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The
case against the six people who were arrested and
charged in December last year under anti–terror
legislation as part of an operation against political
activists supporting the struggle for democracy in
Turkey continued at Bow Street Magistrates on Monday
10th February.
The
case had been adjourned four weeks previously at the
request of the prosecution stating that they had not
yet received the necessary paperwork. Although they
have now received this paperwork they asked for a
further four-week adjournment at the court this week
claiming that they have not yet had enough time to
read through it.
The
judge agreed to this and set the next hearing for
Monday 10th March back at Bow Street Magistrates.
Whilst the judge was reviewing the bail conditions
of
the six defendants the prosecution, on the advice
of the police, said that the defendants should not
be allowed to possess, distribute or assist in the
sale of a magazine titled Ekmek ve Adalet, which means
Bread and Justice. Already the defendants are not
allowed to possess, distribute or assist in the sale
of a magazine called Vatan as part of their bail conditions.
The prosecution maintains that Ekmek ve Adalet and
Vatan are the same magazine when in fact they are
two entirely different publications. On the two previous
court hearings nothing was said about Ekmek ve Adalet
by the prosecution. The judge agreed to this new demand
from the police and prosecution and set the bail conditions
accordingly. Both of these magazines are legal within
Turkey and Europe, in fact they are both registered
with the Turkish state and have to pay taxes to it.
The decision today means that people are not allowed
to read publications that are entirely legal and legitimate
to buy, sell or own in any other country. Not even
Turkey’s state security courts, which are no-jury
military courts, have ever made such claims and this
is not because they are prudent on such matters. This
decision should be a concern to all democrats and
is a campaign issue in its own right as well as being
part of a wider provocation. During the proceedings
the judge boasted on several occasions that he knew
little about the case. At one point a senior officer
from the anti-terrorist squad had to assist the prosecutor
in directing the case and in turn the judge agreed
with everything that the prosecution said. For those
who attended the hearing it was a clear example of
the incompetence and oppression of the British state
and that it is the police who are calling the shots
rather than the rule of law having primacy. This shows
the importance of observing the trial.
A
week doesn’t go by without there being high profile
arrests under the Terrorism Act. The arrests are without
exception reported in a manner that seriously jeopardize
the prospect of the defendants receiving a fair trial.
Not only has the British Prime Minister chosen to
state his belief that people who are legally innocent
until proven guilty are in fact guilty you also now
have a situation where Colin Powell has used recent
arrests in Britain as ‘evidence’ at a UN
security council meeting to justify an attack on Iraq.To
oppose the war on Iraq also means to oppose the Terrorism
Act 2000 and its entire demagogy.
We
called upon people to attend the next hearing at Bow
Streets Magistrates Monday 10 March at 10.00am.
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