Trial of Zaman journalists resumes at İstanbul court

The trial of journalists from the now-closed Zaman daily resumed at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court on Thursday where the defendants are making their final defense statements before the court renders its verdicts.

The court is expected to give its final verdicts for the journalists during a hearing on Friday.

Former Zaman writers and editors Mümtaz’er Türköne, Ali Bulaç, Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Alaattin Güner, Cuma Kaya, Faruk Akkan, Hakan Taşdelen, Hüseyin Belli, Hüseyin Turan, İbrahim Karayeğen, İsmail Küçük, Murat Avcıoğlu, Mustafa Ünal, Onur Kutlu, Sedat Yetişkin, Şeref Yılmaz, Yüksel Durgut and Zafer Özsoy are among the defendants standing trial.

The journalists face charges of violating the constitution, membership in a terrorist organization, disseminating the propaganda of a terrorist organization and aiding a terrorist organization.

The Zaman daily, which was Turkey’s best-selling newspaper, was closed down along with dozens of other media outlets due to their links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of masterminding a coup attempt in July 2016.

Former Zaman employees Şahin Alpay, Ali Bulaç, Mehmet Özdemir, Ahmet İrem, Ali Hüseyinçelebi, Süleyman Sargın, Osman Nuri Arslan, Osman Nuri Öztürk, Lalezer Sarıibrahimoğlu, Nuriye Ural and Orhan Kemal Cengiz are also named as defendants in the indictment, but they had previously been released on their own recognizance. Professor İhsan Duran Dağı, who used to work as a columnist for Zaman, is cited as a fugitive in the indictment.

According to the Twitter posts of @P24DavaTakip, which follows the trials of journalists in Turkey, former Zaman columnist Alpay delivered his defense statement during Thursday’s hearing in which he denied the accusations directed against him.

Alpay said he is standing trial due to the articles he wrote in the Zaman daily, some of which included criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AKP government.

The journalist said it is out of the question for him to write articles based on orders from anyone or any group including the Gülen movement. He said there is no evidence in the indictment proving that he wrote articles to serve the goals of the Gülen movement.

“The only reason I approached the Gülen movement with respect is because I looked at it from a sociological perspective, it was never because of a membership or belonging to this group,” said Alpay.

The journalist also said by writing in the Zaman daily, he thought he could make a contribution to the conservative circles’ understanding of democratic values and the virtues of a state of law in Turkey.

from Turkish Minute https://www.turkishminute.com/2018/07/05/trial-of-zaman-journalists-resumes-at-istanbul-court/