Solidarity with Prisoners of Conscience in Turkey - Democracy on trial in Turkey while Cameron, Miliband look the other way Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Raqgip Zarakolu on trial in Turkey today Sent by A Topalian
Democracy on trial in Turkey while Cameron, Miliband look the other way
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Raqgip Zarakolu on trial in Turkey today
On the 2nd July at Silvri, Turkey the trial of Ragip Zarakolu, publisher, editor, human rights activist and defender of free speech, begins. Ragıp is director of the Belge Publishing House, which has been repeatedly bombed, prosecuted and penalised numerous times for simply publishing books otherwise not available in Turkey.
He was arrested in Istanbul on 28th October 2011 with the sociologist Busra Ersanli, and both were charged on 1st November 2011 withbelonging to an armed terrorist organisation and held in a high-security prison. Ragıp Zarakolu has been on bail since 10 April 2012
Founder of the Turkish Human Rights Association [IHD], Ragıp Zarakolu is pioneer of a courageous work in Turkey in publishing real history rather than official racist-nationalist-Turkish history, particularly in connection with the Armenian Genocide and the Kurdish struggle. We maintain that this is the underlying reason for his repeated persecution and this particular trial.
As the writer and journalist Erol Özkoray has said “The trial is a symbol for democracy, liberty of thought, and free speech. In the imprisonment, it is the democratic future of the country which is at risk but also an entire intelligentsia and also all the intellectuals opposed to the government”.
The lawyers of Ragıp Zarakolu hope that international pressure may result in the release of the publisher and the other imprisoned intellectuals – including his son Deniz, and Büşra Ersanlı - jugés lundi pour « terrorisme » :
The Public prosecutor of Istanbul , Adnan Çimen, has asked for a 7.5 to 15 years imprisonment for Ragıp Zarakolu and 15 to 22.5 years imprisonment for Büşra Ersanlı.
« We must absolutely save this peaceful and humanistic man. He is a "Great man", rare amongst us, who we must protect, and we are obliged to save him, so that we can build a strong friendship between the Armenian and Turkish peoples a friendship symbolized by Ragip since a quarter of a century" said Erol Ozjoray,
. Practical information: Several Foreign Institutions are expected at the trial. A Press Conference will be held at 4 p.m. at the Journalist Centre,Gazeteciler Cemiyeti), Cagaloglu, Istanbul
Place of the trial : Campus de Silivri – Silivri - Turkey : Silivri is 67 km west of Istanbul
Lawyers Mme Sennur Baybuga : 0212 351 89 25 - sennurbaybuga@hotmail.com , M. Osman Ergin: 0532 247 64 95 ,M. Ozcan Kilic: 0533 340 43 62 ,Fikret Ilkiz - ilkiz@mail.koc.net
We call on UK parliamentarians to press the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to intervene in this travesty of so-called justice, and to justify their stance on democracy in Turkey.
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