Turkey:
Ferhat Tunç acquitted - and immediately charged again
One day after the court in Diyabarkir acquitted Freemuse award winner, Ferhat Tunç the Istanbul police turned up at his home today to inform the singer that he will be charged in two new cases
Ferhat Tunç in a mail to Freemuse writes: “Such is my life! Tomorrow I will have to present myself once again to the police”.
The singer spends more time preparing for cases than being able to produce new music. Freemuse regrets that the Turkish authorities continue the harassment of the singer.
A lawsuit was filed against folk singer Pınar Aydınlar (Sağ) and the Group Munzur members Özlem Gerçek and Erkan Duman demanding up to five years imprisonment
Musician Seçkin Aydoğan, member of Group Yorum, was not discharged at the first hearing of the lawsuit against him and four others in İstanbul 15th High Criminal Court
17 inmates of Kocaeli T Type Prison have received disciplinary charge by the warden of three more months in prison for having been "singing and dancing illegally"
In 2012, there were no acticities marking Music Freedom Day in Turkey. "This means the work is not over yet," wrote Sanar Yurdatapan in his chronicle on the day
A weekend in December 2011 ended tragically when a man was brutally murdered after he requested that musicians in a bar sing a folksong in Zaza Kurdish, his native language
Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç is the target of seven investigations and two trials due to speeches he held during his campaign for the general elections in June 2011
Turkish musician Fuat Talay explains (in Danish language) about his personal experiences with music censorship in Turkey which led to his imprisonment and exile
Turkish rock musician Yaşar Kurt's dissident song 'Korku', released in the late 1990s, resulted in his trial for treason where he was acquitted from a 12 years' prison sentence
A 10 months sentence to three young men who had been chanting slogans at a Grup Yorum concert in Dersim in 2007 was confirmed by Supreme Courts 9th Office
Berna Yılmaz and Ferhat Tüzer, two imprisoned students, have reportedly received a six months ban on having visitors because they were singing a folk song
On 15 July 2011 at the İstanbul Jazz Festival the concert of the Kurdish singer Aynur Doğan was interrupted by shouting people in the audience, forcing her to leave the stage
The Kurdish singer Farquin (Yılmaz Dünen) is facing a prison sentence of between seven and 20 years, charged with spreading propaganda for an illegal organisation
The 16 members of the Beyoğlu Troupe were sued by Prime Minister Erdoğan on the grounds of the lyrics of a song they performed. On 8 June 2011 they were acquitted
A gendarmerie commander reportedly ordered village guards to break Ferhat Tunçs legs as Ferhat Tunç was starting a tour in villages in Cemisgezek/Dersim area
