Information concerning the publication Odak is scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. In the annual reports of Reporters sans frontières (RSF) between 1994 and 1998 there are reports of many Turkish publications and journalists being subjected to coercive measures by the Turkish authorities. Among these incidents are reports that issues of Odak were confiscated under Turkey's anti-terrorist laws during this period (RSF 1994, 347; ibid. 1995, 308; ibid. 1996, 339; ibid. 1997, 384; ibid. 1998, 258). It was also reported that in 1996 and 1997 legal action had been taken against journalists working for Odak (ibid. 1997, 384; ibid. 1998, 256). However, RSF does not provide any details as to the nature of the legal proceedings.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Hamza Yalcin, a journalist with Odak was arrested in March 1996:

Yalcin, a reporter with the left-wing monthly Odak, was detained during a police raid on Odak's office in Istanbul. Five other journalists with Odak who were detained with Yalcin were released on March 21. Yalcin was formally arrested and charged with belonging to an illegal organization. He is being held in Bayrampasa prison in Istanbul (13 Mar. 1996).

The arrest and imprisonment of Yalcin is also referred to in a 29 March 1996 "Action Alert" published by the International Freedom of Expression (IFEX). The IFEX report also refers to the arrests of Erhan Duman and Bulent Senlik and refers to the publication as the "Odak Review" (ibid.). The Research Directorate was unable determine how long Mr. Yalcin was imprisoned or whether he has been released.

Earlier in March 1996, Yasar Kemal, another writer who was associated with Odak according to CPJ, was convicted of "inciting hatred":

An Istanbul State Security Court convicted the prominent Turkish author and journalist Kemal of "inciting hatred" and imposed a 20-month suspended prison sentence on him. He was convicted of violating Article 312 of the Penal Code for two articles he published in a collection of essays called Turkey and Freedom of Expression. One of the articles was originally written for the German magazine Der Spiegel. In that article, he accused the Turkish government of waging a "campaign of lies" to hide its oppression of the Kurds. He was sentenced even though the prosecutor recommended that Kemal be acquitted and despite the fact that in December 1995 he had been found innocent of similar charges regarding the same article's publication in Der Spiegel. Kemal's publisher was also convicted on the same charge but had his sentence converted to a suspended fine. Kemal is planning to appeal the suspended sentence, stating that accepting it would be tantamount to admitting guilt for writing about the Kurdish insurgency (7 Mar. 1996).

In a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York was unable to provide additional or more recent information concerning Odak and was unable to confirm its continued existence (24 June 1999).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Response.

References

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York. 24 June 1999. Telephone interview with the Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator.

_____. 13 March 1996. "Hamza Yalcin (Press Freedom Database)." [Internet] http://www.cpj.org/zinfo/dbsearch.html [Accessed 21 June 1999]

_____. 7 March 1996. "Yasar Kemal (Press Freedom Database)." [Internet] http://www.cpj.org/zinfo/dbsearch.html [Accessed 21 June 1999]

International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House (IFEX). 29 March 1996. "Series of Attacks Against Journalists and Turkish Press." [Internet] http://www.ifex.org/alert/00001361.html [Accessed 24 June 1999]

Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF). 1998. Freedom of the Press Throughout the World: 1998 Report. London: John Libbey.

_____. 1997. Rapport 1997: la Liberté de Presse dans le Monde. Paris: Reporters sans frontières.

_____. 1996. Freedom of the Press throughout the World: 1996 Report. London: John Libbey.

_____. 1995. Freedom of the Press throughout the World: 1995 Report. London: John Libbey.

_____. 1994. Freedom of the Press throughout the World: 1994 Report. London: John Libbey.

Additional Sources Consulted

Attacks on the Press 1992: A Comprehensive Worldwide Survey. 1993.

Attacks on the Press 1993: A Comprehensive Worldwide Survey. 1994.

Attacks on the Press 1994: A Comprehensive Worldwide Survey. 1995.

Attacks on the Press 1995: A Comprehensive Worldwide Survey. 1996.

Benn's Media 1996: World. 1996.

The Europa World Year Book 1998. 1998. Vol. 2.

Human Rights Watch. February 1999. Violations of Free Expression in Turkey.

Index on Censorship. 1992-1999.

News from Helsinki Watch. 1992-1999.

Political Handbook of the World 1998. 1998.

One oral source did not respond within the time constraint for this Response.

Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, WNC.