Cumhuriyet Journalists Released After Supreme Court of Appeals Judgment

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Supreme Court of Appeals (Court of Cassation) 16th Penal Chamber has ruled that the execution of the sentences of seven columnists for Cumhuritet shall be suspended and requested the journalists be released.

The Chamber, in line with the notification of the Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, reversed the judgment of conviction for "aiding a terrorist organization." It requested Ahmet Şık, who is currently an MP for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), to be penalized for "terrorist propaganda."

Attorney Akın Atalay, a former CEO of the Cumhuriyet Foundation and a former defendant in the trial of Cumhuriyet, told Ayça Söylemez from bianet that they expect their colleagues to be released within a few hours: "The Supreme Court of Appeals judgment has been reached the prison administration. The proceedings for their release are underway."

Musa Kart, Güray Öz, M.Kemal Güngör, Hakan Kara ve Önder Çelik were released from prison at around 9 p.m. Emre İper, whose sentence was approved, will continue to stay behind bars.

Caricaturist Musa Kart made a statement for the press after the release: "It is hard to live in countries that lost the sense of humor. It is also hard to live in countries where everything is humor. We are experiencing a period where everything is humor. It can also be seen in our case file. In modern states of law, people are first tried and then penalized. For us, it was the exact opposite. After staying arrested for nine months in Silivri [prison], we were able to appear before the judge."

The case file will be sent to İstanbul 27th Heavy Penal Court.

İstanbul Regional Court of Justice 3rd Penal Chamber (court of appeal) on February 19 approved the judgments of conviction that were given on April 25, 2018. That was the final judgment for those who were sentenced to prison for less than five years while the verdict was open to appeal for those who received a prison term for more than five years. (PT/AS/VK)