The excellent young American journalist Jake Hess -- who is a good friend of mine -- has just been imprisoned in Turkey in extremely worrying circumstances. Hess has been factually reporting from Southern Turkey for over a year now on the way the Kurdish civilian population is being treated. Here's a sample of his excellent reporting:
"Compared to most internally displaced Kurds in northern Iraq, Shamal Qadir is almost lucky. Since the Turkish army devastated his village, Kuzine, in a bombing raid Jul. 1, he's been living in a schoolhouse, where room temperatures are comfortable and basic amenities are accessible.
"Our family bought land and started building houses in Kuzine in 1996. We did it for our children, so they'd have a place to live in the future," Qadir tells IPS. "Now, our dreams have been destroyed."
Qadir is one of roughly 6,500 people who have been driven from their homes by Turkish and Iranian bombings of Kurdish border villages in northern Iraq since May 24."
For rigorously and compassionately reporting on a horrifying situation, Hess has been jailed.
AOL has the full story here.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Journalists Without Borders have both issued statements calling for his immediate release. He is a legitimate journalist of extremely high integrity. The idea that he would have any alliance with, or sympathy for, a terror group is utterly absurd. Yet he is currently being held at the Diyarbakir Anti-Terrorism Branch.
Please take just a minute to call the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC on +1 202 612 67 00 +or email them at contact@turkishembassy.org and politely explain that you expect this outstanding US citizen to be treated with decency, and released at once. A country that calls itself a democracy should not be imprisoning journalists for telling the truth.
This would be a good form letter, please vary it a little:
"Dear Sir or Madam,
I write out of great concern for the well-being of Mr Jake Hess, who is an American citizen.I understand that Mr Hess has been detained in Turkey at the Diyarbakir Anti-Terrorism Branch, apparently on the strength of the inclusion of his name in a document relating to Kurdish organisations. He is in fact an independent and respected journalist.
I would appreciate your urgent confirmation of the following:-
1. Is Mr Hess charged with any crime, and if so, what is the charge?
2. What are the grounds for Mr Hess' detention if he has not been charged with a crime?
3. If there is no charge, will Mr Hess be released, and if so, when?
4. Where is Mr Hess detained and what are the conditions there - specifically, is he in his own cell or is he incarcerated with other prisoners?
5. What has happened to Mr Hess' belongings? What provision has been made for the security of his premises while he is not there?
6. What provision has been made for Mr Hess to contact his relatives - specifically does he have e-mail / phone access?
7. What food and drink will Mr Hess be provided with during his detention?
8. If he is not charged, will Mr Hess receive compensation for his detention?
9. What physical force was used to detain Mr Hess?
10. Can you guarantee that Mr Hess' human rights will be respected at all times?Again, I would appreciate an urgent response and that you use all efforts to ensure that Mr Hess is appropriately treated. I expect that he will be released without charge without delay.
Thank you and best wishes"
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An American journalist detained because of alleged links to outlawed organizations in Southeast Turkey is set to be deported, according to the man’s lawyer, the Anatolia news agency reported late Sunday.
Hess, 25, was accused of collaborating with around 150 Kurdish activists currently in prison and whose names feature in a case file about the KCK, which is alleged to be the urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
The American from Hampton, New Hampshire, moved to Turkey roughly two years ago, where he began teaching English.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkish-court-decides-to-deport-american-journalist-says-his-lawyer-2010-08-16
"We have spoken with him on the phone regarding his situation, and he specifically asked us not to share any information on his case," said Deborah Guido, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara. "He did not sign a privacy waiver. We can take an oral privacy waiver [by phone], and it was his choice. He did not want to be helped."
Asked why he rejected the American offer, Hess answered that "the U.S. is an imperialist country, and I disagree with U.S. policy towards Turkey and the Kurds. It would be hypocritical to support an American journalist who is persecuted for human rights journalism while at the same time supporting the Turkish policy of criminalizing Kurdish political activists."
But hey, keep thinking of the Turkish state and government as a fair and open demoncracy that values minority rights. Keep thinking of Turkey as a modern, western state. We'll see how far this kind of thinking gets you.
http://www.timeout.com/istanbul/search/?facet=path_GayLesbian
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/19/turkey-stop-violence-against-transgender-people
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/archive/2005sept/2802.htm
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=687&utm_source=aiuk&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=homepage&utm_content=turkeylgbtnib
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/turkey-urged-end-discriminatory-clampdown-gay-rights-groups-20100210
Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj arrived home in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum early Friday after nearly six years in the U.S. Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Al-Hajj, a Sudanese citizen in his late 30s, was captured in Afghanistan in December 2001 by Pakistani intelligence officers and handed over to the United States, which accused him of being an "enemy combatant."
A senior Pentagon official confirmed the journalist's release.
Al-Hajj was held without being charged or given a trial, Al-Jazeera reported.
The cameraman was on a legitimate assignment and carried a work visa at the time of his capture, the network said.
however, I have had daily reports on Zah Zah Gabor health.
But it was a close shave.
Or, is there reason to worry that after we go to war with Iran, Turkey will be the next in line as the target for "regime change" by invasion?
"He had been applying for jobs everywhere," Akinci said. "He came to me and said, 'I want to be a journalist.' "
Akinci said he was released later Sunday, after authorities learned that he was a journalist.
Thank you for the contact information.
Please keep us updated!
Shame things like this don't make the top of the front page.