17 Turkish opposition journalists in terrorism trial

17 Turkish opposition journalists in terrorism trial

PanARMENIAN.Net - Seventeen journalists and managers at Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet went on trial on Monday, July 24 on charges of aiding a terrorist organization, BBC News reports.

If found guilty this week, they could face sentences of up to 43 years in jail. Ten have already been in pre-trial detention for almost nine months.

At the Istanbul courthouse a large crowd of supporters let off balloons and called for their release.

There was chaos as they tried to enter the court for the start of the trial.

As the trial got under way in the packed courtroom, veteran Cumhuriyet columnist Kadri Gursel told the court that all the allegations against him were false and methods used to build the case against him illegal.

Supporters of the accused are adamant the trial is political.

Just over a week ago, Turkey marked the first anniversary of 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.

But the government contradicts that figure.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there were only two jailed journalists in the country.

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.

"I wonder who those two journalists Mr Erdogan speaks about are," he says while speaking to the BBC on Skype.

He too gives the figure of imprisoned journalists as more than 150.

"Mr Erdogan hates criticism," he says.

"He regards every criticism as an insult to himself or as a terrorist act. We know that all those people are journalists and they've done nothing but journalism."

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