Ocak Işık Yurtçu

Ocak Yurtçu Işık ( born 1945 in Pozantı / Province Adana, † September 8, 2012 in Istanbul) was a Turkish journalist who was active in opposition newspapers. As editor of a pro-Kurdish newspaper he was detained a long time, until he was released after an international campaign under a special law.

Career

The father of Ocak Işık Yurtçu, Çoban Yurtçu was also a journalist. He had founded the Journalists Association Çukurova. Işık Yurtçu attended high school Vefa and studied law at the University of Ankara. His career began in 1966 at the newspaper Ekspres. In the newspaper Yeni Halkçı 1971 he wrote a series that documented systematic torture of political prisoners after the military coup in 1971. Until 1980, he also worked at the newspapers Yenigün, Ulus, Politika, Dunya, Democrat, Güneş and Cumhuriyet. He headed the department Kent Google ( news from the city). In the newspaper Güneş he was editor in chief for the night shift.

Ocak Işık Yurtçu was involved in the founding of the 1979 built leftist daily democrat and her editor in chief in the military coup of 1980, when the newspaper was banned. Because of his signature to the petition initiated by Aziz Nesin of intellectuals ( Aydınlar Dilekçesi ) he came to court. The experimental work between 1984 and 1988, to bring out the daily democrat again, even Ocak Işık Yurtçu was involved, but they failed. Initiatives began in 1991 for an alternative newspaper. Under the direction of Ragip Duran Özgür Gündem ( Free Agenda ) was established, which reached a circulation of up to 60,000.

Detention and award

In 1992, Ocak Işık Yurtçu the position of chief editor at Özgür Gündem. He had held 8 months. Because of articles that appeared in this period, he was 26 times under Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Anti - Terror Law ( ATG) and Articles 159 and 312 of the Turkish Penal Code indicted and received prison sentences of about 16 years and fines of 1.6 billion TL ( 1600 TL today, about 700 euros ). After a change to the Article 8 of the ATG, the prison sentences reduced to 10.5 years in prison. On December 28, 1994, he was arrested in Istanbul. He was detained in the prisons of Bayrampaşa and Sakarya. National campaigns provided for a transfer to the prison Saray. Işık Yurtçu became a symbol for the freedom of the press in Turkey. 1996 awarded him the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, based in New York ( CPJ ) the price for press freedom. Işık Yurtçu could not attend the award ceremony in New York on 26 November 1996. Terry Anderson read his message. The Reporters Without Borders appointed Ocak Isik Yurtçu for Journalist of the Year 1996.

The " Işık Yurtçu Law"

CPJ organized a mission to Turkey, which was attended by celebrities such as Peter Arnett, Terry Anderson and Robert Menard. Your conversations with representatives of the state and the reports in the public meant that finally, a special law was passed, came through the Işık Yurtçu and 10 Editors released. Several other criminal proceedings were discontinued. With the law, punishment and procedures that had been against editors due to offenses committed before 12 July 1997 imposed or initiated, suspended for three years on probation. Ocak Işık Yurtçu came after 2 years, 7 months and 18 days in prison on August 15, 1997 and is released.