testified that he was not the person who had stolen it. Witness descriptions of the suspect did not match the journalist, Süsem's wife told CPJ.

It is unclear if Süsem is appealing the life sentence. The trial on the MKP leadership charges was ongoing in late 2013.

Yalçın Küçük, Odatv and Aydınlık
Imprisoned: March 7, 2011

Several members of the ultranationalist-leftist news website Odatv, including Küçük, were arrested in February and March 2011 on charges of having ties to the alleged Ergenekon plot, a shadowy conspiracy that authorities claimed was aimed at overthrowing the government through a military coup. Authorities charged all of the staffers with propagandizing on behalf of Ergenekon and lodged additional charges against some.

Odatv features news and commentary that promotes an ultranationalist agenda from a Kemalist perspective and is harshly critical of its perceived opponents. The targets of its attacks include the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Fethullah Gülen religious community, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and liberals. Much of Odatv's critical commentary involves highly personal attacks.

Küçük, an opinion writer for the site and for the daily Aydınlık, was accused of being a leader of the Ergenekon organization, inciting hatred, violating privacy rights, and disclosing classified military and intelligence documents. In court, Küçük said the charges were without basis.

As evidence, authorities cited wiretapped phone conversations between Odatv staffers in which coverage was discussed.

Authorities also cited as evidence a series of digital documents purportedly found on Odatv computers during a police raid on the news outlet. The authenticity of the documents has been challenged by the defense. A team from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, which examined the evidence at the request of the defense, found that the computers contained Trojan files that left the machines vulnerable to outside manipulation. The team also found that the documents themselves were altered on the day of the police raid, further raising the possibility that the files could have been planted or manipulated.

Authorities said the documents included an Ergenekon media strategy memo, an ultranationalist text describing the AKP as dangerous, and directions on covering the PKK, AKP, army generals, and the Ergenekon investigation.

Authorities also cited two documents claiming that the well-known investigative reporter Nedim Şener, who received CPJ's International Press Freedom Award in 2013, had helped a former regional police chief, Hanefi Avci, write a 2010 book alleging that the Gülen movement had infiltrated the police force. Another document claimed Şener was also helping investigative reporter Ahmet Şık write a book about the Gülen movement. Authorities used those documents to link Şener and Şık to the Ergenekon plot. The two were jailed for more than 12 months before being freed pending trial; they continued to face anti-state charges related to the plot.

In August 2013, the 13th Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul convicted at least 20 journalists, including Küçük, in the Ergenekon case, according to news reports. The journalists were handed different prison terms. Küçük was sentenced to 22 ½ years on charges of "founding or leading an armed terrorist organization," which is what Ergenekon is considered, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Küçük was appealing the verdict before Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals. The appeal was ongoing in late 2013.

Küçük was serving his term at the Silivri L Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Istanbul, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list.

Turhan Özlü, Ulusal Kanal
Imprisoned: August 21, 2011

Özlü, chief editor for the ultranationalist-leftist television station Ulusal Kanal (National Channel), was being held at Silivri L Type Closed Prison No. 1 in Istanbul on charges of participating in the Ergenekon conspiracy, a shadowy plot that prosecutors said was aimed at overthrowing the administration.

According to the government's indictment, the channel aired an audio recording made by Ergenekon conspirators. The recording purported to include a 2004 phone conversation between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in which the two discussed the sensitive issue of Cyprus' political status.

The indictment identified Ulusal Kanal as a media arm of Ergenekon. In August 2013, the 13th Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul convicted Özlü of being a member of a terrorist organization, which is what Ergenekon is considered, and sentenced him to nine years in prison.

Özlü was appealing the verdict before Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals. The appeal was ongoing in late 2013.

Tayip Temel, Azadiya Welat
Imprisoned: October 3, 2011

Temel, former editor-in-chief and columnist for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, was being held at Diyarbakır D Type High-Security Closed Prison on charges of being a member of the Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part. He faces more than 22 years in prison if convicted, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

In a January 2012 letter to the independent news portal Bianet, Temel said he was being targeted for his journalistic activities. As evidence, the government cited wiretapped telephone conversations he had with colleagues and with members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Temel said. He said the government had wrongly described his work-related travels to Iraq as related to attendance at PKK meetings.

"My articles, correspondences, headline discussions, and requests for news and visuals from reporters were defined as 'orders' and 'organizational activity' and I am accused of organization leadership," Temel wrote, describing the government's indictment.

Another chief editor of Azadiya Welat-Mehmet Emin Yıldırım-was also imprisoned on similar charges.

Temel's trial was ongoing in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey, in late 2013. He had not testified in court by late year, his lawyer, Cemil Sözen, told CPJ.

Hasan Özgüneş, Azadiya Welat
Imprisoned: October 28, 2011

Özgüneş, a veteran journalist and a columnist for the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, was being held at Silivri L Type High Security Closed Prison No. 2 in Istanbul, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

According to the same list, Özgüneş is charged with membership in the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part; attempting to change the constitutional order by force; and making propaganda for the same banned organization.

Özgüneş has written columns for Azadiya Welat on political, social, cultural, and economic issues since 2007 after writing for Kurdish magazines such as Tiroj and Zend since 1993. He is also a member of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP.

Authorities publicly claim that the pro-Kurdish media are aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK. The government says the journalists produce propaganda in favor of the banned organizations.

Authorities would not allow Özgüneş to give statements in his native Kurdish, news accounts said. During questioning, authorities sought information about Özgüneş' lectures at a BDP political academy, his conversations with the pro-PKK satellite station Roj TV, and his presence at a political demonstration, according to the indictment.

Özgüneş'trial was ongoing in late 2013.

Abdullah Çetin, Dicle News Agency
Imprisoned: December 16, 2011

Abdullah Çetin, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency, or DİHA, in the southeastern province of Siirt, was being held at Siirt E Type Closed Prison, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. According to the list, Çetin is charged with membership in an armed terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK.

Authorities publicly claim that the pro-Kurdish media are aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the KCK, an umbrella group of pro-Kurdish organizations that includes the PKK. The government says the journalists produce propaganda in favor of the banned organizations.

The government's indictment cited Çetin's professional phone conversations as evidence, the Bianet independent news portal said. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison, according to a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The trial was ongoing in late 2013.

Dilek Demiral, Özgür Gündem
Nevin Erdemir,Özgür Gündem
Nurettin Fırat, Özgür Gündem
Yüksel Genç, Özgür Gündem
Sibel Güler, Özgür Gündem
Turabi Kişin, Özgür Gündem
Imprisoned: December 20, 2011

At least six editors and writers associated with the daily Özgür Gündem (The Free Agenda) were in prison on December 1, 2013, when CPJ conducted its annual prison census. They were arrested as part of a massive government roundup of journalists associated with pro-Kurdish news outlets in December 2011. Authorities said the sweep was related to their investigation into the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part. According to the indictment, all of the main pro-Kurdish media and news agencies in Turkey are directed by the KCK.

Kişin, Özgür Gündem editor, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. Kişin is charged with being a leader of the KCK press committee and taking orders from the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. As evidence, authorities cited three pro-Kurdish newspaper stories, one written by Kişin and two in which he was the subject. The prosecution also cited wiretapped telephone conversations in which Kişin spoke to people who wanted him to run obituaries for PKK members-Kişin declined because of legal constraints-and contributors seeking to publish articles in his newspaper. Kişin said his newspaper was a dissident publication but did not take orders from the KCK.

Genç, a columnist, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on charges of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Authorities, citing statements from other suspects, alleged that Genç was a "high-level" member of the KCK press committee and had participated in committee meetings in northern Iraq. Authorities also cited as evidence Genç's notes about ethnic conflicts in Spain, South Africa, and Bolivia, along with her phone conversations with other journalists. Genç's request that a writer do a piece about a World Peace Day demonstration in Turkey, for example, was considered by authorities to be an order serving the PKK. Genç said she did not participate in the KCK press committee and that her communications with other journalists were professional in nature.

Erdemir, a reporter and editor, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on charges of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records and the statements of confidential witnesses, the government alleged that Erdemir participated in a KCK press committee meeting in Iraq in 2009. The indictment also cited as evidence her participation in a press conference in which Özgür Gündem editors protested police operations against Kurdish journalists, and an interview she conducted with a leader of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Erdemir disputed the charges.

Demiral, a former editor, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK. Citing passport records and the statement of a detained PKK member, authorities said Demiral participated in a 2005 KCK press meeting in Iraq. Authorities also cited the seizure of digital copies of banned books and a speech Demiral gave at a memorial ceremony that cast a deceased PKK member in a favorable light. Demiral denied any ties to the KCK and said she had traveled for journalistic purposes.

Güler, a former editor, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records and documents seized from an accused KCK member, the government alleged that Güler participated in the organization's press committee meetings in Iraq in 2003 and 2005, and had met with KCK leader Murat Karayılan. Güler told authorities she did not participate in any KCK meetings.

Fırat, an editor and columnist for the paper, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Kocaeli province on the charge of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records, organization records, and the accounts of confidential witnesses, authorities alleged he participated in committee meetings in Iraq in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Authorities, who tapped Fırat's phone conversations, said the journalist printed an article by KCK leader Karayılan, applying a penname that he had devised in conspiracy with another journalist. Fırat said his travel was for journalistic purposes and that he did not participate in KCK activities.

In most cases, the journalists faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Their trial was ongoing at Istanbul's Fifteenth Court of Serious Crimes at Silivri Prison in late 2013.

Semiha Alankuş, Dicle News Agency
Ertuş Bozkurt, Dicle News Agency
Kenan Kırkaya, Dicle News Agency
Ayşe Oyman, Dicle News Agency
Mazlum Özdemir, Dicle News Agency
Ramazan Pekgöz, Dicle News Agency
Nilgün Yıldız, Dicle News Agency
Imprisoned: December 20, 2011

At least seven editors and reporters with the Dicle News Agency, or DİHA, who were arrested as part of a massive roundup of journalists associated with pro-Kurdish news outlets in December 2011, remained in prison on December 1, 2013, when CPJ conducted its global prison census. Authorities said the sweep was related to their investigation into the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part. According to the indictment, all of the main pro-Kurdish media and news agencies in Turkey are directed by the KCK.

Alankuş, a translator and editor, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on charges of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. Authorities alleged that Alankuş participated in a meeting of the KCK press committee in northern Iraq in September 2009, and used her position as a DİHA editor to broadcast directions from the PKK. Possession of banned magazines and books was also cited as evidence. Alankuş said she did not participate in the press committee meeting.

Kırkaya, DİHA's Ankara representative, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Kocaeli province on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, and attempting to change the constitutional order by force, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Authorities cited the statements of two confidential witnesses as evidence. The government also cited as evidence news reports by Kırkaya, including pieces about PKK militia allegedly killed by chemical weapons, articles addressing the Kurdish issue, and stories critical of the government. Calling Kırkaya a "so-called journalist" who worked under orders from convicted PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, the indictment alleged that his reporting had furthered the aims of the KCK and had sought to manipulate public opinion. Kırkaya told authorities he had no connection to the KCK.

Pekgöz, an editor, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 2 on the charge of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records and the statements of confidential witnesses, the government alleged that he participated in two KCK committee meetings in Iraq and that he met with KCK leader Murat Karayılan. Pekgöz said he met with Karayılan for journalistic purposes and denied the government's allegations. Authorities, who tapped Pekgöz's phone conversations, accused the editor of following KCK directives and relaying the organization's orders to other journalists. The indictment said Pekgöz directed a pro-KCK agenda when he served as news editor for Günlük, the daily now known as Özgür Gündem. The indictment cited as evidence a phone conversation between Pekgöz and columnist Veysi Sarısözen concerning potential column topics, and Pekgöz's efforts to recruit a writer to discuss the potential unification of socialist and leftist parties. The indictment said convicted PKK leader Öcalan supported the unification of the parties.

Oyman, a reporter, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Among the cited evidence were phone conversations with reporters in the field, banned books and magazines, and the news stories that she produced for DİHA. The indictment labeled her reporting as propaganda aimed at causing "disaffection for the state and sympathy for the organization." Citing passport records and the accounts of two confidential witnesses, authorities also alleged that she participated in a KCK press committee meeting in Iraq in 2003 and had contact with İsmet Kayhan, a Fırat News Agency editor wanted by the government on charges of leading the KCK's press committee in Europe. Oyman, who also worked as a reporter for Özgür Gündem, disputed the allegations.

Bozkurt, an editor in DİHA's Diyarbakır office, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 on the charge of leading an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. As evidence, the indictment cited phone conversations in which Bozkurt relayed information to Roj TV. Authorities described Bozkurt's reports as "false," provocative, and designed to further the KCK's aims. The indictment also faulted Bozkurt for ensuring news coverage of pro-Kurdish demonstrations, and for providing German ZDF TV with video of a PKK fighter's funeral and army movements in southeast Turkey. Citing passport records and the account of a confidential witness, authorities alleged that Bozkurt took part in a KCK press committee meeting in Iraq in 2007 and had contact with Fırat's Kayhan. Authorities said they seized banned books by convicted PKK leader Öcalan, along with photographs of PKK guerrillas and Turkish military intelligence. Bozkurt told prosecutors that his activities were journalistic and that he had no ties to the KCK.

Nilgün Yıldız, a reporter, was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records and the account of a confidential witness, authorities alleged that Yıldız participated in KCK press committee meetings in Iraq. Authorities also cited her news coverage as evidence. The indictment pointed to a story that recounted a Kurdish youth setting himself on fire to protest Öcalan's imprisonment, which authorities called propaganda, and a piece that referred to a memorial service for a PKK member, which authorities said constituted a call for organization members to gather. Photographs of a PKK member's funeral on her confiscated flash drive were also cited as evidence. Yıldız denied any wrongdoing.

Özdemir, a reporter, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 on the charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records, email traffic, and the accounts of confidential witnesses, authorities alleged that Özdemir attended KCK committee meetings in Iraq, had contact with the Fırat editor Kayhan, and produced journalism that cast the group in a favorable light. Authorities said they intercepted encrypted electronic messages showing that Özdemir handled financial transfers for the KCK. Authorities also cited Özdemir's news stories as evidence of culpability. Özdemir told authorities that his email messages involved news reporting and personal matters. Authorities confiscated books, CDs, a hard drive, cellphone, and a hunting rifle. Defense lawyer Özcan Kılıç told CPJ that the weapon was an antique handed down by his client's grandfather; Özdemir was not charged with a weapons violation.

In most cases, the journalists faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Their trial was ongoing in late 2013.

Hüseyin Deniz, Evrensel
Nahide Ermiş, Özgür Halk ve Demokratik Modernite
Imprisoned: December 20, 2011

Deniz and Ermişwere in jail on December 1, 2013, when CPJ conducted its global prison census. They were arrested as part of a massive government roundup on December 2011 of journalists associated with pro-Kurdish news outlets. Authorities said the sweep was related to their investigation into the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part. According to the indictment, all of the main pro-Kurdish media and news agencies in Turkey are directed by the KCK.

Deniz, a reporter for the socialist daily Evrensel, was being held at Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Kocaeli province on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK; attempting to change the constitutional order by force; and producing propaganda in favor of the same organization, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. Citing passport records, authorities alleged that Deniz had participated in KCK press committee meetings in Iraq in 2003, 2005, and 2009, and had met with KCK leader Murat Karayılan. The indictment said authorities had seized news reports, documents, and banned books from Deniz that allegedly linked him to the group. The indictment described one of the documents as a "report of the publishing board" of the daily Özgür Gündem, an internal document that authorities said had cast Öcalan in a favorable light and had described efforts to further the aims of his organization. Deniz, who had once worked for the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem, denied participating in KCK meetings and said his travel was for journalistic purposes.

Ermiş, a member of the editorial board of the political bimonthly Özgür Halk ve Demokratik Modernite (Democratic Modernity), was being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the KCK; and producing propaganda in favor of the same organization, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. Citing passport records, the indictment said Ermiş participated in a 2009 KCK press committee meeting. The government also said it had seized notes from her property that cast Öcalan and other PKK members in a favorable light. The indictment considered those notes as being taken during organizational training. Ermiş disputed the charges.

The journalists face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Their trial was ongoing at Istanbul's Fifteenth Court of Serious Crimes at Silivri Prison in late 2013.

Mehmet Emin Yıldırım, Azadiya Welat
Imprisoned: December 21, 2011

A court in Diyarbakır ordered Yıldırım, editor-in-chief of the Kurdish-language daily Azadiya Welat, to be held as part of an investigation into the Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part. Authorities alleged that the KCK directs all of the main pro-Kurdish media and news agencies in Turkey.

Yıldırım was being held in Kocaeli F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Kocaeli province on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, the PKK, and producing propaganda in favor of that organization, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

As evidence, authorities cited conversations in which Yıldırım relayed information to the pro-PKK satellite station Roj TV. The indictment also faulted Yildirim's news coverage for being critical of police operations against the KCK, insulting the government, and provoking Kurds to oppose the state. Authorities claimed notes and email traffic showed that Yıldırım executed orders from the KCK. For example, a list of toiletries and other items-shaving blades, a tube of toothpaste, a toothbrush, a digital radio, and batteries-was cited as evidence that Yıldırim was providing supplies to the PKK.

Authorities would not allow Yıldırım to give a statement in his native Kurdish, which his defense lawyer, Özcan Kılıç, said was a violation of a defendant's rights but one common in political cases. "They bring in a translator for cases such as narcotics trafficking, but they do not for these cases," he said.

Another chief editor of Azadiya Welat-Tayip Temel-was also imprisoned on similar charges. Yıldırım's trial was ongoing at Istanbul's Fifteenth Court of Serious Crimes at Silivri Prison in late 2013.

Şükrü Sak, Baran
Imprisoned: April 20, 2012

Sak, a veteran opinion writer and former chief editor for the Islamist weekly Baran, was summoned to serve a term of three years and nine months in prison after the Supreme Court of Appeals upheld in 2012 a conviction that dated back to 1999.

Sak was convicted of being a member of the outlawed İslami Büyük Doğu Akıncılar Cephesi, or İslamic Great East Raiders Front; staging a protest; and possessing organizational documents, among other charges, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Sak's defense lawyer, Güven Yılmaz, told CPJ that authorities cited as evidence Sak's handwritten notes and the content of Akıncı Yol, the magazine he was editing at the time.

Sak, the ministry said, was being kept at the Bolu F Type High Security Closed Prison in the city of Bolu.

Yeliz Kılıç,Yürüyüş
Imprisoned: January 18, 2013

Police detained Kılıç, reporter for the biweekly Yürüyüş (March), as part of a large crackdown by authorities on the outlawed Revolutionary People's Salvation Party/Front (DHKP/C), of which she was accused of being a member. She denied the charges, which carry up to 10 years in prison.

Her lawyer, Evrim Deniz Karatana, said the charges against her were based on secret witness testimonies as the sole evidence. Kılıç was targeted because she was an employee of a publication that opposes the government, Karatana said. Yürüyüş is a socialist revolutionary publication that focuses on politics, workers' rights, and global politics. The publication uses harsh language in reference to the ruling AKP.

Kılıç was under investigation and being held at Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. No trial date had been set in late 2013.

Fatih Özgür Aydın, Artı İvme
Veysel Şahin, Tavır
Imprisoned: January 21, 2013

Gamze Keşkek, Tavır
Imprisoned: January 22, 2013

Aydın, Şahin, and Keşkek were arrested as part of a large crackdown by the Turkish police against the outlawed Revolutionary People's Salvation Party/Front (DHKP/C) in Istanbul. All of them were charged with being members of an armed terrorist organization-the DHKP/C-and producing propaganda in favor of the same organization, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

Aydın, news editor of the quarterly Artı İvme (Positive Acceleration), was being held at Edirne F Type High Security Closed Prison in Edirne province; Şahin, an editor for the bimonthly Tavır (Attitude), was being held at Tekirdağ F Type High Security Closed Prison No. 1 in Tekirdağ province; and Keşkek, who co-edits Tavır along with Şahin, was being held at the Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list.

Their lawyer, Evrim Deniz Karatana, said the journalists had denied any ties to the DHKP/C. She said they were targeted because "they work for publications that oppose the government." Artı İvme and Tavır are pro-socialist publications that are often highly critical of the government. Karatana said that the prosecution considered the publications the journalists work for as being under the supervision and orders of the DHKP/C-accusations that the journalists deny.

Karatana also told CPJ that fabricated evidence in the form of false testimonies by undisclosed witnesses was the main basis of the charges against her clients. She said the journalists were beaten by the police during their detention.

The journalists' trial was ongoing at the 6th Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul in late 2013. If convicted, Aydın, Şahin, and Keşkek face up to 15 years in prison.

Kaan Ünsal, Yürüyüş
Imprisoned: March 14, 2013

Ünsal, reporter for the biweekly Yürüyüş (March), was detained as part of a large, official crackdown against the outlawed Revolutionary People's Salvation Party/Front (DHKP/C). Ünsal was accused of being a member of the organization. The journalist denied the accusations.

Ünsal was being held at Edirne F Type High Security Closed Prison in Edirne province, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. Evrim Deniz Karatana, Ünsal's lawyer, told CPJ that authorities had not filed official charges against Ünsal in late 2013, and no court date had been scheduled. If charged with being a member of the DHKP/C, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Karatana said the evidence against Ünsal was based on secret witness testimony and his presence at opposition gatherings, which he was covering as a journalist. Karatana said the accusations were in retaliation for Yürüyüş' criticism of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)-run government. Yürüyüş is a socialist revolutionary publication that focuses on politics, workers' rights, and global politics. The publication uses harsh language in reference to the ruling AKP.

Ünsal had been detained by the police several times before on similar accusations of belonging to a banned organization.

Karatana said that Ünsal was beaten by the police during his detention.

Cüneyt Hacıoğlu, Dicle News Agency
Imprisoned: September 2, 2013

Hacıoğlu, reporter for the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), was arrested in Uludere District of Şırnak province. He was accused of being a member of the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, of which the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is part.

Hacıoğlu was also accused of possessing of illegal firearms and bullets, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request. Hacıoğlu's lawyer, Tırşenk Bartan told CPJ that the weapons accusation stemmed from the presence in the journalist's family home of an old rifle, which belonged to his father. The journalist has denied any wrongdoing.

Bartan told CPJ that Hacıoğlu was questioned about his phone conversations with sources, his reporting notes, and videos he had taken for newsgathering activities. DİHA, which is known as a pro-Kurdish news agency, often covers human rights issues, including those of the Kurdish minority.

Bartan also said that Hacıoğlu was detained with several canned goods in his car, which authorities said was a form of logistic support to the Kurdish rebels. Bartan said that the journalist was taking the goods to a festival and had no ties to an outlawed organization.

Hacıoğlu was being held in Mardin E Type Closed Prison. No formal charges had been filed against him in late 2013, a common practice in Turkey, for which it has often been criticized by international partners including the Council of Europe, of which it is a member.

No trial date had been scheduled in late 2013.

Merdan Yanardağ, Yurt and Bağımsız
Imprisoned: September 13, 2013

An arrest order was issued for Yanardağ, chief editor of the pro-Republican People's Party (CHP) daily Yurt and the weekly Bağımsız, after the Thirteenth Court of Serious Crimes in Istanbul sentenced him in absentia on August 5, 2013, to 10 years and six months in prison on charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, which is what Ergenekon is considered, according to an updated list of imprisoned journalists provided by the Justice Ministry in November 2013 at CPJ's request.

The alleged Ergenekon plot is a shadowy conspiracy that authorities claimed was aimed at overthrowing the government through a military coup.

Yanardağ was detained by police in Bodrum District of Muğla Province on September 13, 2013, a month after his sentence was pronounced.

When the Ergenekon investigation began, Yanardağ was a managing director at Kanal Biz, a television channel owned by Tuncay Özkan, a journalist and media manager sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the Ergenekon case.

Some of the accusations against Yanardağ refer to his work as a news manager at Kanal Biz, which according to authorities was a propaganda tool of Ergenekon. Among the activities cited as evidence in the indictment are Yanardağ's booking of guests for television shows, managing the station's programming schedule, organizing the order of appearance of studio guests, and working on programming scripts, according to CPJ's review of the indictment.

Yurt and Bağımsız share a pro-opposition editorial slant. Yurt, a daily newspaper, publishes hard news, while Bağımsız is a newsmagazine that focuses on analysis and commentary.

Yanardağ's lawyer, Serkan Gürel, told CPJ, "From the point of view of the court, his one truly negative action was to publish Yurt newspaper and Bağımsız magazine while the lawsuit against him was going."

Yanardağ is being held at Muğla E Type Closed Prison No. 1, according to the Justice Ministry's updated list. His lawyers filed an appeal, but the appellate court had not ruled on the case in late 2013.