-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]Im Auftrag von Press Agency Ozgurluk Gesendet: Mittwoch, 24. Mai 2000 11:34 An: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Betreff: "[Ozgurluk.Org]" Turkey: Ahmet Savran - Article in Milliyet (The following article was published on October 1, 1999 in the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet.) NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPION'S LIFE ENDS TRAGICALLY IN PRISON >From the wrestling mat to the morgue... He had a newspaper on him which is sold legally everywhere, and he was arrested because of membership of an organisation. He died in a bloody uprising in Ulucanlar (Ankara) Prison. His name is Ahmet Savran. Five months ago the medal-winning Graeco-Roman wrestling champion of Turkey was arrested in Zonguldak while practising his profession as a physical education teacher because a journal was found on him which gave rise to the accusation that he was "aiding an illegal organisation". Court proceedings were opened against him by the DGM (State Security Court). He was moved from prison to prison. In Ankara/Ulucanlar he was put in with prisoners accused of terrorism. The charge against him; the journal is designated as a "legal organ". He was not even suspended from his post and awaited his acquittal. During the events in prison he was killed by gunshots. He had arranged to have his organs donated for free, but because he was left in the morgue for two days his organs could no longer be used... He was a wrestling champion, "as strong as a Turk". He died like a Turk! This is dedicated to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Turk... The physical education teacher and wrestling champion of Turkey, Ahmet Savran, died while waiting for his release. It appears that because of an action begun on September 2 whereby prisoners refuse to be counted, Ahmet Savran was unable to attend a hearing on September 17 at which he presumably would have been released. Proceedings had been instituted against Savran, who was imprisoned five months ago under Article 169 of Turkey's penal law, which calls for five year's imprisonment, because the weekly newspaper Kurtulus had been found on him and he was accused of "aiding and granting accommodation to an illegal organisation". Moreover it appears that the organs that Savran arranged before his death to donate for free could not be accepted because they were left for two days in the morgue. He was a state official. His lawyer Filiz Bozuoglu, who spoke with her client on August 20 and complained about his situation, added: "He was very glad that the court proceedings that were to take place on the 15th, would be presided over by the actual judge. There were 100 people crammed into wards only designed for 40. He said he would continue to practise his profession of teacher, but in the event that he was suspended from the service he would teach wrestling and folk-dancing. A third of his salary was regularly paid into his account. He was only conditionally suspended up to the end of court proceedings." Bozuoglu, who noted that even in the event of a conviction, her client would have been released after a year at the most, said that "this case is a most disquieting one". She also said Savran was still an official. The previous evening the corpse of Savran was brought to his birthplace at Umurlu near Aydin. His father Esref Savran, who received the news of his son's death while waiting for his release, said, "He was preoccupied with transferring to the Aydin prison. He had been arrested five months ago. Perhaps he would be in Aydin prison now." The president of the teachers' union Egitim-Sen in Zonguldak, Mehmet Dalgic, said, "Our friend has not been convicted, proceedings against him are still continuing. He is still paid his salary and employed as an official. We know that he is innocent," and he added that his guilt had not been proven. The cause of Savran's death was established by the autopsy as follows: internal bleeding resulting from head injuries, to the torso, caused by firearms and gunshots, as well as penetrating wounds to the brain, the skull and spinal column. He was a champion Savran, who began wrestling at the age of 10, joined the Aydin Textile Wrestling team in 1982. Savran, who was the champion of Turkey in Graeco-Roman wrestling while weighing 48 kilogrammes, was accepted into the national team at 52 kilos. In 1990, the wrestler, who had completed the sports academy, gave his first lesson as a teacher in Hatay. Five months ago, Savran, who was destined for the central elementary school in Zonguldak, was stopped at the school exit by plainclothes police. Savran, who had the newspaper Kurtulus (Liberation) on him, was arrested. He was arrested together with the representative of Kurtulus in Zonguldak. The State Security Court demanded that Savran, whose file had been sent to the State Security Court in Ankara, be given a prison sentence of five years in accordance with Article 169 of the penal law of Turkey, because of "aiding and providing accommodation to an illegal organisation". Savran, who had appeared three times before the State Security Court in Ankara, was waiting to be set free. The crime: reading a newspaper that had been confiscated. The charge tabled by State Prosecutor Ali Riza Konuralp, No. 1999-124 with reference to the instructor Ahmet Savran and Yahya Yildiz is expressed in the following terms: "Ahmet Savran, who is under suspicion on the part of the Security Department, carried in his rucksack four copies of the 31st issue of the newspaper 'Liberation on the Road of Independence and Democracy' , the legal organ of the armed gang the DHKP-C, which was confiscated on May 2, 1999 under Resolution No. 1999-313 of the 6th State Security Court of Istanbul." Hasan Dalgic, Mustafa Ozdemir Note: this news item won a prize in the "Journalism since Metin Goktepe" competition organised by the newspaper Evrensel (Universal). -- Pressagency Ozgurluk.Org In solidarity with the Peoples Liberationstruggle in Turkey and Kurdistan http://www.ozgurluk.org DHKP-C: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc --- from list [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---
