ZARAKOLU'S FIRST LETTER FROM PRISON
BIAnet.org
http://bianet.org/english/diger/133825-zarakolus-first-letter-from-prison
Nov 10 2011
Turkey
Publisher Ragip Zarakolu is currently kept at the Metris high-security
prison while his son Deniz Zarakolu, other editor of the Belge
Publishing House is under arrest at the Edirne Prison.
Ä°stanbul - BÄ°A Haber Merkezi03 Kasım 2011, PerÅ~_embe
In his first letter sent from prison through his lawyer Ozcan Kilic,
Ragip Zarakolu said: "My arrest and the accusation of membership of
an illegal organization are parts of a campaign aiming to intimidate
all intellectuals and democrats of Turkey and particularly to deprive
the Kurds of any support."
Zarakolu said that during the raid to his house the police confiscated
only few books as "evidences of crime" and found nothing about his
so-called relations with any organization.
The books that confiscated as evidences of crime are the 2nd volume
of Vatansiz Gazeteci (Stateless Journalist) by Dogan Ozguden, chief
editor of Info-Turk, Habiba by Ender Ondes, Peace Process by Yuksel
Genc, manuscripts three books about the Genocide of Armenians and
the Armenian History.
He added that at the police headquarters, all his bank and credit
cards were confiscated.
Reminding that he is invited as speaker to many conferences abroad,
mainly next week to Berlin, later on to the US University Colgate,
Los Angeles and Michigan, Zarakolu said: "The government should give
them an answer explaining the real raison of my arrest."
Zarakolu concluded his letter with the following appeal:
"During my interrogation, they did not ask any question about the
organization of which I was accused of being a member. They questioned
me only about the books that I wrote or edited for publication, the
public meetings where I spoke or attended. I think that everybody
should jointly react against this campaign of arrests that turns into
a collective lynching. These illegal practices should be stopped."
BIAnet.org
http://bianet.org/english/diger/133825-zarakolus-first-letter-from-prison
Nov 10 2011
Turkey
Publisher Ragip Zarakolu is currently kept at the Metris high-security
prison while his son Deniz Zarakolu, other editor of the Belge
Publishing House is under arrest at the Edirne Prison.
Ä°stanbul - BÄ°A Haber Merkezi03 Kasım 2011, PerÅ~_embe
In his first letter sent from prison through his lawyer Ozcan Kilic,
Ragip Zarakolu said: "My arrest and the accusation of membership of
an illegal organization are parts of a campaign aiming to intimidate
all intellectuals and democrats of Turkey and particularly to deprive
the Kurds of any support."
Zarakolu said that during the raid to his house the police confiscated
only few books as "evidences of crime" and found nothing about his
so-called relations with any organization.
The books that confiscated as evidences of crime are the 2nd volume
of Vatansiz Gazeteci (Stateless Journalist) by Dogan Ozguden, chief
editor of Info-Turk, Habiba by Ender Ondes, Peace Process by Yuksel
Genc, manuscripts three books about the Genocide of Armenians and
the Armenian History.
He added that at the police headquarters, all his bank and credit
cards were confiscated.
Reminding that he is invited as speaker to many conferences abroad,
mainly next week to Berlin, later on to the US University Colgate,
Los Angeles and Michigan, Zarakolu said: "The government should give
them an answer explaining the real raison of my arrest."
Zarakolu concluded his letter with the following appeal:
"During my interrogation, they did not ask any question about the
organization of which I was accused of being a member. They questioned
me only about the books that I wrote or edited for publication, the
public meetings where I spoke or attended. I think that everybody
should jointly react against this campaign of arrests that turns into
a collective lynching. These illegal practices should be stopped."