Court rules to confiscate books by prominent journalists

A local court has decided to confiscate books by two prominent Turkish journalists after they were found during an operation on a cell where suspected militants of the outlawed Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H) were detained. 

A total of three books focusing on the Kurdish problem by journalists Hasan Cemal and Tu?çe Tatari will be confiscated after the Third Criminal Court of Peace in southeastern Gaziantep province decided to remove them from bookstores for being seized during an operation. 

The books were charged with "spreading terrorist propaganda to the extent of encouraging violence" and "praising crime and criminal activity."

A Gaziantep public prosecutor launched an anti-terror operation on Oct. 11 against a group suspected of being YDG-H militants and providing arms to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 

A number of books by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan were seized during the operation, alongside some magazines, leaflets and calendars. 

In addition to the above-mentioned publications, Cemal's "Delila / Bir Genç Gerillan?n Da? Günlükleri" (Delila / Mountain diaries of a young guerilla) and "Çözüm Sürecinde Kürdistan Günlükleri" (Kurdistan Diaries during the Resolution Process), and Tatari's "Anneanne, Ben Asl?nda Diyarbak?r'da De?ildim" (Grandmother, I wasn't really at Diyarbak?r) were also seized inside the flat of a suspect identified as H.V. 

The prosecutor's office litigated later on Oct. 11, demanding the confiscation of all publications seized during the operation. 

The court ruled for the confiscation of the books on Dec. 4, arguing they spread terrorist propaganda and praised criminal activity.

"The investigation shows that the seized material...