Turkish court rules to release one journalist, to hold 5 pro-Kurdish journalists in prison

A Turkish court ruled on Wednesday to release journalist Pınar Tarlak, but for the continuation of pre-trial imprisonment of 5 other media staff during the hearing of the trial of 14 employees of pro-Kurdish Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper.

The trial of 14 employees of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper started on Wednesday in İstanbul 23rd High Criminal Court. The 14 media professionals, of whom six are in jail, have been charged over “being a member of an illegal organization” and “propagandizing for a terrorist organization.”

The Özgürlükçü Demokrasi was closed on July 8, 2018, by a government decree under the state of emergency declared in the aftermath of a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Among the observers of the hearing were Ayşe Düzkan from DİSK Press Labor, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies Ahmet Şık, Züleyha Gülüm, and Ali Kenanoğlu.

Despite all journalists had lawyers, the court reportedly requested lawyers from İstanbul Bar Association. The lawyers coming from the bar withdrew from the hearing.

Özgürlükçü Demokrasi newspaper’s owner İhsan Yaşar, editor-in-chief İshak Yasul, editor Hicran Urun, newspaper employee Pınar Tarlak, editor and columnist Mehmet Ali Çelebi, editor Reyhan Hacıoğlu, who are in jail pending for trial, and newspaper’s driver Ramazan Solak were heard in the hearing.

The other employees of Özgürlükçü Demokrasi, who are in pending trial, are Davut Uçar, Ersin Çaksu, Fırat Benli, Günay Aksoy, Önder Elaldı, Mizgin Fendik, Ramazan Sola and Yılmaz Yıldız.

Prosecutor demanded the court to rule for the continuation of the jailed defendants’ imprisonment. However, the court ruled for the release of Pınar Tarlak on probation and continuation of the imprisonment of other defendants. The next hearing will be held on December 6.

Before the hearing, a press statement was read in front of the courthouse. HDP deputies Ali Kenanoğlu, Züleyha Gülüm and Ahmet Şık, DİSK Press-İş, The Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), Free Journalists Initiative (ÖGI), the Mesopotamian news agency, JİNNEWS, Mesopotamia Women Journalists Platform joined the press statement.

Hakkı Boltan, from ÖGI, read the statement on the behalf of all the participating organizations. “Our friends from the Özgürlükçü Democracy newspaper, İhsan Yaşar, Reyhan Hacıoğlu, Hicran Ürün, Mehmet Ali Çelebi, and Pınar Tarlak, are in prison for six months now,” said Boltan and expressed solidarity with the detained colleagues. He also demanded freedom for the imprisoned journalists.

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 6, 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 147 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 rules to release one journalist, to hold 5 pro-Kurdish journalists in prison appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.

from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-court-rules-to-release-one-journalist-to-hold-5-pro-kurdish-journalists-in-prison/