• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, October 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Turkish Court Rules To Keep Cumhuriyet Journalists In Prison

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
09/11/17
in Featured, Middle East
cumhuriyet journalists turkey trial

The front page on Monday was headlined "We want justice" with images of those still imprisoned. (Photo: AFP)

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

An Istanbul court on Monday ruled to keep five of six Cumhuriyet journalists in prison after a lengthy hearing observed by international press organizations and dozens of media members.

Five journalists and another newspaper employee appeared at the hearing, which at times plunged into tense moments when judges dismissed defenses and pleas of lawyers. The court set Sept. 25 as the date of next hearing to thoroughly assess expert report and eyewitness accounts.

The prosecution demanded the continuation of imprisonment of the journalists who have been kept in Istanbul’s Silivri prison complex for months. Emin Iper, an accountant at Cumhuriyet who was not imprisoned, was also included in the same trial along with other journalists.

The court also ruled for examination of previously spared “digital evidence” and issued arrest warrants for former Editor-in-Chief Can Dundar, who is in Germany in self-exile, and Ilhan Tanir, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who once contributed to Cumhuriyet.

“#Cumhuriyet17 trial an absolute mockery of justice. 13.5 hours of proceedings today & then no releases. Next hearing set for 25 September,” Rebecca Vincent, U.K. bureau Director of Reporters Without Borders, tweeted in dismay after the court decision, which came toward midnight in Istanbul local time. She came from London to follow the trial.

“RSF condemns decision to keep 5 of the #Cumhuriyet17 unjustly detained. They should be immediately released & all charges dropped! #Turkey,” Reporters Without Borders said on its official Twitter account. 

The trial of 17 Cumhuriyet journalists reinforces the conviction that the press under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is all but free.

The case, which opened in Istanbul in July, involves 17 current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from Cumhuriyet newspaper who are being tried on “terror” and coup-related charges in a move denounced by supporters as absurd.

For government critics, the case is emblematic of the erosion of freedom following last year’s failed coup when Ankara launched a massive crackdown targeting those with alleged links to the putschists as well as opponents.

Prominent commentator Kadri Gursel was defiant when he took the stand, claiming he was on trial because of his “journalistic activities”.

“Whatever the verdict, I have an untroubled conscience. And if there is even a little bit of justice left in this period where justice has been trampled upon, I know I will be acquitted,” he said.

On July 28, an Istanbul court freed seven of the newspaper’s staff after 271 days, including respected cartoonist Musa Kart and Turhan Gunay, editor of the books supplement.

But some of the paper’s most prominent staff remain in custody, among them Mr. Gursel, investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and chief executive Akin Atalay.

Mr. Sik has been behind bars for 255 days while the other three have been jailed for 316 days. If convicted, they face varying terms of up to 43 years in jail.

His lawyer Fikret Ilkiz said “If Ahmet Sik’s crime is journalism then his whole life is a crime.”

Eight other suspects have also been charged but are not being held in prison.

Those on trial are charged with using their position to support the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), and the Gulen movement.

Ankara has branded all the three as terror organizations.

The hearing was closely followed by The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), International Press Institute (IPI), PEN and dozens of lawmakers from Turkey’s opposition parties. Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) also was present at the hearing to display solidarity with cartoonist Musa Kart.

There was heavy security presence at the entrance of Caglayan Courthouse, a place that ingrained in public memory for notorious trials that saw imprisonment of journalists, writers, professors and cultured people.

The overwhelming presence of gendarmerie and police special forces was not lost on international observers who were appalled to see such measures for the trial.

Excessive armed officials inside & outside court today. Can't be too careful w/'terrorist' journalists. #Cumhuriyet17 #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/PZnw2lOBIS

— Rebecca Vincent (@rebecca_vincent) September 11, 2017

Turkey’s media landscape has been brutally gutted by the post-coup clampdown. According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 171 journalists behind bars, most of whom were arrested after the coup in a move that has alarmed Turkey’s Western allies.

Turkey ranks 155 out of 180 on the latest RSF world press freedom index.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Related Posts

A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021
National

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

by Staff Writer
May 26, 2023
Mexican police are looking into the death of a journalist, who was found stabbed to death
Opinion

Why Doesn’t the Mexican Government Protect Journalists?

by Kris Kodrich
September 25, 2019
US Revokes Sanctions Against Sudan Due to Khartoum’s Positive Actions
Featured

In Courtroom Cage, Sudan’s Ousted Dictator Bashir Stands Trial

by Staff Writer
August 19, 2019
People wave pro-independence Catalan flags 'Esteladas' while holding letters reading 'independence' during a pro-independence demonstration in Barcelona, Spain
Featured

Road Blocks, Strike in Catalonia Against Separatists’ Trial

by Staff Writer
February 21, 2019
Vijesti newspaper attack journalist Lakic
Media Freedom

Journalists at Risk as Media Freedom Declines in Former Yugoslavia

by Fieke Snijder
June 4, 2018
#MeToo protest in Hollywood
Opinion

The #MeToo Movement Meant Nothing

by Jawa Alahmad
May 31, 2018
Next Post
North Korea, missile launch, Japan, fly over, nuclear test, north korea sanctions

UN Security Council Approves New Round of North Korea Sanctions

German, Schulz, SPD

Germany's Looming Problem Of Opposition: To Be, Or Not To Be

Recommended

Health care workers in Richmond, Texas. Photo: AFP

US Healthcare Industry Top Target of Cyber Attacks: Report

September 29, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Air France flights

Niger Bans French Aircraft From Its Airspace: Aviation Authority 

September 25, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

September 22, 2023
Man holding up a colored LGBT flag

France Sets Up Embassy Fund to Defend LGBTQ Rights

September 19, 2023
US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

September 19, 2023

Opinion

Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
‘Deaths of Despair:’ Why Are US Suicides on the Rise?

An Inspired Choice to Lead the CDC

June 13, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

June 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post