RWB: Constitutional Court must Release Dündar and Gül

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The international organization; Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has called on the Constitutional Court (AYM) to release Can Dündar and Erdem Gül who have under arrest due to their report on the trucks of the turkish National Security Organization (MIT) have a month.

RWB has expressed their hope, that the attorneys of the newspaper get a release decision for their appeals on December 7 and 16 to AYM.

Attorneys had appealed to AYM

Reminding that Dündar and Gül have been under arrest for a month due to performing their occupational duties, Johann Bihr, in charge for Eastern Europe and Middle Asia Bureau of RWB, has noted: “With each passing day, this scandal comes to an untenable extent. We ask [AYM] strongly to release the journalists immediately and to withdraw the ridiculous charges against them.

“Life imprisonment is being required for Dündar and Gül for having brought MIT to public agenda, sending trucks loaded with weapons to Syria. Authorities of Cumhuriyet daily are being charged with the claims of ‘spying’, ‘helping the terrorist organization’ and ‘disclosing information regarding state secret’”.

The attorneys had appealed to AYM on the grounds of “violation of the right to freedom and safety” and the principle of “serious danger concerning material and moral integrity” in Article 73 of AYM Internal Regulation as well,  for the journalists who had been arrestested almost two months ago.

The attorney had also recited that the freedom of expression and press protected under the Turkish Republic Constitution, had also been violated, their clients had been arrested without evidence and argued that the investigation would not suffer and could still proceed if they get released from arrest.

The attorneys getting no favourable results for their objections which they had repeated two times, have once again submitted another petition to İstanbul 2nd Criminal Court of Peace on Duty.

Trial on every occasion

Can Dündar is being judged in several trials. He has been put on trial due to having defamed the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son, Bilal Erdoğan on December 17. His reports which constitute the basis for the accusations, had also brought the parliament’s corruption allegations from December 2013 to the agenda which were to be covered later. The journalist is being judged with demands of imprisonment of five years and four months.

RWB has also reminded that the case of Dündar and 17 other journalists due to releasing a photograph on the social media of Prosecutor Mehmet Ali Kiraz taken hostage in March 2015 in Çağlayan Court, had been dismissed due to expiration of period of limitation.

RWB has commentated on the dismissal of the lawsuit brought as a result of considering the editorial choice an action of supporting the ones who had taken the prosecutor hostage as: “It is a pity, that the case has been dismissed due to expiration of period of limitation. Actually the lawsuit should never have been brought from the beginning.

Cumhuriyet daily had received the RWB price for Freedom of Press.

Click here to sign for the petition demanding to release Can Dündar, Erdem Gül and other arrested journalists in Turkey. (EA/DG)

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