Mustafa Balbay

Balbay in his prison in Silivri

Mustafa Balbay (* 1960 in Burdur ) is a Turkish journalist, author and member of parliament.

Activity as a journalist

Balbay began working for the Cumhuriyet newspaper in the early 1980s, the last time he was head of its parliamentary office in Ankara. In 1993 he took over the column from Uğur Mumcu after Uğur Mumcu fell victim to a bomb attack. Balbay also worked for radio and television.

arrest

As part of the Ergenekon investigation, Balbay was taken into police custody on July 1, 2008, but was released four days later. In his public statements, he denied the allegation that he was involved in an "attempted coup". He was arrested again on March 5, 2009, this time on remand in Silivri Prison .

His defense attorneys presented the court with reports from several computer experts who came to the conclusion that the documents allegedly alleged to have come from his computer were clearly forgeries that were only copied to his hard drive after his computer was confiscated be.

In the parliamentary elections in June 2011 , the Republican People's Party (CHP) nominated Balbay as a candidate for the province of Izmir . Although he is now a member of parliament, a later amended law not only blocked his release and prevented him from exercising his mandate.

On August 5, 2013, Balbay was sentenced to 34 years and 8 months in the Ergenekon trial . With him, other people, including journalists, were sentenced to heavy prison terms. In December 2013, the Turkish Constitutional Court ordered Balbay's release. It is a violation of the right to vote to leave an elected and not legally convicted representative in custody. He was remanded for 4 years and 277 days.

Balbay had continued to write regularly for the Cumhuriyet from prison. After he was re-elected for the CHP in the parliamentary elections in June and November 2015 , Cumhuriyet ended the cooperation. In April 2016, the Court of Cassation dismissed the judgments against him and the other defendants. The proceedings are still pending. He was no longer nominated in the parliamentary elections in June 2018 .

author

Balbay wrote seven of his 30 publications in prison. In various forms of expression, in poetry, in novels and in plays, Balbay reflects on the social situation of his country, the current repression to which it is exposed.

Balbay is married and has two children.

See also

• List of media workers detained in Turkey (after 2000)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Turkey's Press Freedom Crisis, Appendix I : Journalists in Prison , special report from cpj.org from August 2012
2. ^ Deputy and journalist Balbay released after 4 years, 277 days in jail . In: Hürriyet Daily News , December 9, 2013, accessed August 4, 2018.
3. ↑ Turkey's Ergenekon plot case overturned by top court of appeals . In: Hürriyet Daily News, April 21, 2016, accessed August 4, 2018.