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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000720 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE DE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: 53 KURDISH MAYORS CONVICTED IN FREE SPEECH 
CASE 
 
REF: A. ANKARA 719 
     ¶B. 06 ANKARA 5698 
 
Classified By: ADANA PRINCIPAL OFFICER ERIC GREEN FOR REASONS 1.4(b),(d 
) 
 
¶1. (U) Summary and Comment.  The Diyarbakir Heavy Criminal 
Court convicted 53 mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democratic 
Society Party (DTP) April 15 of "praising criminal activity" 
and fined them USD 1500, a much-reduced penalty than the hard 
prison time originally sought by the prosecution.  The 
convictions, pursued with GOT approval, stemmed from an open 
letter the mayors wrote to Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen 
objecting to the GOT's request that the Danish government 
close down Roj-TV, a satellite station linked to the 
terrorist PKK. 
 
¶2. (C) In recent months, the prosecutor reduced the charges 
against the mayors and the final verdict contains nominal 
punishment.  Given the tradition of deference to prosecutors 
and the government, acquittal was highly unlikely; such an 
outcome would have shown elected officials can oppose GOT 
policy with impunity and been portrayed as a PKK victory. 
The guilty verdict, however, will be seen by many Europeans 
as another example of Turkey's failure to observe fundamental 
human rights.  Many Kurds in Turkey will see the outcome as 
further proof the GOT regards Kurdish political leaders as 
subversives who can be legitimately hounded through the legal 
system.  This perception, in turn, could reinforce hard-line 
elements in the Kurdish community who argue the Turkish state 
cannot be reformed.  End summary and comment. 
 
The Letter 
------------- 
¶3. (U) The 56 mayors wrote to Rasmussen in December, 2005 
because the Danish government was considering a GOT request 
to suspend Roj-TV's broadcasting.  The letter expressed 
concern about these developments and noted ROJ has a large 
audience in Turkey in part because of the GOT's restrictions 
on Kurdish-language broadcasting (reftel).  Linking the issue 
to Turkey's EU aspirations and its need to adhere to the 
Copenhagen criteria, they noted the "voice of ROJ TV 
represents a constructive and positive contribution towards 
the progress of freedom of expression, that is, one of the 
essential foundations of European democratic civilization 
that cannot yet be fully guaranteed within Turkey."  The 
letter does not mention the PKK or endorse the content of ROJ 
broadcasts.  Cagaylan Ayhan, an aide to Diyarbakir Mayor 
Osman Baydemir, told us prosecutors all but admitted the 
letter's content did not constitute a crime, but said the 
indictment was about the "intentions" of the accused.  (Full 
text at paragraph 11.) 
 
¶4. (U) The letter's signatories include virtually all of 
DTP's locally elected mayors, led by Diyarbakir Mayor 
Baydemir and mayors of other large cities such as Batman, 
Hakkari, Sirnak and Cizre.  Charges against three of the 
mayors were dropped because they persuaded the court they had 
not consented to having their names on the letter. 
 
The Trial 
----------- 
¶5. (SBU) As is typical in the Turkish legal system, this case 
has been prolonged and convoluted.  In September 2006, 
Turkish authorities launched the case on charges of 
"deliberately aiding and abetting an illegal organization" 
under Turkish Penal Code (TPC) Articles 220/7 and 314/2-3 as 
well as provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law.  The prosecutor 
initially demanded imprisonment for 7.5 to 15 years, a 
suspension of political rights and a ban on holding office. 
 
¶6. (SBU) During a March 2008 court hearing, the prosecutor 
amended the charge to "praising a crime or a person who 
committed a crime" under TPC Article 215/1 and requested 
prison terms of two years.  The court's final decision was to 
convict them and sentence them to 75 days or a fine of 1875 
YTL (about $1500).  The court decided not to suspend the 
mayors' political rights or remove them from office. 
According to several experts following the trial, the case 
hinged on the legal opinion of the Interior Ministry (MOI), 
which must consent to any prosecution of an elected mayor. 
In this case, the MOI sent a team of inspectors to 
 
ANKARA 00000720  002 OF 003 
 
 
investigate and the team's report was apparently a key 
element guiding the prosecution. 
 
¶7. (U) The mayors immediately announced they will appeal the 
decision to the Turkish Supreme Court and, if necessary, to 
the European Court of Human Rights.  The appeal process is 
expected to last at least another year, which means it will 
not be concluded prior to Turkey's March 2009 municipal 
elections. 
 
Reactions: It could Have Been Worse 
-------------------------------------- 
¶8. (U) Danish PM Rasmussen released a statement condemning 
the guilty verdict as "incomprehensible" and asserting, 
"Turkey wished to join the European Union, and we therefore 
expect that it adopts the same norms (with regard to freedom 
of expression) as the EU."  Alluding to the mayors' plans to 
appeal, Rasmussen noted, "This is a case that Denmark and the 
EU are watching closely and we have emphasized this to 
Turkey." 
 
¶9. (C) Soren Jacobsen, the Danish DCM who attended ten 
hearings related to the case during the last two years, told 
us his government views the case as one of freedom of 
expression, not about links between Roj and the PKK.  In any 
case, he said the prosecutor's attempts to establish a link 
between the station and Roj were unconvincing.  Jacobsen said 
the final sentence was "mild" and probably the best that the 
mayors could have hoped for; the court had to find the mayors 
guilty lest it embarrass the prosecutor and be seen to take 
the side of Roj and the PKK. 
 
¶10. (U) Responding to the result, Baydemir told a press 
conference that, regardless of how minor the penalty, he and 
his colleagues will appeal the conviction because of the 
free-speech principles at stake.  He said the government was 
behind the case since the Interior Minister must consent to 
indictments of mayors.  Baydemir also likened the "collective 
punishment" against the DTP mayors to tactics employed during 
the period of military rule in Turkey. 
 
¶11. (U) Text of the letter: 
 
Diyarbakyr, December 27, 2005 
 
Dear Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen: 
 
This letter is to express our concerns about the ongoing 
debates and developments around the situation of ROJ TV. As 
the members of Democratic Society Party (DTP) who are mayors 
of 56 municipalities located predominantly in the 
Kurdish-populated regions of Turkey, we are worried about the 
anti-democratic approaches through which the case of ROJ TV 
is being handled by Turkish government in the international 
arena. Unfortunately, we observe that there still exists a 
fundamental difference between Turkey and the European 
civilization in matters of freedom of press and expression. 
 
That the ROJ TV broadcasts are aired from Europe is a 
disturbing fact for us, too. This has been a direct 
consequence of the constitutional and legal regulations that 
do not allow for free Kurdish broadcasting in Turkey. It was 
only thanks to the pressures in the process of Turkey's 
integration with the EU that Turkey has granted limited 
rights for Kurdish language broadcasts, with state television 
airing 45-minute programs on a weekly basis.  Privately-owned 
local television stations wanting to broadcast in Kurdish, on 
the other hand, are still faced with legal and often 
arbitrary administrative obstacles. As is also well-known by 
the international community, restrictions on freedom of 
expression are situated at the heart of the authoritarian 
political tradition that has repressed any kind of difference 
in terms of culture, language and identity in Turkey. We 
expect the Turkish government to abide by and fulfill the 
political criteria stated in the Copenhagen Document. So, 
rather than banning the ROJ TV, we hope that Turkey will 
eventually legalize, embrace and become a constituent of the 
voice of ROJ TV. We wish that one day ROJ TV will be able to 
broadcast from nowhere else but from Istanbul, Ankara or 
Diyarbakir, and will be only one among many other Kurdish TV 
stations that will be launched also with the support of 
Turkish government. 
 
ANKARA 00000720  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
It is a well-known fact that ROJ TV has millions of audiences 
within and outside Turkey. Whether one agrees or not with the 
broadcasting policy of the TV station, the content and 
arguments of its programs, is something to be discussed, and 
should always be discussed given the fact that free flow of 
information and ideas is the lifeblood of political debates. 
But the banning of ROJ TV would not contribute to our efforts 
to create a truly pluralistic and democratic life in Turkey. 
We believe that, within the current state of politics, voice 
of ROJ TV represents a constructive and positive contribution 
towards the progress of freedom of expression, that is, one 
of the essential foundations of European democratic 
civilization that cannot yet be fully guaranteed within 
Turkey. 
 
For a truly democratic life to flourish in Turkey, ROJ TV 
should not be silenced. This is the sincere and common demand 
of the people we represent at the level of local governments. 
The elimination of the voice of ROJ TV would mean the loss of 
an important vehicle in the struggle for democracy, human 
rights and fundamental freedoms of democratic civilization. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
DEBLAUW