Newspaper Refuses to Pay Fine

A public suit has been filed against Cumhuriyet newspaper publisher İlhan Selçuk, editor-in-chief Mehmet Sucu, and reporter Alper Turgut, for not paying a USD 50 thousand fine levied against them for publishing a report called Acquittal for Torture.

Erol Önderoğlu

Cumhuriyet newspaper publisher İlhan Selçuk, editor-in-chief Mehmet Sucu, and reporter Alper Turgut, who did not pay a fine levied against them for a report on "Acquittal for Torture," are now the subjects of a public suit in the İstanbul Second Civil Court.

Selçuk is expected to testify in the case, for which Sucu and Alper have already appeared before the court and given testimony.

The journalists' lawyer said the case would continue on 20 October.

The journalists have refused to pay the fine issued against them article 19.2 of the Press Law in order to for "influence opinion" and "criticize the decision of the court."

An article by Alper Turgut with the headline "Acquittal for Torture" reported: "Despite being proved to have known about torture, with a report from a university for the first time in Turkey, three police officials in charge of the İstanbul arm of the struggle against terror were acquitted of the charges against them."

The report discussed evidence that the publishers and editors of the magazines "Kızıl Bayrak" (Red Flag) and "Ekim Gençliği" (October Youth) Ahmet Turan, Müslüm Turfan and Dinçer Erduvan, who were arrested in 1998 for participating in activities of the Ekim (October) organization, had suffered torture while under arrest.

Although a suit was eventually brought against the police officers responsible, they were acquitted on 30 September 2004 for "lack of evidence." (EÖ/EA/YE)

Erol Önderoğlu

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İstanbul Üniversitesi Fransız Filolojisi Bölümü'nden mezun. 1996'da muhabiri olduğu uluslararası Sınır Tanımayan Gazeteciler (RSF) örgütünün Türkiye temsilcisi olarak çalışıyor. 1999'dan beri İPS İletişim Vakfı'nın projesi olan bianet sitesinde, Hukuki Destek Masası koordinatörü, ifade özgürlüğü editörü ve yayın yönetmeni olarak çalıştı. 4.800'den fazla imzalı haber ve makalesi bulunuyor. Bizim Gazete ve Güncel Hukuk dergisi için haber ve makaleler yazdı. Halen bianet'te Medya Gözlem Raporları'nı hazırlıyor.