Journalists Şık and Mavioğlu Acquitted

The Kadıköy 2^nd Criminal Court of First Instance acquitted journalists Ahmet Şık and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu of charges of "violations of the confidentiality of an investigation" stemming from their two-volume work entitled "Understanding the counter guerrilla and Ergenekon" and "Who is who in Ergenekon".

Ergenekon is a clandestine terrorist organization charged with various crimes staged for the ultimate purpose of triggering a military coup.

This hearing was also attended by journalist Şık who has been arrested since 6 March together with journalist Nedim Şener in the scope of the Ergenekon investigation. He was not able to attend the previous hearing on 14 April because "there was no suitable vehicle available", prison officials had claimed.

Hundreds of people joined a protest march towards the court house on the Asian side of Istanbul before the hearing. They lead the demonstration with a banner reading "We touch [certain issues] even if we get burned". They chanted slogans like "For my pen, my book, my honour", "Ahmet will get out and write again" or "Immediate freedom now".

A number of public figures supported Şık and Mavioğlu, among them journalists Ruşen Çakır, Banu Güven, Murat Sabuncu, Nevzat Onaran, Cem Erciyes, Turgay Olcayto from the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC), Press Institute Association President Ferai Tınç, Orhan Dink and Arat Dink as relatives of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Kurdish politician Sebahat Tuncel, Helsinki Citizens Assembly member Özlem Dalkıran, singer Suavi and Mustafa Özyürek and Gürsel Tekin from the Republican People's Party.

Şık: The books were the naive effort to provide a guidebook

Şık was brought to the hearing from the Silivri No.2 F Type Prison (west of Istanbul). He presented his defence in line with the pleas of his lawyers.

He stated that the trial lacked a legal basis. "The two volumes as subject to the trial are based on public sources. They were written after a thorough investigation of the indictment and additional evidence regarding the prosecution of the deep state. The books are based on our experience in journalism", Şık stated.

"The books are based on information that leaked from the prosecutor's office and the police while the investigation was still being carried on. This happened in many cases that were opened in the same context. This sort of documents was leaked to certain media organs and journalists to conceal the lack of evidence and the weakness of the Ergenekon investigation. This kind of leakage aims at producing consent about the guilt of the suspects but of course this is a different debate", the journalist continued.

"However, the book we wrote was the naive effort to show the way to a purification of Turkey froma deep state that functions like a murder system. It was the endeavour to depict a way to reveal the weakness of the investigation and to bring the real culprits to court for their real offences. I hope that at least this court will understand our effort and decide for our acquittal", Şık said.

Hakan Çoşkuner, defence lawyer of Ergenekon suspect Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, said that it was not of their major concern whether the two volumes fulfilled the condition of a violation of confidentiality. Çoşkuner reminded the fact that some media organs had published speculative news before the indictment about his client was accepted in July 2009.

Defendant Mavioğlu also claimed that they did not violate the confidentiality of the investigation and that the prosecution knew this as well at the stage of interrogation before the trial was opened. "Ahmet Şık and I are not journalists who obtain information from MİT [National Intelligence Agency], the police, the special authority prosecution, the CIA or from the other side of the ocean. We wrote this book by relying on public sources. The Prime Minister or the Chief of General Staff are not among our sources either. I request my acquittal".

Thereupon, defence lawyer Fikret İlkiz rejected charges of "violation of confidentiality" and demanded to drop the charges. Judge Gülden Filiz Tüysüz decreed for a lack of element of crime and decided for the acquittal of both journalists.

Tınç: Decision appreciated; more such decisions wanted

A crowd of people saw journalist Şık off when he was taken back to prison in a security vehicle, chanting the slogan "Ahmet will get out and write again". The prison vehicle was stuck in front of the court house because of the crowd of people. Ferai Tınç, current spokesman of the Freedom for Journalists Platform (GÖP) and President of the Press Institute Association, announced after the hearing, "We applaud the court's decision for an acquittal; but we also expect more of this".

Tınç underlined that 67 journalists are in prison in Turkey. He called for brining press cases to an immediate conclusion and urged for an instant review of legal provisions that restrict press freedom. (EÖ/VK)