Fourth Day of Cumhuriyet Daily Trial

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The fourth hearing in the Cumhuriyet daily trial in which one Twitter user under arrest and 18 executives, journalists and employees from Cumhuriyet daily 11 of whom are also arrested are standing trial is being held today (July 27).

Arrested columnist Kadri Gürsel, caricaturist Musa Kart, Cumhuriyet Foundation Management Board member Attorney Bülent Utku, Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, Cumhuriyet Foundation Management Board member Attorney Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Editor-in-Chief of the Cumhuriyet Book Supplement Turhan Günayi columnist Güray Öz, attorney Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet correspondent Ahmet Şık and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu who is standing trial because of his Tweets as well as Orhan Erinç, Günseli Özaltay, Hikmet Çetinkaya, Aydın Engin and Bülent Yener who are standing trial withhout arrest are in the courtroom.

Kadri Gürsel, Akın Atalay and Musa Kart pleaded on the first hearing of the trial held on July 24, Murat Sabuncu, Bülent Utku, Güray Öz, Önder Çelik and Mustafa Kemal Güngör made their pleas on July 25, Hakan Kara, Turhan Günay, Ahmet Şık, Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu, Bülent Yener, Günseli Özaltay made their pleas on July 26.

CLICK - First Day of Cumhuriyet Trial

Among those who came to watch the trial were Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul MPs Sezgin Tanrıkulu and Barış Yarkadaş.

CLICK - Second Day of Cumhuriyet Trial

Aydın Engin, Hikmet Çetinkaya and Orhan Erinç made their pleas today.

Hikmet Çetinkaya: Gülen was tried organization thanks to my opinions

Hikmet Çetinkaya made the first plea. “Fethullah Gülen was tried on charge of forming and managing an organization thanks to my opinions I put forward. Now I am being tried on charge of aiding and abating FETÖ terror organization by prosecutors who have forgotten the past”, Çetinkaya said.

Aydın Engin: My articles already respond to the indictment

Making plea after Çetinkaya, Aydın Engin said “I find it meaningless to make any explanation concerning my nine articles. Those articles already respond to the indictment which make say something else unnecessary”.

Orhan Erinç: Journalists are expected to act like a judge or a prosecutor

After Aydın Engin, Orhan Erinç made plea.

“I see that what we do as journalists to inform public as an espionage against civil servants. The journalists are expected to act like a judge or a prosecutor”.

Panel of judges

İstanbul 27th Heavy Penal Court Panel of Judges Chair: Abdurrahman Orkun Dağ.

Panel member judges: Mehmet Arslan, Halit içdemir.

Prosecutor: Hacı Hasan Bölükbaşı.

Who faces how many years in prison on what charges?

Can Dündar, Mehmet Murat Sabuncu, Kadri Gürsel, Aydın Engin, Bülent Yener and Günseli Özaltay face from 7.5 to 15 years in prison each on charge of "aiding an armed terrorist organization as a non-member".

Akın Atalay, Mehmet Orhan Erinç and Önder Çelik face from 11.5 to 43 years in prison each on charges of "aiding an armed terrorist organization as a non-member" and "misconduct".

Bülent Utku, Musa Kart, Hakan Karasinir, Mustafa Kemal Güngör and Hikmet Aslan Çetinkaya face from 9.5 to 29 years in prison each on charges of "aiding an armed terrorist organization as a non-member" and "misconduct".

Ahmet Şık faces from 7.5 to 15 years in prison each on charge of "aiding the armed terrorist organizations of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) as a non-member".

The names of those standing trial

Arrested: Kadri Gürsel, Akın Atalay, Güray Öz, Musa Kart, Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu, Bülent Utku, Hakan Karasinir, Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Önder Çelik, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Turhan Günay.

Probation: Aydın Engin, Hikmet Çetinkaya.

Confidentiality order: Bülent Yener, Günseli Özaltay, Orhan Erinç.

Order issued to take forcibly to testify: Can Dündar, İlhan Tanır.

(EA/BK/TK)