Turkey prosecutors demand life for prominent novelist, journalists

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish prosecutors Thursday, November 10 demanded life sentences for nine suspects charged over their work at a now closed pro-Kurdish newspaper, including the internationally-renowned novelist Asli Erdogan, AFP reports.

The newspaper Ozgur Gundem was raided by the authorities in August and then shut down on accusations of links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The nine suspects, including Erdogan, have been charged with membership of an armed terror organisation, making propaganda for a terror organisation and seeking to disrupt national unity, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The full indictment and sentencing request from prosecutors have now been sent to the Istanbul criminal court which will decide within 15 days whether to accept it and proceed with the trial.

Four of the suspects are currently under arrest in pre-trial detention, while the others have been freed on remand.

Those charged also include the paper's former editor-in-chief Zana Bilir Kaya and the prominent writer Ragıp Zarakolu as well as other journalists and executives.

Erdogan, 49, one of Turkey's best known contemporary female novelists, has now been held for 84 days, prompting growing concerns for her welfare among press freedom groups.

Supporters have said she suffers from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes. She has published several novels including "The City in Crimson Cloak" which also appeared in English translation.

Turkey is in the throes of a state of emergency imposed in the wake of the failed July 15 coup.

Ten MPs from the country's main pro-Kurdish party were arrested last week, as well as nine staff from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper. At least 35,000 people have been placed under arrest in the wake of the coup.