Radyo Dünya | Imprisoned in Turkey | December 07, 2009

Job:Editor
Medium:Radio
Beats Covered:Human Rights, Politics, War
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Charge:Anti-state
Length of Sentence:10+ years
Reported Health Problems:No

Karavil, editor-in-chief of the pro-Kurdish radio station Radyo Dünya in the southern province of Adana, served more than three years in prison before being convicted on charges of being a member of the banned Union of Communities in Kurdistan, or KCK, and the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

As evidence, authorities cited news programs that Karavil produced, his meetings with members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, and his wiretapped telephone conversations with colleagues, listeners, and news sources, his lawyer, Vedat Özkan, told CPJ. In one phone conversation, Karavil discussed naming a program "Those Who Imagine the Island," the lawyer said. He said the indictment considered this illegal propaganda because it referred to the imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was being held in a prison on İmralı Island.

In a January 2012 letter to media outlets, Karavil said authorities questioned him about the station's ownership and the content of its programming. Court officials refused to allow Karavil to give statements in his native Kurdish language, Özkan said.

In January 2013, the Eighth Court of Serious Crimes in Adana Province sentenced Karavil to 25 years in prison, Özkan told CPJ. In October 2014, Özkan said the Supreme Court of Appeals had upheld the sentence.

In late 2016, he was in the Kırıkkale F Type High Security Closed Prison in Adana, Özkan told CPJ.

Özkan told CPJ that an appeal Karavil had filed with Turkey's Constitutional Court in 2014 was still pending in late 2016.

In late 2017, the lawyer did not return our call requesting an update on the status of the appeal or the journalist's health and whereabouts.

Disclaimer: © Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.