Journalists from Turkish opposition paper face terror trial
The journalists could face a sentence of up to 43 years if found guilty. Courtesy: An phoblacht
(Web Desk) - As many as 17 employees of the Turkish opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet, are about to face a trial on charges of supporting a terrorist organisation.
A dozen of Cumhuriyet s journalists and managers are behind bars in pre-trial detention. Ten of them have been imprisoned for almost nine months, BBC reported. The journalists could face a sentence of up to 43 years in prison if found guilty in the case.
Turhan Gunay, is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper s book supplement. His daughter, Elif Gunay says she still struggles to understand why he has been jailed. Gunay is allowed to visit her 71-year-old father once a week, for an hour. She says he has been through various health problems, including atherosclerosis (a hardening of the arteries) followed by an operation.
"All I can say is that this is a political case. They are held for being journalists, for doing their jobs," she argues.
It’s been a year since Turkey went through a failed coup. There were massive commemorations held by thousands of jubilant people, hailing the day as the triumph of democracy.
But critics argue that day - and the introduction of the state of emergency soon after - were actually the beginning of a massive crackdown, with more than 50,000 people arrested in the last year. Press freedom groups say media has been particularly hard hit during this period, as about 150 media outlets have been shut down.
Turkey is currently listed as the country with the biggest number of imprisoned journalists. Journalism organisations say more than 150 journalists are behind bars, most of them accused of terror charges.
However, while speaking to the BBC earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan contradicted this figure and said there were only two jailed journalists in the country. "The rest are either terrorists, or they were carrying guns, or they robbed ATM machines," he said.
The previous editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper is the number one suspect in the case starting on Monday. Can Dundar was given a three-month jail term last year for espionage in another case but was released on bail. He now lives in exile in Germany. He also said the number of imprisoned journalists was more than 150.
Dundar says that President Erdogan does not accept criticism and the journalists are being held unfairly for only doing their job.
In the indictment against Cumhuriyet, there are accusations such as "changing the paper s editorial policy", preparing "violent and divisive news" and "interviewing leaders of terrorist organisations".
The head of media organisation PEN Turkey, Zeynep Oral, believes the state of press freedom in the country is the worst it has been for decades. The hearings are expected to last all week.
Dundar thinks the outcome of this case could be indicative of the route Turkey is willing to take in the near future.
"Cumhuriyet is one of the last castles of free media in Turkey," he says. "If we lose this last castle, there will be no more free press in our country."
