Quarterly Freedom Of Expression Monitoring Report by BIA observes: 116 individuals, 77 of them journalists, were tried in 73 different cases for their opinions and reporting rights violations by the state. 36 of them were tried under article 301. Crimes against journalists go unpunished and military based censorship is increasing.

Eight university students are sued under article 301 for protesting the President of the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK). While they are accused of shouting slogans against the gendarmerie, they claim they were using their democratic right to protest.

Writer Cezmi Ersöz was acquitted of the charge of “alienating people from the military service” through his article that appeared in weekly Leman. A similar lawsuit was filed against three people protesting the bad treatment and torture against conscientious objector Mehmet Bal.

The court sentenced publisher Ali Rıza Vural of Doz Publishing to “doing propaganda work for the Kurdish Workers Party” by publishing Hasan Bildirici’s novel that used the words “Kurd” and “Kurdish People.”

After transsexual singer Bülent Ersoy, writer Cezmi Ersöz is also sued for writing a story that allegedly alienates people from military service. Both Ersoy and Ersöz will appear before court on October 30.

Journalists Vatandaş and Belek of opposition newspaper Evrensel receive prison sentences for publishing a declaration by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

After Youtube.com, Wordpress and Googe Groups, now a well-known blog service blogger.com has been banned in Turkey. No change seems to be coming in internet censorship.

Osman Hayal, Yasin Hayal’s brother, will be tried for the charges of “participating in a murder” and “being a member in a terrorist organization”. Yasin Hayal is on trial as the instigator of Hrant Dink’s murder.

The court acquitted journalists Gençay and Çeşmecioğlu of their interview with the conscientious objector Bolot on October 30, 2005. There are still many cases like this one.

The court did not allow for the trial of the two gendarmerie officials in Dink’s murder to be transferred to the High Criminal Court. The two are charged with neglect in Dink’s murder.

The 13th High Criminal Court of Istanbul begins to try the Ergenekon case with 86 suspects, 46 of them in prison, at Silivri near Istanbul. Veli Küçük, İlhan Selçuk, Kemal Alemdaroğlu, Sedat Peker and Doğu Perinçek are among the accused.

The first hearing started with recess because of the lack of space to accommodate all the people who wanted to be in the court room. The first hearing consisted of jurisdictional pleas and motions to join the trial.

In the latest hearing of the trial of the murder of the three protestants in Malatya, witness Aral said he did not promise any support to Günaydın, one of the suspects of the murder.

The Ministry of Justice refused to give permission for the trial of Erdal Doğan, one of the lawyers representing the Dink family. The complaint was made by Samast’s lawyer.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) sentences Turkey to pay total of 72 thousand for the eight applications, including the one submitted by journalist Eren.

The court rejected the demand by Dink’s lawyers to see the report about Erhan Tuncel, who is on trial as one of the instigators of the murder. The next hearing will be on January 26, 2009.

Dink’s lawyers have objected to not being able to see the report about Erhan Tuncel’s function as an intelligence staff on the grounds that it was a “State Secret”. Witness Osman Hayal did not answer the question whether or not he was in Istanbul at the time of the murder.

Istanbul’s 14th High Criminal Court will continue hearing the witnesses in Dink’s murder case. “Hrant’s Friends” will be at Beşiktaş Square in Istanbul as before, demanding justice.

The court for the Malatya trial is getting ready to hear Varol Bülent Aral, Ebubekr Öktem and Yıldız Özdemir as witnesses.

The file of the two gendarmerie officers who have been on trial for neglect in the murder of Hrant Dink have been sent to the High Criminal Court. Lawyer Cinmen says Colonel Öz and others should be brought to the High Criminal Court.