Author Archives: cecbill

Make up your mind Minister! Terrorists or “a Vibrant Civil Society”

Posted on August 2, 2013 by cecbill

The June 29th edition of the New York Times published an opinion piece by Turkey’s EU Minister Egemen Bagis in which Bagis attempts to explain away the ugliness of this past summer. In effect, he argues, the Gezi protests … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Egemen Bagis, Erdem Gunduz, Freedom of Assembly, New York Times, Police violence, Press Freedom, Prime Minister Erdogan, taksim square, Turkey | Comments Off

Libel Lawsuits: Another Approach to Turkish Censorship

Posted on July 27, 2013 by cecbill

This blog site has recently featured ways in which Turkish media barons have fired, suspended or fined reporters who had written anything deemed critical of either the AKP or Tayyip Erdogan. The Prime Minister, however, also relies on another way … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom, Turkey | Tagged European Court of Human Rights, Freedom of the Press, Serbil Tusalp, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey | Comments Off

Turkey’s War on Demonstrators Includes War on Its own Doctors

Posted on July 14, 2013 by cecbill

On July 11, our Human Rights in Turkey blog reported on last week’s use of excessive force by the police in Istanbul. The next day, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and three other leading international medical groups sent a letter … Continue reading →

Posted in Excessive Force, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Expression, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged excessive force, Freedom of Expression, Gezi Park, Physicians for Human Rights, Tayyip Erdogan, tear gas, Turkey | Comments Off

Turkish Justice: Settling Scores, Punishing Enemies

Posted on July 3, 2013 by cecbill

Professor Kemal Guruz, former head of the Turkish Council on Higher Education (CHE), has been in a maximum security prison now for a little over a year, charged with participating in what has been called Turkey’s “Postmodern Coup,” when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, Turkey | Tagged Amnesty International, Deniz Zarakolu, Freedom of Expression, Huseyin Celik, Kemal Guruz, ragip zarakolu, Turkish Council of Higher Education | Comments Off

Amnesty Condemns Reyhanli Car Bombings

Posted on May 15, 2013 by cecbill

In a statement this week, Amnesty International condemned the 11 May bomb attacks in the Turkish border town of Reyhanlı. According to Amnesty Researcher Andrew Gardner, the attacks, which have left at least 50 people dead and more than 100 … Continue reading →

Posted in Refugees, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Amnesty International, Andrew Gardner, Reyhanli, Syrian Refugees, Terrorism, terrorist attacks | Comments Off

The Plight of Turkey’s Syrian Refugees

Posted on April 30, 2013 by cecbill

There are now some 300,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey, 190,000 of whom are in Turkish refugee camps. In a recent briefing, Amnesty International recognizes the considerable effort that Turkish authorities have made to accommodate the increasing number of Syrian refugees, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Refugees, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Amnesty International, Syrian Refugees, Turkey | Comments Off

In Erdogan’s Turkey, even children get sued

Posted on April 1, 2013 by cecbill

In a previous posting, we noted in passing that Prime Minister Erdogan is suing seven high school students for publicly calling him “lightbulb Erdogan.” Another student faces a two-year sentence in prison for throwing darts at the Prime Minister’s photograph. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amnesty International, Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Amnesty International, anti-defamation law, Erdogan, Fourth Judicial Package, Prime Minister Erdogan, Reform, Turkey | Comments Off

Turkey’s War on Its Intellectuals

Posted on March 17, 2013 by cecbill

Semih Idiz, commenting recently in AI Monitor noted that “the number of people charged, mostly under anti-terrorism legislation, for some ‘crime’ that has a political angle… almost matches the number of people in a similar situation under military rule in … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Academic Freedom, Fatih Hilmioglu, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Kemal Guruz, Mehmet Haberal, Mustafa Balbay, Semih Idiz, Turkish Judicial System | Comments Off

Turkish Justice: Capital Punishment by Other Means?

Posted on February 20, 2013 by cecbill

Are Turkish authorities denying health care as a means of punishment? Sibel Utku Bilal highlights the cavalier treatment of prisoners’ health in Turkish prisons in her recent article for AI-Monitor. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, head of the Human Rights Foundation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Balyoz, Ergenekon, General Ergin Saygun, Sebnem Korur Fincanci, Sledgehammer, Turkish Judicial System, Turkish Prisons | Comments Off

As Press Freedom in Turkey Worsens, Erdogan Remains in Denial

Posted on February 5, 2013 by cecbill

Prime Minister Erdogan, reacting to the critical wounding of a Turkish journalist during the bombing of the American Embassy in Ankara, used the occasion to attack those who defend Turkey’s imprisoned journalists: As the justice ministry has said many times, … Continue reading →

Posted in Freedom of Expression, Kurds, Press Freedom, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged Ankara American Embassy bombing, DHKP-C, Erdogan, Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom, Reporters Without Borders, Terrorism, Turkey | Comments Off