The German DJ Shantel was denied access into Turkey on 14 April 2010 when he arrived at the airport in Istanbul. He came to play at Babylon in Istanbul on 17 April 2010, and also was supposed to perform a concert in the capital Ankara. Both events had to be …

Diyarbakır High Criminal Court No. 4 banned 13 members of Bahar Cultural Centre from performing arts for one year, and gave them 10 months prison sentence each. The musicians and artists were charged with “violating the law on assembly and demonstrations”, and the court ruled that the 13 artists and …

Ferhat Tunç made a formal deposition at a Public Prosecution Office due to an investigation filed against him about a speech he made at a music festival in 2009. The prosecutor at the Office of Büyükçekmece Public Prosecution Office claimed that Ferhat Tunç “made propaganda for PKK / KONGRA-GEL” in …

In a court in Diyarbakır on 25 March 2010, the Kurdish singer Rojda Şenses was charged with one year and eight months imprisonment for ‘conducting propaganda for a terrorist organisation’ in two separate concerts. Rojda Şenses testified in court in Istanbul on 11 February 2010. She has previously been invited …

  Freemuse Award winners 2010: Ferhat Tunç, with the award statuette created by Swedish glass designer Göran Wärff, and Mahsa Vahdat.   Mahsa Vahdat and Ferhat Tunç, the joint winners of the Freemuse Award 2010, gave a short and impressive performance at the Index Awards ceremony in London’s Royal Institute …

Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat and Turkish-Kurdish singer and activist Ferhat Tunç are the 2010 Freemuse Award winners. The artist will receive the award at a ceremony in London on 25 March. Mahsa Vahdat fra Iran and Ferhat Tunç from Turkey are well-known to many Freemuse associates. They are strong defenders of …

Mahsa Vahdat from Iran and Ferhat Tunç from Turkey are well-known to many Freemuse associates. They are strong defenders of freedom of musical expression and well-known to audiences in Europe, where their music – unlike in their home countries – can be performed without restrictions. The Award Committee stated: “Mahsa …

Mahsa Vahdat from Iran and Ferhat Tunç from Turkey are well-known to many Freemuse associates. They are strong defenders of freedom of musical expression and well-known to audiences in Europe, where their music – unlike in their home countries – can be performed without restrictions. The Award Committee stated: “Mahsa …

Eight months prison sentences were issued by Turkish authorities to two police officers who beat up a 28-year-old man for playing an Ahmet Kaya song in a café, reported Antenna.tr   Police officers referred to as ‘M.B.’ and ‘B.O.’ were each condemned to eight months prison sentences and expelled from …

On 23 February 2010 The Radio and Television Higher Board (RTÜK) granted permission to 14 radio and tv stations in Turkey to broadcast in Kurdish, Zazaki, and Arabic without time limit. Previously, radio broadcasting in mother tongues had been limited to five hours per week, and four hours per week …