IFJ representative denied permission to visit journalist Karaca in prison

A court ruled for Hidayet Karaca's arrest pending trial on Dec. 19, 2014. (Photo: Cihan)
A court ruled for Hidayet Karaca's arrest pending trial on Dec. 19, 2014. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: May 26, 2015

The Justice Ministry has rejected a request from a coalition of international journalist organizations to visit imprisoned Turkish journalist Hidayet Karaca at Silivri Prison in İstanbul.

Documents published by the private Cihan news agency on Saturday show that a judge turned down an official request from British journalist Barry White to visit Karaca, who has been imprisoned since Dec. 14, 2014, when he was detained along with dozens of others in a police operation against what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls the “parallel structure.”

White was to visit Karaca on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the UK’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), according to a petition signed by Ricardo Gutierrez, the secretary-general of the EFJ. The judge did not say why the request was rejected, citing only two articles of a law and a regulation that concern security measures in prison facilities and visits to prisoners.

The IFJ, EFJ and NUJ represent more than 600,000 journalists in 134 countries, according to the petition addressed to the Turkish authorities. Karaca, who is currently being held in Silivri Prison without any indictment or any reason for the extension of his arrest, was detained just three days before the first anniversary of the massive corruption investigations of Dec. 17 and 25 that implicated people in the inner circle of President Erdoğan.

Erdoğan, who was the prime minister at the time, denied the claims of corruption and described the scandal as a plot against his government by foreign powers and the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, which Erdoğan says has set up a “parallel structure” within the state. In the December 2014 crackdown, Karaca and three former police chiefs were arrested on charges of leading a terrorist network, while other detainees, including Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, were released pending trial.

Source: Today's Zaman , May 23, 2015

Tags: | | |


Related News

Germany takes Gülenists off watch list, conducts counterespionage against Ankara – report

German police have removed the Gülen movement, which Ankara designates a terrorist organisation, from its ‘dangerous’ and ‘to be followed’ watch list, Sözcü newspaper reported, citing a domestic security report from the  country’s Southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Post-coup purge victim says he may never be a father due to torture in prison

One of the 48 victims said his testicles had been crushed and that a hard object was inserted into his anus while in prison. “I was kept naked in the cold. I was beaten. Pressure was applied to my genital area. The pain didn’t stop for months. I am a bachelor, and I may never be a father,” he said.

Turkey detainees tortured, raped after failed coup, rights group says

Jason Hanna and Tim Hume Captured military officers raped by police, hundreds of soldiers beaten, some detainees denied food and water and access to lawyers for days. These are the grim conditions that many of the thousands who were arrested in Turkey face in the aftermath of a recent failed coup, witnesses tell Amnesty International. […]

Persecution of the Gülen Movement in Turkey

The Gülen (a.k.a Hizmet) movement, a faith-based community, has been subject to political persecution for more than two years by the Turkish government since they stood up against corruption and injustice under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has publicly called for a “witch hunt,” and arrests, threats, and harassments have now become a routine for participants and sympathizers of the movement.

Minister: Turkish gov’t racks up $5 bln in confiscation of Gülen-linked properties

The value of immovable properties including dormitories, real estates and schools that the government has confiscated as part of its clampdown against Gülen movement so far, totals around TL 15 billion or $4.9 billion, according to Environment and Urban Planning Minister Mehmet Özhaseki.

34 housewives arrested over Gülen links in İstanbul

Thirty-four housewives were arrested by a Turkish court on Saturday due to alleged use of a smart phone application called ByLock and links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup last July.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Police raid Gülen-inspired Samanyolu schools in Ankara

Indialogue Essay Contest on “Culture of Living Together”

Graduation ceremony of Turkish School in Kenya

Dr. Jill Carroll speaks on Fethullah Gulen and The Gulen Movement

Expert: I fear that Turkey is headed to a prolonged period of civil conflict if not civil war

Failed coup in Turkey hits Albany’s Turkish Cultural Center

Kimse Yok Mu lends helping hand to 3,000 orphans in 4 countries

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News