The
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has demanded that the Turkish
government and the authorities in the north of Cyprus
renew their investigation into the killing of journalist Kutlu Adali who is
thought to have been targeted by Turkish security agents or unknown assassins
of the administration in the northern part of Cyprus.
Adali,
a political columnist with the leftist daily Yeni Duzen who opposed the
division of Cyprus,
was shot dead outside his home in the island's divided capital of Nicosia on July 6, 1996.
He had received work-related threats prior to his murder.
The
EFJ meeting of journalists' leaders in Varna,
Bulgaria, at
the weekend responded to an appeal from its members in Basin Sen, representing
journalists in the northern part of the island, to protest to the authorities
over reports that they had closed the file on the investigation without finding
the killers. The case has been on the agenda of European journalists for some
years and was highlighted at a similar conference in Bilbao in April 2005.
The
controversial handling of the case has troubled journalists on both sides of
the border and led to a ruling by the European Court for Human Rights in 2005
that Turkish authorities had failed to conduct an effective investigation into
the murder of journalist and ordered the government to pay 20,000 Euros (US
$26,000) in damages to his wife Ilkay Adali.
She
sought damages in 1997 from the Turkish government, which maintains effective
control over the northern part of the island claiming that the authorities
ordered the killing. However the European court said there was not enough
evidence to conclude that security agents were involved in the murder.
"This
case must not be closed until justice has been delivered," said Arne Konig,
President of the EFJ. "It is a scandal that so many years after a brutal and
targeted assassination, there is an attempt to quietly close the file. Turkey and the authorities in the north of Cyprus
must take their responsibility and put new efforts into finding the killers."
The
record of the police investigation into the case is a tale of incompetence and
wilful disregard for justice, says the EFJ. The European Court had found that the authorities
failed to "investigate the possibility that the murder had any link to his
work as a journalist" and that much of the inquiry " was conducted
only after the applicant's case before the European Court had been communicated to
the Turkish government."
Adali's wife is still campaigning vigorously for justice, but she was informed in
writing that the case was closed by the office of the public prosecutor in the
north of the island.
"The
shadow of injustice, impunity and scandalous disregard for the rights of
journalists hangs over this case and this must be put right," said König.
For more information contact the EFJ
at +32 2 235 2202
The EFJ represents over 250,000 journalists
in 30 countries
