Two prominent Turkish journalists trial dueMarch 25, 2016 - 09:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Two prominent Turkish journalists are due to go on trial charged with revealing state secrets, BBC News reports. Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, from the newspaper Cumhuriyet, were arrested in November over a report alleging that the Turkish government had tried to ship arms to Islamists in Syria. They deny the charges but face possible life sentences if found guilty. Supporters of the two men say the case is an important test of press freedom inTurkey. The Turkish government has come under increasing international criticism over its treatment of journalists. Earlier this month, Turkish police raided the offices of the country's biggest newspaper, Zaman, hours after a court ruling placed it under state control. Can Dundar, Cumhuriyet's editor-in-chief, and Erdem Gul, Ankara bureau chief, were arrested last November. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally filed a criminal complaint against them. They were held on pre-trial detention but were released in February after the Constitutional Court ruled their rights to liberty and free expression had been violated. Campaigners say the case is politically motivated and part of a growing crackdown on media critical of President Erdogan. On Thursday, March 24, dozens of prominent writers published an open letter to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, urging the government to drop the charges against the Cumhuriyet journalists. "We believe that Can Dundar and Erdem Gul are facing life in prison simply for carrying out their legitimate work as journalists," they said. The letter also voiced concern over the "increasing climate of fear and censorship and the stifling of critical voices in Turkey". Zaman newspaper is closely linked to the Hizmet movement of influential U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government says Hizmet is a "terrorist" group aiming to overthrow President Erdogan. Gulen was once an ally of Erdogan but the two fell out. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |