Hamamboculeri.org: Alternatif Haber,Ingilizce, 21 Ekim 2002
Journalists to be tried for "following news" in the north!
Four journalists have been sued by the regime in the northern part of Cyprus for following news about a trade union strike last year. The case will be heard on the 21st of November in court in north Nicosia. The sued journalists are: Sevgul Uludag from Yeniduzen daily newspaper, freelance journalist Oya Gurel and two from Avrupa/Afrika newspaper Ali Osman and Kazim Denizci.
The regime sued 25 persons, among them trade union leaders and journalists for allegedly “breaking into property” at the 20 Temmuz Fen Lycee in Nicosia, when there was a strike and a protest action by the secondary school teachers trade union KTOEOS.
What had happened?
Last year Nilgun Orhon, one of the teachers at the 20 Temmuz Fen Lycee was suspended due to one of her articles that appeared at the "Avrupa/Afrika" newspaper
On the 10th of December 2001, the trade union of secondary school teachers KTOEOS made a protest action at the school in order to demand that Nilgun Orhon be sent back to her duty.
Some trade union leaders were there as well as journalist to follow what was happening
Nilgun Orhon went to teach at her class but soon police were brought in and tried to take the trade unionists out of the school
Next day, the trade union KTOEOS called a strike at the school to protest this and to demand that Nilgun Orhon be given back her job...Police came in and beat up the trade unionists and arrested them... Soon from all over the north, teachers from other schools came to the scene and made a protest march first to in front of the Turkish Cypriot parliament and then to the police station to demand the release of the arrested trade union leaders. After a promise by the police that they would be set free same day, they went back to school. Trade unions were set free and there followed another protest march to the ministry of education
The strike continued for about a week
25 trade union leaders and journalists sued
Nilgun Orhon has not been given her job back and this week, 25 trade unionists and some journalists were sued by the regime in the north with the pretext that they went into the school without permission and this was "breaking into property".
Four journalists, Sevgul Uludag from Yeniduzen daily newspaper, Oya Gurel who is a freelance and a correspondent of Reporters sans Frontiers, and Ali Osman and Kazim Denizci from Avrupa/Afrika newspaper, will be tried for "following the news"!
The “case” will be heard on the 21st of November 2002 at the court in north Nicosia...