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NEWS
27 September 2007

Turkey:
Delegation in support of Ferhat Tunç

EU-politician and famous Danish musician join Freemuse delegation, travelling to attend the court case in Turkey against Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç on 4 October 2007.

When Turkish singer Ferhat Tunç enters the Izmir 10th High Criminal Court in Izmir on 4 October, the court case will be closely followed by one of the leading politicians in the European Parliament, Mr. Jens Peter Bonde and a Freemuse delegation.

[Update – inserted on 3 October 2007: Senior Political Advisor Ms Selma Kiliçer from the EU Commission office in Ankara will also observe the trial. Read more...]

Ferhat Tunç is accused of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation.” The new case against him is raised over his remarks during a concert in Alanya on 22 July 2006, where Tunç mentioned the Kurdish issue and demanded a peaceful solution.

Ferhat Tunç is charged under ATL Article 7-2. The indictment quotes Ferhat Tunç as saying: ‘Each killed guerrilla is a son of this country too. I feel sorry for each killed soldier and also for each guerilla...’.
The prosecutor considers this making propaganda for PKK.

Ferhat Tunç has been censored for many years by Turkish state media, and during his career he has been arrested several times. Ferhat Tunç has for years been a very important spokesman for the cultural rights of the Kurdish minority and earlier this year he received death threats.

Famous Danish musician gets involved
The court case in Izmir will not only be attended by Mr. Bonde of the European Parliament. One of Denmark’s most famous singers, Niels Hausgaard, will fly to Izmir to show his solidarity with his Turkish colleague. The delegation will include Freemuse Programme Officer, Ole Reitov and Mr. Poul-Henrik Jensen, who represents DJBFA – a society of professional songwriters and composers.

Music prize to Ferhat Tunç
Earlier this year, member of European Parliament Jens-Peter Bonde was awarded an honorary music prize by DJBFA for his work for the protection of composers rights in Europe. Mr. Bonde will hand over his prize to Ferhat Tunç during the visit to Izmir.





Support from Turkish human rights organisation
On 27 September 2007, the Human Rights Association in Turkey declared in a statement that: "Ferhat Tunç’s ideas which are prosecuted amounts to demanding peace and democracy, to saying “enough is enough” to blood and tears. If that is a “crime”, it should be known that the millions of pro-peace people in Turkey are committing this “crime” all the time. We share Ferhat Tunç’s feelings and ideas. And we feel embarrassed because such ideas are prosecuted."
The Human Rights Association is a non-governmental organisation with nearly 16,000 members and 34 local branches around Turkey.


Series of protests
This is not the first time artists show their solidarity with Tunç. In December 2005 several international artists, including Marcel Khalife and Salman Ahmad joined a Freemuse campaign requesting the Turkish State to drop another case against Ferhat Tunç.

The 2005-campaign even requested the Turkish government to review the Turkish legislation, with the aim of removing any remaining laws that can lead to the imprisonment of artists for practicing their right to free expression. The international community has several times demanded that Turkey abolishes the controversial Article 301.

Journalists, writers and musicians are often being charged under Article 301 of Turkey's Penal Code, which makes "insulting Turkishness" a crime punishable by prison terms. Turkish rights groups, including BIANET and the Initiative for Freedom of Expression, have been reporting on the numerous trials and actively campaigning to abolish the law.

According to International PEN, ARTICLE 19 and the International Publishers Association (IPA), 18 trials against 24 people under Article 301 were heard between April and July 2007. Last month, International PEN, ARTICLE 19 and IPA issued an open letter to the newly-elected President of Turkey Adbulah Gül calling for the abolition of Article 301.


Amnesty Intational about Turkey
In its recent report on freedom of expression in Turkey, Amnesty International writes that during 2007, “...laws containing fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression remained in force, resulting in the prosecution, and sometimes conviction, of groups such as journalists, writers, publishers, academics, human rights defenders and students for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.”


About Jens-Peter Bonde
Mr. Bonde has been a member of the European Parliament since 1979. Today he represents the Danish June Movement and is the chair the IND/DEM group who are working for independence and democracy in the EU, and is also co-chairman of the SOS Democracy Intergroup. He is a founding member of the EU Democrats.


Ferhat Tunç: Freemuse ambassador
Ferhat Tunç recently became an official Freemuse ambassador and writes in a letter: ‘I accepted this invitation that I took great pride in. In this way I will be required to take a more active role in international activities of Freemuse.’ (See link below to read the letter in full length). 

Ferhat Tunç visited the Freemuse secretariat office in Copenhagen in January 2006 and spoke at a meeting in the Danish Parliament. On this occasion he met with Danish members of Parliament – amongst them former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mogens Lykketoft.






In court:
Ferhat Tunç


Click to go to bonde.com
Support:
Jens-Peter Bonde


Click to go to nielshausgaard.dk
Support:
Niels Hausgaard



Statements by Ferhat Tunç 

Video of Ferhat Tunç's speech – from the session about music censorship in Turkey at the 3rd Freemuse World Conference in Istanbul in November 2006.

A personal letter from Ferhat Tunç – about his relationship with Freemuse and his new appointment as 'Freemuse Ambassador'.



 
Further reading

About Ferhat Tunç and the cases against him


 All articles about Ferhat Tunç on freemuse.org

 ferhattunc.net – Ferhat Tunç's official web site
 bonde.com – Jens-Peter Bonde's official web site
 nielshausgaard.dk – Niels Haugaard's official web site
 djbfa.dk – DJBFA's official web site


About freedom of expression in Turkey 

 
ihd.org.tr – Human Rights Association of Turkey 
 thereport.amnesty.org – 'Amnesty International Report 2007 – the state of the world's human rights', about Turkey 


  
Press material

Journalists:
For photos and video in high resolution, go to our Press Room

Quote Freemuse: Read our Freemuse Press Statement 


   
Media coverage – continously updated

Denmark 

Dagbladet Information – 5 October 2007:
'Dansk hjĉlp til tyrkisk folkesanger i unċde' 'Danish help to Turkish folk singer in disfavour' 

Sangens Ċr – 5 October 2007:
'Ferhat Tunc frikendt' 'Ferhat Tunc acquitted' 

Arbejderen – 5 October 2007:
'Tyrkisk sanger frifundet' 'Turkish singer acquitted' 

Kristeligt Dagblad – 5 October 2007:
'Tyrkisk sanger frikendt' 'Turkish singer acquitted' 

Urban – 5 October 2007:
'Tyrkisk sanger frikendt' 'Turkish singer acquitted' 

Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR Nyheder and P2 Plus) – 4 October 2007:
'Tyrkisk sanger frikendt' 'Turkish singer acquitted' 

TV2 Nord – 4 October 2007:
'Hausgaard stĝtter tyrkisk kollega' 'Hausgaard supports Turkish colleague' 

Ekstra Bladet – 3 October 2007:
'Hausgaard vil redde tyrkisk sanger' 'Hausgaard wants to save Turkish singer' 

Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Radio P3, 'Go'morgen P3' – 2 October 2007:
App. 10 minutes live radio interview with Niels Hausgaard

Also the leading Danish radio news broadcaster, Radioavisen, broadcasted a report on the case.

Junibevĉgelsen – 1 October 2007:
'Bonde til tyrkisk retssag' 'Bonde to Turkish court case' 

U-landsnyt.dk – 30 September 2007:
'Bonde og Hausgaard til Tyrkiet for at stĝtte sanger i retssag' 'Bonde and Hausgaard to Turkey to support singer in court case' 

Jyllands-Posten – 28 September 2007:

'Niels Hausgaard stĝtter tyrkisk sangerkollega' 'Niels Hausgaard supports Turkish singer colleague' 

Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR – 28 September 2007:
'Hausgaard til Tyrkiet for at stĝtte sanger' 'Hausgaard to Turkey to support singer' 


Turkey

Haber TE – 28 September 2007:
'Tunç'un "GERİLLA" sözüne DAVA'

Bianet – 5 September 2007:

'Singer Tunc Still Accused of Spreading Terorrist Propaganda'


Sweden

Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, Sveriges Radio, Mitt i Musiken, broadcasted an interview with J.P. Bonde and Ole Reitov on 2 October. It is available on SR's home page.
Interview med Ferhat Tunc
Podcast radio
SMS Service
Newsservice (Nyhetsportalen.se)


Norway

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK, broadcasted interviews with J. P. Bonde and Ole Reitov on P2 on 4 October at 3:30 PM, a 12-minutes report by Arne Berg.


International

Freedimensional – 28 September 2007:
'Leading member of the European Parliament joins Freemuse at Ferhat Tunç court case in Izmir next week (Turkey)'

Go to top
Related reading about Turkey on freemuse.org

Turkey: Interview with exiled musician Fuat Talay
Baglama-player and singer Fuat Talay speaks about how the Turkish authorities kept him in a police station's cellar for 23 days, and later on convicted him to 12 years in prison
04 August 2008
Turkey: Arrest order for director of childrens' choir
Three members of Diyarbakir Yenisehir Council Childrens' Choir were acquitted, but the Turkish court issued an arrest order for the director of the choir, Duygu Bayar
23 June 2008
Turkey: Banned rapper did not back down
In 2000, a song by Turkish rapper Sultana was banned, and she disappeared from the lime light. After an eight-year hiatus she is now back on the music stage
18 June 2008
Turkey: Three children stand trial for singing a march in Kurdish
Three members of a Kurdish children's choir face prison charges by Turkish prosecutors for simply singing an old Kurdish song
09 June 2008
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç's trial postponed again
On 28 May 2008 Ferhat Tunç stood trial over an article he wrote. But once again, the trial was postponed
29 May 2008
Turkey: Singer Bülent Ersoy taken to court
The famous transsexual singer Bülent Ersoy has been charged for "alienating the people from military service"
19 May 2008
Turkey / Germany: Panel debate about Turkish censorship
On 4 April 2008, protest singer Ferhat Tunç performed with his Kurdish songs and discussed music censorship in Berlin, Germany
08 April 2008
Beate Slydal: About the Turkish Penal Code Article 301
Excerpt of political scientist Beate Slydal's presentation at the seminar 'Music - a human right', held in Oslo, Norway, on Music Freedom Day, 3 March 2008
28 March 2008
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç's next trial postponed
A Turkish court decided to postpone the next trial of the Turkish-Kurdish singer with five months, until May 2008
17 December 2007
Denmark: Exiled Kurdish singer awarded
On 29 November 2007 the Danish Refugee Council awarded Mizgin, a Kurdish refugee musician based in Denmark, with an 'Artist Award' and 5,000 US dollars
05 December 2007
Turkey: Radio station to court for playing a song
Gün Radio is taken to court for a song entitled 'Mesopotamia', which was played by the station on 9 November 2006
15 November 2007
Turkey: Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç threatened in the virtual world
Singer Ferhat Tunç has never felt as unsafe in Turkey as he does now. Death threats against him are published on the internet, and he faces yet another court case
01 November 2007
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç acquitted
The Turkish-Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunc could leave Izmir High Criminal Court as a free man on 4 October 2007. The Freemuse delegation succeeded it's mission
04 October 2007
Turkey: EU Commission to observe Tunç Trial
Senior Political Advisor Ms Selma Kiliçer from the EU Commission office in Ankara will observe the trial against Ferhat Tunç - and thus join the Freemuse delegation
03 October 2007
Ferhat Tunç campaign 2007
International campaign in support of musician on trial for remarks on Kurdish issue. Freemuse request the Turkish State to drop its case against singer Ferhat Tunç
02 October 2007
Freemuse Press Statement: Drop the cases against Ferhat Tunç
Freemuse Press Statement requesting immediate dismissal of all cases against Mr. Ferhat Tunç
01 October 2007
Freemuse News Alert: EU-MP joins Freemuse at Tunc court case in Izmir
This Freemuse News Alert was sent via e-mail to 312 journalists and media houses world-wide on Thursday 27 September 2007 at 16:11 GMT
27 September 2007
Turkey: Delegation in support of Ferhat Tunç
EU-politician and famous Danish musician join Freemuse delegation, travelling to attend the court case in Turkey against Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç on 4 October 2007
27 September 2007
Turkey: A personal letter from musician Ferhat Tunç
A personal letter from Kurdish-Turkish musician Ferhat Tunç who was appointed a 'Freemuse ambassador' in September 2007, about his relationship with the organisation
25 September 2007
3rd Freemuse World Conference - report
Read all the speeches and testimonials from the 3rd Freemuse World Conference on music censorship, held in Istanbul in 2006
20 August 2007