Turkish court repeals ruling on pro-Kurdish paper closureMarch 31, 2012 - 13:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish court ruling to suspend the publication of the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem (Free Agenda) newspaper for an entire month has been repealed after lawyers for the paper appealed the decision, Today’s Zaman reported. Last week, the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court ordered Özgür Gündem suspend publishing the paper for a month, citing the “dissemination of propaganda for a terrorist organization” in its March 24 edition. The phrase terrorist organization refers to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Earlier this week, Özgür Gündem lawyers appealed the ruling. The same panel of judges then agreed to repeal the original ruling. The new decision was announced on Friday, March 30. Özgür Gündem's predecessors have been shut down several times before and the newspaper has had to change names frequently. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told journalists while on his way to Tehran from Seoul that he was against shutting down any organization, be it a political party or newspaper. He said individuals should be held responsible for violations of the law, not entire organizations. Erdoğan said it was not only anti-democratic to shut down organizations, but also futile, as such agencies tend to simply re-open under a new name. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |