Indictment Not Given to Cumhuriyet’s Attorneys Published on Sabah Newspaper

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The indictment about 19 people including manager, writers and employees at Cumhuriyet newspaper has been covered in Sabah newspaper, however, the indictment is yet to be handed to defense attorneys.

According to Sabah, the offenses “Aiding an [illegal] organization though not being a member” and “being a member of an [illegal] organization” took place in the indictment.

Cumhuriyet Foundation Executive Board Chair Akın Atalay, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board President Orhan Erinç, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Bülent Utku, Cumhuriyet Daily Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, columnists Hakan Kara, Hikmet Çetinkaya, Aydın Engin, Kadri Gürsel, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Güray Öz, Cumnhuriyet Foundation Board Member Önder Çelik, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Turhan Günay, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Musa Kart, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Hakan Karasinir, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Hakan Karasinir, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Mustafa Kemal Güngör, columnist Aydın Engin, Cumhuriyet Foundation Board Member Hikmet Çetinkaya, Cumhuriyet Newspaper Account Manager Günseli Ozaltay, daily’s correspondent Ahmet Şık, Cumhuriyet Newspaper former Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar, Cumhuriyet Foundation former Board Member Bülent Yener, journalist İlhan Tanır and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu arrested over his tweets were mentioned in the indictment.

According to Sabah’s report, the indictment accused Cumhuriyet of “changing editorial policies radically with Can Dündar starting to serve as editor-in-chief on February 8, 2015 and with that radical change, the newspaper has started to serve interests of the FETÖ/PDY, PKK/KCK, and DHKP/C armed terror groups. The newspaper has turned into a media outlet that creates an image as Republic of Turkey and President [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] ‘A state and president that supports terrorism’”.

What happened?

Cumhuriyet Daily Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, columnists Hakan Kara, Hikmet Çetinkaya, Aydın Engin, Kadri Gürsel, Güray Öz, cartoonist Musa Kart, Cumhuriyet Foundation Management Board members Attorney Bülent Utku, Attorney Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Önder Çelik, Bülent Yener, Editor-in-Chief of the Cumhuriyet Book Supplement Turhan Günay and Accounting Manager Günseli Özaltay were taken into custody on 31 October 2016. ok, will do that.

Engin and Çetinkaya were released on November 4, 2016. Özaltay and Yener were also released after being questioned by the prosecution.

Murat Sabuncu, Hakan Kara, Musa Kart, Bülent Utku, Güray Öz, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Önder Çelik, Turhan Günay and Kadri Gürsel, however, were formally arrested on November 5, 2016.

A detention order was issued for Cumhuriyet Foundation Chief Executive Officer Attorney Akın Atalay and journalist Can Dündar who were abroad at the time their colleagues were detained.

Atalay was taken into custody at the airport while returning to Turkey on November 11, 2016 and was arrested on November 13, 2016.
Cumhuriyet daily journalist Ahmet Şık was also taken into custody on December 29, 2016. Officials cited his postings and reports on the social media as the reason for his detention, and he was taken to court for arrest on the same day.

On December 30, 2016, the İstanbul Criminal Judgeship of Peace arrested Şık, charging him with "propagandizing for FETÖ and PKK". (EA/TK)