Turkish court fines Hurriyet writers over PKK interview

The court ruled that the journalists from one of Turkey's highest circulation dailies, Hurriyet, were guilty of "spreading the propaganda of a terrorist organization" under an anti-terror law, the report said.

Sebati Karakurt, the reporter who conducted the interview at PKK camp in neighboring northern Iraq, and editor Hasan Kilic were fined 40,000 YTL ($32,300) each, while another editor, Necdet Tatlican, was fined 20,000 YTL ($16,155).

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, including the U.S. and the EU.

The interview, published in October 2004, drew attention at the time for focusing on the daily routines, personal yearnings and feminist ambitions of a group of young female outlawed separatists at a PKK camp in Iraq’s Qandil mountains.

The report, accompanied by pictures of smiling PKK members playing the guitar, was in stark contrast to the usual coverage of the outlawed organization in the Turkish media, which highlights the group’s violent side and rarely holds interviews with PKK separatists.

The European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, has often criticized the country for restricting free speech and press freedoms. 

Photo: Hurriyet Archives