Veteran journalist Lale Kemal, a columnist for Zaman newspaper, one-time Turkey’s largest circulated newspaper before the Turkish government’s unlawful takeover and its closure in 2016, said in her last court hearing on Thursday that “I was put in prison without a single piece of evidence.”
Journalist Kemal had been arrested with former Zaman columnists Ali Bulaç, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Nuriye Akman, Mustafa Ünal and Şahin Alpay on July 30, 2017 after a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and released pending trial under judicial probe after months of pre-trial detention. Journalist Kemal presented her last defence before the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court on Thursday afternoon as part of a trial of 31 defendants from Zaman daily.
According to Twitter posts of @P24DavaTakip, journalist Lale Kemal said in his defence that “The prosecutor’s office ignored the fact that my articles, which are accused of committing crime, belonged to an era when the Gülen movement was not described as (terror) organization. This is not a minor issue. On the contrary, this is an extremely important point. The evidence have not been checked an so, they have charged me committing a criminal offense without relying on any evidence.”
Stating that she had experienced a deep disappointment as a law abiding individual in the face of the fact that the obligation of “writing indictment and argumentation” has been turned into directing just allegations, journalist Kemal said that “Release decisions were given for two defendants after the previous court hearing, and a columnist in the (pro-government) Star newspaper expressed his good wishes for those who were released. Of course, this is not a crime. However, why my sentences which said the same thing for Ekrem Dumanlı (then editor-in-chief of Zaman daily), who had been taken into custody, have been presented as a crime ? Why is this double standard?”
“The Constitutional Court has stated that the courts can not be able to decide how to conduct journalism in a recent decision dated May 2, 2018,” reminded journalist Kemal and added that “I was put in prison without a single piece of evidence. This process affected my health negatively. I have to take vital medications. However, the Ministry of Health has written instructions to prevent drugs taken to prison. My family could assure my drugs under very difficult conditions.”
Journalist Kemal completed her defence by saying that “I find the sought penalty is extremely unfair. I want my press card and passport back.”
Ümit Kardaş, journalist Kemal’s lawyer, has also stated that a file was tried to be created with quotes from Kemal’s writings by omitting to collect any solid evidence about her. The prosecution has demanded extremely heavy penalty by putting her writings into his file as evidence. Until the conclusion phase, 3 articles which are not included in the file were presented as evidence in the prosecutor’s argumentation.”
Stating that there is no crime, lawyer Kardaş said that “There is only criticism in the sentence that Lale Kemal wrote such as ‘I find it very dangerous that if the citizens experience a fear of being profiled because of their believes or thoughts.’ The verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Constitutional Court (AYM) decisions confirm this.”
“Regarding the determination of the date of the crime, there must be a court decision in order to identify a (social) structure as a terrorist organisation according to the Turkish law. Moreover, there is no evidence that Lale Kemal knowingly and willingly helped the terror organisation,” said lawyer Kardaş and requested the acquittal of Lale Kemal.
It is common in Turkey for journalists to be investigated and jailed for their work. Turkey is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). If Turkey falls two more places, it will make it to the list of countries on the blacklist, which have the poorest record in press freedom.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 242 journalists and media workers were in jail as of June 3, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 182 were under arrest pending trial while only 60 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 142 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down some 200 media outlets, including Kurdish news agencies and newspapers, after a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The post Veteran Turkish journalist Lale Kemal: I was put in prison without a single piece of evidence appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/veteran-turkish-journalist-lale-kemal-i-was-put-in-prison-without-a-single-piece-of-evidence/
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