A Turkish court on Wednesday has decided to released journalist Uğur Sağındık, an editor for now-closed Zaman daily but ruled for house arrest for him over his alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Over a notice, Antalya Prosecutor Ali Güllü had launched an investigation against journalist Uğur Sağındık and he was detained by police on April 27, 2018. The second hearing of Sağındık’s trial was held at the İstanbul’s 26th High Criminal Court on Wednesday. The court ruled for the release of journalist Sağındık but decided to take him house arrest. His trial was also postponed.
Journalist Sağındık has been accused of propagating on the behalf of the Gülen movement and charged with being a member of an “armed terrorist organization” by showing his 8 Twitter posts, which shows solidarity with the persecuted journalists and media organs in Turkey, as the sole evidence for his alleged crime.
Journalist Sağındık has also been accused of having been an employee of the private Cihan news agency and Zaman daily. He has been also charged that his salaries were deposited his account in now-closed private lender Bank Asya and being a member of the Pak-Media Labour Union.
The Zaman daily and Cihan news agency, which were affiliated with the Gülen movement, were first unlawfully seized by the Turkish government on March 4, 2016, and then closed down by government decree in the aftermath of the controversial coup attempt in July 2016. Dozens of Zaman and Cihan journalists have been jailed on coup charges since the coup attempt.
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 237 journalists and media workers were in jail as of September 2, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 169 were under arrest pending trial while only 68 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 145 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 Turkish court releases journalist Uğur Sağındık, but rules for house arrest appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-releases-journalist-ugur-sagindik-but-rules-for-house-arrest/
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