In the case that had been opened against murdered journalist Hrant Dink for stating that he believed an Armenian genocide had taken place, the prosecution has demanded that the owner and the manager of Dinks Agos newspaper be punished under Article 301

After a police raid on a home in Ümraniye, a suburb of Istanbul, the secret weapons arsenal found has turned out to belong to retired petty officer Oktay Yildirim, one of the founders of the ultra-nationalist Kuvayi Milliye Association (KMD).

After a police raid on a home in Ümraniye, a suburb of Istanbul, the secret weapons arsenal found has turned out to belong to retired petty officer Oktay Yildirim, one of the founders of the ultra-nationalist Kuvayi Milliye Association (KMD).

The independent candidates of the left and of the pro-Kurdish DTP have got clear ideas about their mission, should they be elected into parliament. Tüzel, independent candidate in Izmir, and Geylani and Ike, all see the need for more democracy.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is to start hearing the appeals of several Turkish journalists who have been penalised with prison sentences or publishing bans for their news and articles.

The 3rd Heavy Penal Court in Van has decided not to go along with the demand of the Supreme Court of Appeals that the Semdinli case be tried before a military court. However, it has accepted the demand to reopen the trial. The next hearing is 11 July.

Two women, Ayse Tükrükcü and Saliha Ermez, both former sex workers, are preparing to stand as independent candidates in Istanbul. In Turkey, there are 68 brothels but only 32 womens shelters, and one of their aims is to increase the number of the latter.

After the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, the trials against him under Article 301 were dropped. However, other journalists from the Armenian newspaper Agos, Sarkis Seropyan, Arat Dink and Karin Karakasli are still on trial. Their next hearing is 14 June

An international conference on freedom of expression in Turkey and the EU, organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and hosted at Bilgi University in Istanbul, participants discussed threats to freedom of expression and compared the situation.

Local journalists in the three south-eastern provinces which have been declared temporary security zones (Siirt, Sirnak and Hakkari) have said that daily life is not much changed, but that a general increase in violence worries people.

After the e-warning of 27 April this year, the General Staff has again published a controversial article on its website. Again late at night, and this time the website called on the noble Turkish people to take part in a mass reflex against terror.

On June 6th, a premature report of a big Turkish invasion of northern Iraq rocked markets. Certainly thousands of Turkish troops, backed by tanks and artillery, have massed for a possible offensive against Kurdish PKK rebels in Iraq.

Turkish General Staff has announced that the three south-eastern provinces of Siirt, Hakkari and Sirnak have been turned into temporary security zones from 9 June until 9 September, meaning that civilian entry into these provinces will be restricted.

Based on World Bank data, it is claimed that, worldwide, Turkey has privatised the most in the last four years. Representatives of the Turkish left have decried this development and said it results in poverty for the masses while a few enjoy the benefits.

A penal court in Adana, south of Turkey, has sentenced three members of the Adana branch of the Association for Human Rights (IHD) to imprisonment for criticising the Return to Life operations of December 2000.

Turkey has been convicted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for ignoring court orders to stop the Eurogold mining company, and for the government to give the said company special permission to continue extracting.

Journalist Nevzat Onaran, imprisoned in Turkey for the publication and distribution of a brochure on freedom of expression, has been vindicated by the European Court of Human Rights. Turkey is to pay compensation.

In the general elections of this year, there will be 604 independent candidates standing, about 15 of them women. Political parties who cannot hope to overcome the 10 percent electoral hurdle are also fielding independent candidates.

In the light of the PKK attack in Tunceli and the ongoing military operations in the East and South-East of Turkey, there have been calls for an ending of violence in order to ensure democratic elections.

The PKK attacked a gendarmerie station in Tunceli; seven soldiers were killed and seven more injured. One PKK militant was killed. According to the Gündem newspaper, the PKK has officially taken responsibility for the attack.