Rallies All Over Turkey In Support Of Turkish Journalist; Ilhan Selcuk Now Released

Demonstrators rallied in many Turkish cities in support of the prominent Turkish journalist-writer of Cumhuriyet daily. In Istanbul protesters gathered in front of Cumhuriyet offices and marched towards the city’s largest square Taksim but were blocked by the police. They carried Turkish flags and banners that read. “We All Are Ilhan Selcuk”, and chanted anti-AKP slogans.

45 hours after being taken into custody at 4:30 AM in his house, and 14-hour-long interrogation, the 83 year old Selcuk was released, again in early morning hours. Detentions of the former Istanbul University president Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu and Workers’ Party leader Dogu Perincek were extended.

Source: Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, Turkey, March 23, 2008

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