Turkey Police press charges against man with NYT’s Erdoğan caricature

December 21, 2014 By administrator

Police have pressed charges against a man in Turkey after he held a sign containing a New York Times caricature featuring President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cutting döner kebab — a Turkish dish — which was pictured as a Turkish flag that read “democracy,” in a demonstration on Friday.

Ali Bayram Hanedar was outside of the Samsun Courthouse among a crowd protesting the Dec. 14 media crackdown that resulted in detention of journalists, including Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı. Hanedar was holding aloft a banner with a caricature recently published by The New York Times, which shows Erdoğan trimming “Turkey’s democracy,” depicted as a döner kebab, with a blade in his hand.

According to a news report by the Bugün daily, after the demonstration Hanedar was stopped by a policeman, who asked his identity and said there would be charges pressed against him. The policeman explained that the protester’s banner would be examined to see if its display fits the crime of “insulting the Turkish flag.”

Turkey, Police disperse teachers’ protest in Ankara, detain 100

December 20, 2014 By administrator

ANKARA

More than 100 people were detained Dec. 20 following a police crackdown on a demonstration in central Ankara organized by a teachers’ union. Report hurriyet daily news

The demonstrators gathered in the morning in the Turkish capitol’s Tandoğan Square upon a call from teachers’ union Eğitim-İş to demand “Respect to Secular Education and Labor.” Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protestors when a group reportedly insisted on marching towards Kızılay.

More than 100 protesters, most of whom were members and executives of the union, were detained.

Mehmet Balık, head of the union’s Antalya branch who was being kept in custody at the police headquarters for interrogation, said that the police crackdown came without a warning.

“We arrived in two buses from Antalya in the Tandoğan .Square around 10:30 a.m.” said Balık. “The police attacked with TOMAs [ant-riot vehicles with pressurized water cannons] and tear gas without any warning. They soaked down the group, which also included children and the elderly.”

Balık said they were only guilty of “defending the homeland’s unity and protesting the thieves.”

“We stood up for the rights of our teachers and civil servants, but we were the victims of a police attack without any warning,” he added.

Istanbul Former Police Chief Cerrah testifies in Armenian journalist Dink murder case

December 15, 2014 By administrator

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency Report

Former Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah gave his testimony to the public prosecutor’s office on Dec. 15 in the case into the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink.

Cerrah gave his testimony at an Istanbul courthouse, suspected of negligence in Dink’s murder in 2007 when Cerrah was the Istanbul police chief. He did not respond to questions while leaving the courthouse after his testimony.

The list of suspects in the Dink murder case has been broadened, with the court listening to more high-ranking officials amid a move to merge the case of the convicted shooter with that of the alleged instigators.

The Istanbul deputy chief prosecutor and prosecutor of terrorism and organized crimes unit, Yusuf Hakkı Doğan is heading the investigation into the assassination.

Dink was assassinated by Ogün Samast, who was 17-years-old at the time, in broad daylight on a busy street outside the office of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos in Istanbul’s Şişli district on Jan. 19, 2007. The assassination caused outrage across the country, leading to hundreds of thousands rallying in the streets.

Ergun Güngör, the Istanbul deputy governor at the time, testified on Dec. 9 at an Istanbul court as a suspect accused of negligence.

A day earlier, Ahmet İlhan Güler, the then-chief of police intelligence, testified. The then-Trabzon police chief Reşat Altay has also been called to testify.

A Bakırköy district court in Istanbul canceled the dismissal of charges against officials on June 6, handing the case to the Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office. Another court decision ruled to combine convicted assailant Samast’s case at the juvenile court with a case at the fifth high criminal court, in which Yusuf Hayal and Erhan Tuncel are accused of convincing Samast in the Black Sea province of Trabzon to shoot Dink in Istanbul.

December/15/2014

Turkish police raid newspaper, detain editor-in-chief, head of broadcaster

December 14, 2014 By administrator

ISTANBUL

Turkish police have launched a media operation to detain 31 people, including media figures and former police chiefs, simultaneously raiding addresses in 13 provinces across the country.

The raid on daily Zaman occurred at 7.15 a.m. local time, as supporters of the newspaper stood guard in front of the office building over rumors that such an operation would take place.

Police returned to the newspaper’s office at around 2.00 p.m. on Dec. 14 after leaving the building in the morning without starting any proceedings. Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı was taken to police station after being shown the notification of his detention.

Many of Turkey’s media organs were broadcasting live in the newspaper’s office when Dumanlı was detained.

As the raids were being carried out in the morning, the crowd outside the Zaman offices chanted slogans and held banners reading, “The free press cannot be silenced.” Dumanlı also made a speech, broadcast live on television, defiantly calling on the police to detain him.

Samanyolu Media Group Head Hidayet Karaca and a producer, scriptwriter and director were also detained, as well as Tufan Ergüder, the former head of the Istanbul Police Department’s anti-terror branch and the former head of the Hakkari Police Department.

In addition, three police officers have been separately detained in Tunceli, Mardin and Şırnak provinces and have been sent to Istanbul, Doğan News Agency reported.

‘Detentions for launching armed terror organization’

The Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office has released a public statement, giving the list of individuals to be detained in the operation.

“The detentions have been ordered [for the people on the list] in order to take their testimonies on charges of founding and directing an armed terror organization, being a member of this organization, and engaging in forgery and slander,” the statement said.

A total of 11 people have been detained so far, the statement added.

Istanbul Deputy Public Prosecutor Orhan Kapıcı has declined to comment on whether Fethullah Gülen was on the list.

The semi-official Anadolu Agency reported that the operation was launched for the detention of 32 people, including senior police officers and media members, on charges of fabricating crimes and evidence in a 2010 investigation into an organization reportedly closed to al-Qaeda.

Some 122 people were detained in an operation against the “Tahşiye Organization” in 2010. Mehmet Doğan, a senior leader of the organization, spent 17 months in prison before being released. It was claimed that retired imam Doğan was opposed to the ideas of Fethullah Gülen.

Zaman and Samanyolu are known for ties to U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who has been at odds with the Turkish government, particularly since last December.

The government accuses the Gülen movement of trying to stage a “coup” via a large corruption probe that broke in December 2013, which included a number of former Cabinet ministers and their sons, along with many state officials.

The latest move comes only two days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled a fresh campaign against Gülen’s supporters.

In his most recent tweets posted on Dec. 10, mysterious Twitter user Fuat Avni, whose identity remains unknown, suggested that several journalists close to Gülen movement, including Zaman editor-in-chief Ekrem Dumanlı, would be detained in a raid on Dec. 12. He also gave many details about the dates, names and cities of alleged police operations, but later on Dec. 11 he posted more tweets suggesting that the police operations had been cancelled after the raid was revealed.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç had earlier said rumors voiced by Fuat Avni over the potential detention of dozens of journalists should be taken “seriously.”

“I find the Twitter posts to be serious. I hope they will not come to pass, or not come true to this extent, for anything to happen out of jurisdiction,” Arınç said during budget discussions at Parliament late on Dec. 11.

December/14/2014

Turkish police clash with Kobane protesters near Syria border

December 2, 2014 By administrator

Turkish police have clashed with protesters demonstrating in support of the Kurdish town of Kobane near Syria’s border with Turkey.

The Democratic Regions Party (DBP), which shares similar grassroots with the outlawedKurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), organized the demonstration in the Silopi district of the southeastern province of Şırnak on Dec. 2. The group peacefully marched to protest the ongoing attacks of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Kobane.

The clashes started after the march, after some protesters threw Molotov cocktails and the police used tear gas, Doğan News Agency reported. An armored police vehicle was set alight in the clashes, but police were able to extinguish the fire with water cannon.

Turkish Police Break up Demo by President’s Palace

November 29, 2014 By administrator

ANKARA, Turkey — Nov 29, 2014, 9:38 AM ET

Riot police have dispersed a protest by dozens of students near Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new, contested 1,000-room palace.

Police on Saturday used shields and pepper spray to prevent the students from marching to the palace that has become an emblem of Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian style of governing. Video footage showed one officer punching a student in the face as he was being held by another officer. Twenty-two students were arrested, reports said.

The $630 million palace has drawn the ire of opposition parties, environmentalists and human rights activists who say the construction is too extravagant, destroyed thousands of trees and went ahead despite a court ruling.

Pope Francis, who is on a three-day visit to Turkey, became the first foreign dignitary to be welcomed at the complex Friday.

Turkey launches new arrests of top officers for eavesdropping

October 21, 2014 By administrator

Turkish authorities have launched a new operation to arrest top police officers on suspicion of involvement in illegal eavesdropping on senior officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The new wave of arrests targeted 18 police figures, including the former head of national police intelligence, Omer Altiparmak, and the former deputy head of the Ankara police, Lokman Kircili.

The operation is the fifth swoop in a sequence of coordinated raids against police since July. So far, dozens of former senior officers have been arrested.

It was not immediately clear if all those targeted figures had been arrested, but Turkish media said that the operation was still underway.

The swoops were part of a crackdown on what the Turkish president has described as a “parallel state” within the security forces loyal to his former ally-turned-foe, Fethullah Gulen.

The probe is linked to corruption allegations against the president and cabinet ministers.

More than 100 serving and former police officers were arrested in July as part of a wiretapping investigation.

The officers have been accused of fabricating a probe as cover for spying on top figures since 2010, including Erdogan, cabinet members and the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, Hakan Fidan.

Many of the police officers arrested were involved in an anti-government corruption probe and were removed from their posts earlier this year.

Turkey plunged into political crisis after dozens of government officials and prominent businessmen close to the Turkish premier were arrested for inquiry on graft charges on December 17, 2013.

Erdogan denounced the corruption scandal as well as a string of damaging leaks in the media, saying they were engineered by Gulen’s supporters to undermine his government. Gulen has repeatedly denied any involvement.

Yerevan, Alec Yénikomchian victim of police abuse

October 20, 2014 By administrator

Yénikomchian Alec, who is now a member of Sardarabad movement was shoved and knowingly exposed to grave danger by police Sunday evening in Yerevan. The incident occurred while riding as a passenger in a car on the street Sayat Nova. Persons claiming to be members of the criminal police have arrested the vehicle. They then compelled by force Alec to get out, then left him in the middle of the street, before leaving with the car and its driver, who was kept at the police station. These are passersby who came to the aid of Alec, when he was alone, on foot, in the middle of traffic.

This incident has caused outrage. Alec is Yénikomchian remember the blind. He has also been cut by his left hand and two fingers of the right hand. For the record, this former militant ASALA, probably the closest friend of Monte Melkonian, suffered injuries as a result of the accidental explosion of a bomb he intended for the Turkish consulate in Geneva October 3, 1980.

The fact that the police behave this way with a person who has suffered such a heavy handicap, whatever it is, is unbearable. It is even more so when it comes to one of the best known and most respected figures of the liberation struggle.

Monday morning, the police chief, General Vladimir Kasparian, made a statement to say that an internal investigation would be opened for endangering others and failing to assist a person in danger. The case speaks throughout in some cases intolerable manners of the Armenian police.

Ara Toranian

Turkey, Former police intel chief testifies as suspect in Dink murder case

October 2, 2014 By administrator

Ramazan Akyürek, a former police chief who also served as the head of the National Police Department’s intelligence unit, has testified as a suspect in an investigation into the 2007 killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, news reports said on Thursday.

Akyürek, who was the head of police intelligence at the time of the murder, was suspended from duty in March following accusations of negligence in preventing the killing.

Akyürek’s name frequently came up during the trial of the suspects accused of having plotted to kill Dink, who was shot and killed in 2007 by Ogün Samast, an ultranationalist teenager. Akyürek has been accused of having links to Erhan Tuncel, a suspect accused of soliciting Samast to murder Dink.

Akyürek testified to Prosecutor Yusuf Doğan for four hours, the private Doğan news agency said. He was released following his testimony.

Azerbaijan: “I would kill this Armenian woman (Leyla Yunus) and I would drink his blood”

October 2, 2014 By administrator

Hallucinatory statements, racist and barbaric mysogynes the head of the Azerbaijani Police

In an interview with Yeni Musavat (Azeri newspaper), the head of the Azerbaijani Police Mr. Asadov said about the opponent Leyla Yunus in response to a question about why they were not escorted to the bathroom by police women and was humbled to defecate in front of men’s open door: “There are women in the Azeri police, but they sleep quietly at home, because they are good women Azeri unlike Leyla Yunus.”

Then he continued, “I gave him a police man because Yunus is not a woman any more than Azerbaijan.” For the record, Ms. Yunus is formally charged with spying for Armenia for opposing the dictatorship of President Aliyev.

“I would never go after Armenian (by appointing Ms. Yunus) in a toilet, but I would kill her and I would drink his blood” and enter “Ms. Yunus should love Azerbaijan and not Armenia.”

“So this is how prisoners are treated by the Azeri Police in 2014,” responded the director of the BFCA, Harout Mardirossian. “That’s how Karen Petrosyan was foully murdered in prison by Azeri. M.Asadov is a barbaric as Ramil Safarov as terrorists Daesh. All international organizations of human rights paint a damning indictment of the regime of Mr. Aliev became untenable and beyond the pale. We must therefore end impunity of Aliev dictatorship in international forums. This plan and his statements must be condemned by France, which decorated Ms. Yunus of the Legion of Honour and must therefore be protected. This is also why it is necessary that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe condemns and suspend Azerbaijan and for this we appeal to the French delegation. “Concluded Harout Mardirossian.

French Bureau of the Armenian Cause

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