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Kurdish journalist detained on ‘terrorism charges’ in Turkey

KURDISH journalist Oktay Candemir has been taken in custody on “terrorism charges” again following a raid on his home in Turkey’s Van province on Friday morning.

No reason has been given and no evidence has been presented to explain his detention, but local sources said Mr Candemir was taken by the anti-terror branch of Van’s security directorate.

Mr Candemir has been subjected to routine harassment relating to articles written during his 15 years’ work as a journalist in the eastern province of Turkey, which borders Iran.

In December 2018 he was taken into custody accused of “insulting public institutions and public officials,” being released on the same day.

Turkish authorities have hauled Mr Candemir in for questioning at least 24 times in the past two years.

Press freedom is seriously curtailed in Turkey which holds more journalists in jail than any other country, with a third of the world’s total.

Last week saw the conviction of eight more journalists in the Ozgur Gundem case for “spreading terrorist propaganda.” 

Faruk Eren, Ertugrul Mavioglu, Celal Baslangic, Ihsan Caralan, Fehim Isik, Oncu Akgul and Celalettin Can were handed 15-month jail sentences.

They were part of a solidarity campaign with the now closed Kurdish newspaper which saw supporters act as editor-in-chief for one day. Lawyers, human rights activists and journalists were among the 56 who took part in the campaign between May and August 2016.

Forty-nine have been prosecuted on terrorism charges. Former editor-in-chief Huseyin Aykol remains free pending appeal after being sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on the same charges.

In March the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Turkey to pay €3,500 (£3,030) compensation to  Ozgur Gundem owner Ali Gurbuz over the October 2016 closure, ruling that criminal proceedings against the paper had been “systematically opened, regardless of the actual content of the articles.”

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