‘Derin Tarih’ magazine to be pulled off shelves for ‘insulting Atatürk’

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul chief public prosecutor on May 18 launched an investigation into the “Derin Tarih” (Deep History) magazine for insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, demanding all its copies to be removed from shelves, Doğan News Agency has reported. 

The investigation was opened into the magazine’s May issue on claims that it “defamed the memory of Atatürk” by Bakırköy Chief Prosecutor Ertuğrul Sarıyar. 

The court ordered for the removal of the magazines from shelves as well as their confiscation as part of the investigation.

It also ordered to stop the distribution of the magazine.

The investigation came days after the historians’ insults over Atatürk in a May 6 TV broadcast triggered outrage from politicians, writers and historians in Turkey. 

Mustafa Armağan, the host of TV program “Derin Tarih” and editor-in-chief of the same named magazine, was given a verdict of non-prosecution as part of the investigation. 

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office demanded 2.5 years to 7.5 years of jail time for Süleyman Yeşilyurt and Hasan Akar, other suspects involved in the insults. 

Yeşilyurt, a 68-year-old historian, was remanded in custody on May 12, as Istanbul’s Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the two suspects were accused of “defamation of Atatürk’s memory” and “inciting people to hatred and hostility.”       

Akar has been at large since the Bakirköy court issued an arrest warrant for both on May 11.        

Nezih Kitapevi, Remzi and D&R bookstores as well as Migros supermarkets chain decided to remove the magazine from their shelves. 

In a statement, Nezih Kitapevi thanked social media users for requesting that they remove the magazine from their stores.