Jurist Prosecuted for Criticizing Terror Law

Acting under instructions from the Justice Ministry, the Istanbul Beyoglu Chief Republic Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against jurist Erdal Dogan for an article titled "Direct Warfare Concept: The Anti-Terror Law (TMY)" that was published in the pro-Kurdish Ulkede Ozgur Gundem newspaper.

Lawyer Dogan, who for four years has been a teacher at the Istanbul Bar Association Internship Training Centre, gave a statement to the prosecutor on May 25, Thursday, under the investigation launched on orders from justice Fatma Feyza Sahin of the Justice Ministry Penal Affairs General Directorate.

In his statement to Republic Prosecutor Nihat Erdem, Dogan said it was his professional duty to express opinions, write articles and make propositions on the issues of human rights law and defendant rights law as well as on draft bills related to these because it was his specific area of work and expertise.

Dogan's article published in the April 21, 2006 issue of the newspaper, evaluated the concept of anti-terrorism in the scope of international law and expressed the view "Even though the Justice Minister says it has not been brought out against the people, the TMY, which contains the concept of direct warfare, is a law for the state to make war on its people".

The defendant is a teacher of "Defendant Rights and Defence in Practice" within a professional training scheme of Penal Code, Defendant Rights and Defence, European Convention of Human Rights and Criminal Proceedings Law, at the Istanbul Bar Association Internship Training Centre.

Dogan is also author of the book "Defendant Rights and Defence", published by the Istanbul Bar Association. (EO/II/YE)