IFEX, Canada
Int’l Freedom of Expression eXchange
June 10 2006
Court acquits fifth journalist who criticised conference ban
Français: Un cinquième chroniqueur accusé d’injure aux autorités
judiciaires a été acquitté
Country/Topic: Turkey
Date: 09 June 2006
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s): Murat Belge
Target(s): journalist(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): acquitted
Urgency: Bulletin
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has hailed an Istanbul court’s
decision on 8 June 2006 to acquit Murat Belge, a columnist with the
daily “Radikal”, of criticising a judicial ban on a conference about
the Armenian genocide, for which he had faced a sentence of up to 10
years in prison.
“Belge’s acquittal is good news for press freedom in Turkey,” the
organisation said. “The judges recognised that his criticism of the
judicial authorities was not a crime. As a result, he has avoided an
extremely severe sentence that would have been a disgrace.”
The court dismissed all the charges against Belge, who criticised the
ban in two articles in September 2005. Similar charges against four
other journalists were dropped in April.
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information, contact Annabelle Arki at RSF, 5, rue
Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 67, fax: +33
1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: [email protected], Internet:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
