Prime Minister of Turkey: Release Ragip & Deniz Zarakolu & Büşra Ersanlı from prison immediately

i-petition for Zarakolu-Erşanlı

Why This Is Important / They are being arbitrarily held under anti-terrorism laws for peacefully upholding the human rights of the Kurdish people.
Ragip Zarakolu, who owns the Belge publishing house, has been judicially harassed for over 30 years by the Turkish authorities. The books Belge publishes often discuss either Kurdish human rights or the Armenian massacre of 1915 when over a million Armenians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Empire in one of the first modern genocides. To discuss either of these subjects is a criminal act in today's Turkey under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. This clearly breaches the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Ragıp Zarakolu is one of the founding members of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD). He is also Chair of the Freedom to Publish Committee of the Turkish Publishers Association (TYB). As such, he has been documenting and making public the numerous freedom to publish violations in Turkey and has been at the forefront of defending other publishers’ freedom to publish and other writers’ freedom to write, including those small Kurdish publishers and writers few people have shown interest in.

Nobel Prize Nominee

RAGIP ZARAKOLU (Writer, publisher and human rights activist) – Born in 1948 on Büyükada. He graduated from the School of Economics of the İstanbul University after his primary and secondary educations in Selim Sırrı Tarcan Primary School (Nişantaşı), Fındıklı and Kabataş High Schools. He got a master’s degree in the same school. He was obliged to discontinue his doctorate twice because of a military coup of 1971 and Prof. Dr. Cahit Orhan Tütengil’s having murdered by paramilitary forces.

Commission formed for arrested publisher

Vercihan Ziflioğluvercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Zarakolu was arrested last month for his alleged relations to KCK. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

Friends, acquaintances and other supporters of prominent activist, journalist and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu have established a commission following his arrest by law enforcement officials last month in connection with the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials.

“For now, the website freedom-for-zarakolu.blogspot.com that contains news about Zarakolu has gone online,” Sait Çetinoğlu, a member of the commission, told the Hürriyet Daily News. “There is a campaign live on gercek-inatcidir.blogspot.com to protest his arrest. We are going to initiate new campaigns step by step. The required permits for those who want to visit Zarakolu are going to be obtained.”
The commission is open to all those who would like to contribute to it and willing participants are welcome to contact us, Çetinoğlu said.

SOLIDARITY WITH PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE IN TURKEY

Supported by the Kurdish Federation UK, KNK, and the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
FREE ZARAKOLU AND HIS COMRADES-IN-LETTERS AND HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNERS IN TURKEY!

Last week, on 23 November 2011, a meeting was held at the Parliamentary offices of the British Houses of Parliament to bring attention to recent arrest in Turkey of Ragip Zarakolu. It was sponsored by Michael Connarty M.P. and featured presentations and contributions by Professor Khatchatur Pilikian, human rights lawyer Margaret Owen, Estella Schmid, Aysegul Meleti and Can Samet Atas. Concerning the nature of the targeting and detention of Ragip Zarakolu (director of Belge Publishing House and Chair of the Publishers Association’s Freedom to Publish Committee of Turkey), Professor Khatchatur Pilikian, in a moving and powerful speech, noted that:

FOR ANNOUNCEMENT / Şennur Baybuğa

You know that, for a long time, we have been contemplating a working team to canalize any activities, campaigns, visits and so on concerning Ragıp Zarakolu’s arrestment from a single center in Turkey. In this connection, the Association of Turkish Publishers, the Writers’ Trade Union of Turkey and Turkey PEN have been negotiated.

As a result of these negotiations, we had a strong impression that these three non-governmental organizations will support all activities and do’s to be conducted for Zarakolu. Additionally, Muzaffer Erdoğdu, a member of the Committee for Freedom of Thought, Association of Turkish Publishers and owner of Pencere Publishing House, declared his will to work in coordination together with us. The Human Rights Association declared their overt support in this context and Hulusi Zeybel from this Association proposed to collaborate in person with us.  Finally, the Kadıköy Initiative for Freedom of Thought stated their overt support to our activities.

Ragip Zarakolu'na Özgürlük, Hemen, Şimdi! İmza Kampanyası

Freedom to Ragıp Zarakolu -writer, publisher and human rights activist- immediately!
Signature campaign

Liberté á Ragıp Zarakolu –écrivain, éditeur et défenseur des droits de l’humain- instantanément! Campagne de signatures

Wir fordern die Sofortige Freilassung des Menschenrechtlers und Verlegers RAGIP ZARAKOLU! Signature-Kampagne

***
İçimizden birini, çoğumuzu temsil eden bir ülke aydınını, dünya adamı Ragıp Zarakolu'nu yazma özgürlüğünden yoksun bırakmak, düşünen vicdana, insan haklarına aykırıdır.

Türkiye'nin düşünen insana ihtiyacı var, Türkiye yazan insana muhtaç. Zarakoluna yazma, düşünme ve yaşama özgürlüğü hemen, vakit kaybedilmeden özür dilenerek iade edilmelidir.

http://imza.la/ragip-zarakolu

THE GREEK GENOCIDE: THE MASS CRIME IN PONTUS

RAGIP ZARAKOLU – SAIT ÇETINOGLU - THEOFANIS MALKIDIS

Bilingual edition: Greek/English

Kavala 2011

Fanis Malkidis

During its genocide commemorative services in 2009, the Pontic Club of the Kavala Prefecture of Greece invited well known Turkish editor and writer Ragip Zarkolou to honour the athletes of the "Pontus" Association of Anatolia College, Merzifounta (Merzifon).

In the Kavala Tech Educational Institution amphitheatre on the 22^nd of May 2011 a minute’s silence was shown by attendees in memory of the victims of the Genocide. The event began with a speech by the president of the Kavala Club Mr. Haralampos Alexandridis. Theofanis Malkidis and Ragip Zarakolou then spoke on the Genocide.

FREE RAGIP ZARAKOLU / THEOFANIS MALKIDIS

Publisher and human rights activist Ragip Zarakolu were taken under custody on October 28, 2011 within the framework of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) operation.

Forty one people had also been arrested around the same time under what is known as the Democratic Society Congress (Koma Civaken Kurdistan – KCK) operation that has been underway since 2009, leading to several hundred arrests and trials. The KCK is seen as the civil/political wing for and front of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and thus also illegal.

Ragip Zarakolu is a well-known human rights activist and director of Belge Publishing House in Turkey. He is also the chairman of the Publishers Association Freedom to Publish Committee of Turkey.

Was Sie tun können – Our proposal for your actions: Schreiben Sie an folgende türkische Staatsvertreter - Write to Turkish authorities:

Botschaft der Republik Türkei Berlin, Rungestraße 9, 10179 Berlin, Tel 030 27585-0, Fax:+49 30 275 90 915; Email:
botschaft.berlin@mfa.gov.tr

President of Turkey, Mr. Abdullah Gül, Cumhurbaskanligi 06100 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 468 5026 - Email: cumhurbaskanligi@tccb.gov.tr

• Prime Minister, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Office of the Prime Minister Basbakanlik 06573 Ankara, Turkey - Fax: + 90 312 417 0476; Email:receptayyip.erdogan@basbakanlik.gov.tr

• Interior Minister, Mr. İdris Naim Şahin, Ministry of Interior, Içisleri Bakanligi, 06644 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90312 418 17 95 /+90 312 418 7696, Email: idris.naim.sahin@tbmm.gov.tr
• Justice Minister, Mr. Sadullah Ergin, Ministry of Justice/ Adalet Bakanligi, 06659 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: + 90 312 414 62 26

• Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmed Davudoglu, Office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey; Fax: +90 312 287 88 11

• Ambassador, Mr. Ahmet Üzümcü, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations in Geneva, Ch. du Petit-Saconnex 28b - CP 271, CH-1211, Geneva 19, Switzerland, E-mail: mission.turkey@ties.itu.int - Fax: +41 22 734 08 59

• Mr. Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality - İletişim Bilgileri - Phone : +90 (0212) 455 14 00 – 01 Fax : +90 (0212) 455 27 00 - E-Mail : baskan@ibb.gov.tr - Address : İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanlığı - Saraçhane

Info on Zarakolu's Arrest / Info sur l'arrestation de Zarakolu

Ragip Zarakolu
Under Arrest / En état d'arrestation
Imza Kampanyalari / Signatures Campaigns / Campagnes de signatures

1That's enough! Ca suffit!  

 The Ankara Initiative for Freedom of Thought
has launched the following signature campaign: That's enough!

TO SIGN 

SIGNATORIES LIST

2
Stop arbitrary detentions in Turkey

Here are extracts of the text of a new petition asking to stop arbitrary detentions in Turkey

TO SIGN

SIGNATORIES LIST

Présentation en français de ces deux petitions

3

AGA's Signature campaign for Zarakolu in Germany

Ragip Zarakolu's Arrest / Arrestation de Zarakolu

• Arrested publisher Zarakolu says he is in Kafkaesque novel
• International Media Organisations Renew Demand to Release Imprisoned Journalists
• Buzek tance Ankara au sujet des journalistes emprisonnés
• Speech by Khatchatur Pilikian at the British Parliament
• Appel à la manifestation devant le parlement europeen
• Actions taking place during Abdullah Gul’s official visit to the UK
• Letter to Hillary Clinton by two US former attorneys on Zarakolu's arrest
• Lettre du Collectif 1971 au Ministre belge des affaires étrangères
• L'arrestation de Zarakolu a marqué l'ouverture de la Foire du livre d'Istanbul
• Zarakolu's Arrest Marked the Istanbul Book Fair's Opening
• Le tournant liberticide turc - Bozarslan, Duclert, Taylan
• Appel du journaliste Erol Özkoray pour Zarakolu
• PEN launched campaign for release of intellectuals in Turkey
• Amnesty International: KCK arrests deepen freedom of expression concerns
• AI: Arrestations contraires à la liberté d’expression
•  Zarakolu incarcéré dans une prison de haute sécurité de type F
• Arrested Ragip Zarakolu sent to high-security cell
• Zarakolu and Besikçi Nominated to Martin Ennals Award
• A message from Professor Ersanlı in Prison
• KHRP greatly concerned at the arrest of Ragip Zarakolu
• De Zarakolu à Charlie Hebdo: la liberté d’expression menacée
• Programme d'AYP FM sur l'arrestation de Zarakolu
• Appeal and Protest against KCK Arrests
• "Zarakolu Deserves the Nobel Prize, not Prison"
• EMHRN calls for the immediate release of HR activists
• OMCT: Arbitrary detention of Zarakolu and Ersanlı
• IPI Condemns Zarakolu's Arrest
• Front Line's Concern Over Zarakolu's Arrest
• Un dossier détaillé sur l'arrestation de Zarakolu
• Ragip Zarakolu: la bonne conscience de la Turquie criminelle - Laurent Leylekian
• Parliamentary Questions in Holland about the detention of Zarakolu
• Arrêter des intellectuels, c'est indigne
• Intellectuals protest arrest of publisher in Istanbul
• HRW: Arrests expose flawed justice system in Turkey
• EFJ Condemns Arrest of Ragıp Zarakolu
• La première lettre de prison de Zarakolu
• Zarakolu's first letter from prison
• Liberté de la presse menacée en Turquie
• CCAF: Liberté immédiate pour Ragip Zarakolu !
• Lettre au Ministre français des affaires étrangères
• Signature campaign for Zarakolu in Germany
• BDP issues warning over arrests and new charter
• Human Rights Association's Protest Against Arrests
• Zarakolu and Ersanli arrested by court
• IPA: Turkish Freedom to Publish Hero Jailed
• PEN International's Campaign
• RSF condamne avec vigueur l'arrestation de Ragip Zarakolu
• Appel du Collectif 1971 à la solidarité avec Ragip Zarakolu
• Ragip Zarakolu's detention stirs NGO anger
• Appel urgent de Genève pour la solidarité avec Zarakolu
• Publisher and Human Rights Defender Ragip Zarakolu Detained
• Ragip Zarakolu, éditeur et défenseur des droits de l'Homme, arrêté en Turquie

RAGIP ZARAKOLU AT THE ISTANBUL BOOK FAIR

Photos sent by/envoyées par Gülten Madenli

BDP Deputy Sirri Süreyya Önder ve Co-president Selahattin Demirtas

at the Belge Publishing House Stand on Nov 17, 2011, for solidarity with Ragip Zarakolu

For the Sake of Freedom of Expression in Turkey, IPA and PEN International Demand Immediate Release of Publisher Ragıp Zarakolu

Geneva/London, 15 November 2011

Turkey’s leading freedom of expression advocate, publisher Ragıp Zarakolu, has been on pre-trial detention for two weeks under terrorism charges. On 4 November, he was moved to a high security "F-Type" prison in the city of Izmit, 80 km east of Istanbul. IPA and PEN International are seriously concerned about the effect that the harsh detention conditions could have on his health. IPA and PEN International are also seriously concerned that his pre-trial detention – likely to last a year - is in violation of Turkey’s international treaty obligations, in particular Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of the Euro

EMHRN calls for the immediate release of falsely accused Turkish HR activists

 Copenhagen-Brussels, nov 4 2011–The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) condemns the arbitrary arrest of Human Rights defenders Ragib Zarakolu and Büşra Ersanlı, both falsely charged with “being a member of an illegal organisation”, the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK).


On 28 October, 2011, Turkish authorities raided several offices of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in the province of Istanbul and arrested prominent Human Right activists Ragib Zarakolu and Büşra Ersanlı, together with some fifty other people, mainly members and executives of the BDP.

Turkish Publisher Detained / Ragip Zarakolu Arrested in Crackdown on Kurdish Groups

By: Steven M. Ellis, Press Freedom Adviser

Riot police use shields to protect themselves as they clash with Pro-Kurdish demonstrators during a peace day rally on the Asian side of Istanbul on 1 September 2011. Photo: REUTERS/Osman Orsal

VIENNA, 3 Nov. 2011 – The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned the arrest and pre-trial detention of Turkish publisher and free speech activist Ragip Zarakolu.

Zarakolu – director of the Belge Publishing House, a member of the Turkish PEN Center and chair of the Freedom to Publish Committee of the Turkish Publishers Association – was among approximately 40 suspects detained Friday under anti-terror laws.

Turkish intellectuals protest arrest of publisher

Vercihan Ziflioğlu

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A group of intellectuals and academics protested Ragıp Zarakolu’s arrest. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

A group of intellectuals staged a rally in front of the Beşiktaş Courthouse yesterday to protest the recent arrest of prominent publisher Ragıp Zarakolu and Professor Büşra Ersanlı on terrorism-related charges, while international organizations also condemned the arrests.

Arbitrary detention of Mr. Ragip Zarakolu and Ms. Büsra Ersanli - TUR 003 / 1111 / OBS 121

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in

Turkey. Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Ragıp Zarakolu, Honorary Board Member and Founder of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Director of the Belge Publishing House and Chairman of the Publishers Association Freedom to Publish Committee of Turkey, and Ms. Büsra Ersanlı, lecturer at the Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations in Istanbul, in the framework of a wide ranged anti-terrorist operation intended to dismantle an alleged terrorist network - the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) - that in fact targets peaceful activists from the Kurdish community who are not related to any terrorist activities.

Turkey: Arbitrary detention of Mr Ragıp Zarakolu and Ms. Büşra Ersanlı

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

TUR 003 / 1111 / OBS 121

Arbitrary detention / Judicial harassment

Turkey

November 3, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Ragıp Zarakolu, Honorary Board Member and Founder of the Human Rights Association (İHD), Director of the Belge Publishing House and Chairman of the Publishers Association Freedom to Publish Committee of Turkey,and Ms. Büşra Ersanlı, lecturer at the Marmara University Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations in Istanbul, in the framework of a wide ranged anti-terrorist operation intended to dismantle an alleged terrorist network - the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) - that in fact targets peaceful activists from the Kurdish community who are not related to any terrorist activities.

EFJ Condemns Arrest of Ragıp Zarakolu as New Press Freedom Campaign is Launched in Turkey

The European group the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the arrest of Ragıp Zarakolu, Turkish columnist and writer.

"The arrest of a journalist and well-known intellectual under the pretext of terroristic activities is clearly arbitrary and abusive," said EFJ President Arne König. "It shows how eager the government is to muzzle any critical voice by using anti-democratic methods. Unless there is clear evidence showing the allegations of the Turkish authorities, we call for the immediate release of Mr. Zarakolu and of all other Turkish journalists currently detained in jail".

TURKEY 11/1/11: Writer and academic Ragip Zarakolu and Professor Büşra Ersanlı charged

TURKEY
[Update on Rapid Action 10/31/11]
PEN International has learned that writer, academic, and publisher Ragip Zarakolu has been formally charged alongside Professor Büşra Ersanlı under the Anti-Terror Law today. PEN has received further details that lead to the fear that the charges are related to the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.