Nearly 4,000 people, including writer Coşkun Ak and others tried under freedom of expression laws, have added their signatures to the campaign that a group of intellectuals started last month to remove articles 301 and 305 from the Penal Code.

The Pediatrics Association has launched Blue Ribbon Campaign to prevent violence against abuse and negligence of children. The Association stated that violence is not only a personal but a social problem and called on everyone to support the campaign.

The Bursa Metropolitan Municipality vetoed a decision by the Osmangazi Municipality to implement the red street practice, which aims at gathering places that sell alcohol into certain areas outside the city centers.

Comittee to Protect Journalists warns: Maybe the authorities hoped that by dismissing the case against an author like Orhan Pamuk Turkeys record on freedom of expression would drop below the worlds radar. It will not.

About 40 reporters and NGO representatives participated in the training seminar on Reporting on Childrens Rights by BIA² and UNICEF in Ankara. The violations in the stories were discussed and prospects probed for a child-friendly media.

The Osmangazi Municipality has decided to gather places that sell liquor to a region outside the city center. The Malatya Municipality, which has been administered by Islamic parties for the last 15 years, has been implementing the red street practice.

Prof. Dr. Kocacik, head of the General Sociology in the Cumhuriyet University, said 46.5 percent of women are faced with violence. Beating, threat, and cursing are most frequent forms of domestic violence.

A research by Dr. Degirmencioglu and his students reveal that the children establish an emotional bond with the animals that are brought home to be sacrificed. The research also shows that the children arent informed that the animal will be sacrificed.

The reforms in the penal code have not saved Turkish journalists from the threat of jail. The number of journalists and writers who have been charged with or convicted for violating the notorious Article 301 has increased to 22.

Defendant Suleyman Sinkil attended a hearing for the first time in the case about the murder of Birtan Altinbas in police custody in 1991. Sinkil told the court that only he and fellow police officer Bastan were present during the questioning of Altinbas.

Handan Caglayan, who has been acquitted, argued that the ban on using a language other than Turkish for political parties not only limits freedom of expression and organization, but limits womens right to participate in the political process.

Applications centers will be set up in 10 provinces with the aim of ending the silence on sexual exploitation and to provide support for victimized children. A Child Sexual Exploitation hotline will also be available.

A local court sentenced writer Kisanak to 6 month in prison for publicly insulting the state by writing a book called Lost Villages. The prison sentence was then commuted to a fine of 3,000 YTL. Kisanaks lawyer Kilic will appeal the decision.

Maters groundbreaking work has transgressed many linguistic boundaries and is now available for the English-speaking world at another crucial juncture in the history of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, as well as of war and militarism globally.

Participants of the training seminar on Childrens Rights and Reporting on Childrens Rights, discussed children who are pushed into committing crimes. It is often said that children are released, that they go unpunished, said lawyer Akco.

At the training seminar on Reporting on Childrens Rights in Diyarbakir, local reporters, NGO representatives and lawyers discussed ways to create a child-friendly media and get children to participate in the media. They talked about violations in media.

Journalists Sucu, Selcuk, Yildiz, and Tasci from Cumhuriyet are standing trial for reports on the Kiziltepe incident. 5 writers will stand trial in 2006 for criticizing the suspension of the Armenian Conference.

Suciyan argues that it is high time that Turkey cleanse the constitution of all ethnic descriptions and concepts of minority and majority, and adopt the guidelines of democratic, constitutional citizenship. Yet the PM still seeks a solution in Islam.

They dont put people in prison any more. But they bring all these cases to terrorise us and produce self-censorship. Look at the Pamuk case. The message is, if they can put Orhan Pamuk on trial, I should steer clear of this stuff says Mater of BIA

The Sisli District Court judge adjourned the trial of Turkish novelist Pamuk until February 7, 2006. Nationalist groups accusing Pamuk with treason booed the novelist and threw eggs on him and supporters during their entry into and exit from the court.