2016 prison census - Turkey: Erdal Süsem

Süsem, editor of the leftist culture magazine Eylül Sanat Edebiyat Dergisi (September Arts Literature Magazine), was being held at Edirne F Type Prison on charges of helping lead the outlawed Maoist Communist Party, or MKP. Authorities alleged that Süsem's magazine produced propaganda for the party. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

In a letter published in February 2012 by the independent news portal Bianet, Süsem said he had been detained on the MKP accusations and charged in February 2010. He said the evidence against him consisted of journalistic material such as books, postcards, and letters, along with accounts of his newsgathering activities such as phone interviews. Süsem made similar statements in a letter to the Justice Ministry that was cited in news accounts.

Süsem started the magazine, which featured poetry, literature, and opinion pieces from imprisoned socialist intellectuals, during an earlier imprisonment at Tekirdag F Type Prison. After producing the initial four editions on a photocopier from prison, Süsem transformed the journal into a print publication after his 2007 release from prison and circulated 16 more issues.

Süsem's earlier imprisonment stemmed from allegations in March 2000 that he stole a police officer's handgun that was later used in a murder. Süsem pleaded not guilty to the gun theft and murder charges. The gun possession and related serious charges against Süsem were twice rejected by Turkey's Supreme Court, which ruled in 2005 and 2007 that there was insufficient evidence to link Süsem to the crimes.

However, without new evidence, after Süsem was imprisoned in 2010 on the propaganda charges, the Supreme Court reversed its stance and convicted him in 2011 on gun theft, murder, and other charges. The court also reinstated a life sentence.

The court proceedings that led to his conviction were marked by a number of inconsistencies. For example, in his Bianet letter, Süsem wrote that the police officer, whose stolen gun was later used in a number of crimes, testified that Süsem was not the person who had stolen it. Witness descriptions of the suspect did not match the journalist, Süsem's wife, Eylem, told CPJ.

Eylem Süsem told CPJ that her husband had appealed the life sentence at the European Court of Human Rights, citing long imprisonment and an unjust trial. The European Court, Eylem Süsem told CPJ, decided in 2016 in favor of her husband's claim on the long imprisonment appeal, and mandated that Turkey pay compensation of about 8000 Turkish liras to the journalist. The claim of unjust trial is still pending, Eylem Süsem said; Turkey has asked for additional time to prepare a response for the European Court on the unjust trial complaint.

Eylem Süsem said a separate trial on charges of MKP propaganda and MKP leadership-both linked to contents of the Eylül Sanat Edebiyat Dergisi magazine-continued in 2015.

In late 2016, she told CPJ that a trial on the MKP propaganda charge was still in progress, but that an Istanbul court had in May 2016 dismissed defense lawyer's move for a retrial on the charges of murder and of being a leader of a terrorist organization. As of late 2016, the journalist's appeal to the Constitutional Court was pending, his wife told CPJ.