Association of European Journalists

 

 

 

 

UK Section

 

 

 

 

AEJ IN THE UK

AEJ IN EUROPE

MEMBERSHIP

CONTACTS

 

 

 

 

NEWS/EVENTS

PAST EVENTS

EUROPE DIARY

USEFUL LINKS

 

 

 

 

MEDIA FREEDOM

WPF Day

INT'L NEWS

HOME

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AEJ Media Freedom Representative writes to Turkey's President Gül

 

London, 23 September 2007

 

William Horsley has written a letter of protest to President Abdullah Gül and the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concerning the charges under Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code against Lale Sariibrahimoglu.

 

She and Ahmet Sik face trial on 24 October for their comments criticising the apparent irresponsibility of parts of the Turkish police after the murder of the writer, Hrant Dink. Article 301 makes it a crime to “insult” Turkishness and state institutions and officials.

 

 

 

 

The letter expressed the hope that the Turkish government will repeal or soften Article 301 as part of its commitment to enacting democratic laws in Turkey, especially regarding freedom of expression, freedom of the media and transparency in the rule of law.

 

 

William Horsley is AEJ Media Freedom Representative and Chairman of the UK section