BİA² Holding 2nd Jurists Workshop

A "Freedom of Expression Workshop" directed at lawyers under the ""Establishing a Countrywide Network in Turkey for Monitoring and Covering Media Freedom and Independent Journalism"( BİA²) project project implemented by the IPS Communication Foundation will be held at Istanbul's Hotel Villa on May 27-28.

The two day meeting will host presentations by BIA legal advisor Fikret Ilkiz on the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) legislation and practices, discussions in this framework and various workshops.

The two-day event will start off with BİA² Project Coordinator and IPS Communication Foundation chairman Ertugrul Kurkcu's introduction on the project while lawyer Meric Eyuboglu will cover the scheduled program for participants.

The activity is expected to attract approximately 30 lawyers from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Diyarbakir, Van, Antalya, Batman, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Sanliurfa, Samsun, Bursa, Zonguldak, Mugla and Mersin provinces.

Workshops under the titles "Freedom of Expression under the light of the TCK", "Press Crimes under the light of TCK", "Insult under the light of TCK", "Crimes against the state under the light of TCK" and "Practices of the RTUK" will be held. Jurists attending the meeting will be able to make amendments in these workshops by mutual decision.

BİA² had held the first of these programs where lawyers working in the field of freedom of expression were invited in September 2004.

BİA² was implemented by the IPS Communications Foundation in 2003 and is a 36 month project overseen by the project coordination headed by project advisor Nadire Mater and project coordinator Ertuğrul Kürkçü. 80% of the project's budget is met through a grant contract under the European Union's Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). (EO/II/YE)