Military court bans coverage of case of eight soldiers accused of insubordination

[Robbien]

Source: Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders today condemned an order issued on 12 November by a military court in the eastern city of Van banning any media reports, comments or criticism of an investigation into eight soldiers held on suspicion of “persistent insubordination,” abandoning their positions and failing to fight as ordered against guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The soldiers were arrested after being released on 4 November by the PKK, which had captured them during an attack on a Turkish army position near the Iraqi border on 21 October.

. . .

The court order . . . was issued after some of the detained soldiers’ statements were published in the Turkish press on 12 November. They said they had been short of ammunition and some of their guns had stopped working. Two of them gave interviews to a Kurdish television station, Roj TV, while they were captives.

Three weeks ago, on 23 October, the government banned all “negative” programmes about the death of 12 soldiers during the offensive in which the eight were taken prisoner. The council of state rescinded the order the next day on the grounds that it was too vague.

Three French journalists covering events in the region were arrested as they tried to cross from Turkey into Iraq at the Harbour border crossing on 24 October.

Read more: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24395

[ohio2007]

1. Yet, polls indicate the people of Turkey favor an Iraq invasion

go figger

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3068297

The deserters will get the death penalty or worse,


..doing hard time in a Turkish prison