A Turkish court ruled on Monday to release jailed journalist Metin Duran from prison following a report issued by Turkish Forensic Medicine Institution stating that “his health conditions are not eligible to stay in prison.”
Born in Nusaybin district of Mardin province, Duran used to work for Radyo Rengin until the radio channel was closed by a government decree under the state of emergency declared in the aftermath of the controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
According to a report by pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency, Duran had a heart attack and was taken under intensive care in a hospital where he was diagnosed paralyzed. After his treatment, he started to stay with his relatives since his home in Nusaybin was destroyed during curfews in Nusaybin. A sentence, he was given by a local court for 3 years, 3 months and 15 days in prison, was approved by a higher court at that time. He was arrested and sent to Sincan No. 2 Closed Prison in Ankara.
According to the Human Rights Association (İHD) Prison Commission, there are 1,154 sick prisoners, 401 are in critical condition in prisons across Turkey as of March 2, 2018.
Turkey is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). If Turkey falls two more places, it will make it to the list of countries on the blacklist, which have the poorest record in press freedom.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 236 journalists and media workers were in jail as of Sept. 13, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 168 were under arrest pending trial while only 68 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 147 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down some 200 media outlets, including Kurdish news agencies and newspapers, after the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The post Turkish court releases pro-Kurdish journalist Duran from prison over health reasons appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-releases-pro-kurdish-journalist-duran-from-prison-over-health-reasons/
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