ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM MAIN TRIAL
Prosecutor Demands Prison Sentence for Five Journalists, Columnists
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The fifteenth hearing of the main trial of Özgür Gündem newspaper, which was closed by a Statutory Decree, was held at the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court in İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse today (January 13).
Announcing his opinion as to the accusations, the prosecutor has demanded that Eren Keskin be penalized for "membership of a terrorist organization" over her four articles as well as the articles and pictures published on the newspaper while she was its editor-in-chief.
The prosecutor has also demanded that İnan Kızılkaya be penalized on charge of "membership of a terrorist organization" over the articles and news published on the newspaper while he was the Managing Editor.
While the prosecutor has demanded that Kemal Sancılı be penalized for "membership of a terrorist organization" as he was the Grant Holder of Özgür Gündem and over her social media messages, he has demanded that Zana (Bilir) Kaya be penalized for "repetitively propagandizing for a terrorist organization in the media" over the articles and news published on the newspaper when she was the Co-Editor-in-Chief.
The prosecutor has also demanded that writer Aslı Erdoğan be sentenced to prison for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and that Necmiye Alpay and Bilge Aykut be acquitted of all offenses charged.
It has also been demanded that the files of Filiz Koçali and Ragıp Zarakolu, the other defendants who have not yet testified, be separated.
Keskin: You see us as enemies
Today's hearing was attended by Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair lawyerEren Keskin and linguist Necmiye Alpay as well as their attornies.
Speaking after the opinion as to the accusations, Eren Keskin said:
"I am now called a 'member of an armed terrorist organization' by the prosecution. It is against the own law of Turkey. It is the practice of enemy law. You see us as enemies. I find it incomprehensible. I want time because, apparently, I am the member of an organization and it is something that I have not been till today. I have to find how I will explain it to you."
Hearing adjourned to February
The attornies of the journalists requested time from the court so that they can prepare their defenses as to the accusations. The court has granted their request and adjourned the hearing to February 14 at 10 a.m.
Özgür Gündem TrialsThe Editors-in-Chief on Watch campaign of Özgür Gündem daily began on May 3, 2016 and ended on August 7, 2016. The newspaper was closed by the Statutory Decree No. 675 issued under the State of Emergency. Investigations were filed against 49 of 56 editors-in-chief on watch, 11 of them have ended in verdicts of non-prosecution and 38 files have turned into lawsuits. Relying on the Articles 7(2) and 6(2) of the Anti-Terror Law No. 3713, the 38 Editors-in-Chief on Watch stood trial on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" and for "publishing and spreading statements of terrorist organizations. Cases in which court ruled no prosecutionİhsan Eliaçık, Sebahat Tuncel, Ahmet Abakay, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Hasip Kaplan, Işın Eliçin, Kemal Can, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, Uğur Karadaş, Nurcan Baysal. 1 of 38 cases droppedLawsuits were filed against 38 people, one of them has dropped. That is, as the charges brought against Deniz Türkali violated statutory limitations, they have been dropped. 188 months, 15 days in prison and 67 thousand TRY fineIn the trial of Editors-in-Chief on Watch, the court has announced its ruling on 34 people, namely: Şanar Yurdatapan, İbrahim Bodur, Cengiz Baysoy, Hüseyin Tahmaz, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Nadire Mater, Yıldırım Türker, Hasan Cemal, Faruk Balıkçı, Dicle Anter, Derya Okatan, Kumru Başer, Ayşe Batumlu, Jülide Kural, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Çelikkan, Beyza Üstün, Nevin Erdemir, Hakkı Boltan, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Hüseyin Aykol, Ayşe Düzkan, Ragıp Duran, Öncü Akgül, İhsan Çaralan, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Celal Başlangıç, Celalettin Can, Fehim Işık and Faruk Eren. 7 acquittalsThe court has given a ruling of acquittal for the following 7 people: Erol Önderoğlu, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Ahmet Nesin, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Nevin Erdemir, Hüseyin Tahmaz and Hakkı Boltan. 27 people sentenced to 293 months, 15 days in total27 people have been sentenced to 67 thousand TRY and 293 months and 15 days.
Cases of 3 people still continueCan Dündar, Said Sefa and Veysi Alta Kızılkaya's casesÖzgür Gündem Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya is defendant in all 38 cases. His case was separated from the others in the trials together with the other Editors-in-Chief on Watch. İstanbul 23rd Heavy Criminal Court is combining Kızılkaya's case with the main trial. Lawsuits against 9 columnistsLawsuits were filed against the columnists of the newspaper Ömer Ağın, İmam Canpolat, İlham Bakır, Mehmet Şirin Taşdemir, Veysel Kemer, Yüksel Oğuz, Dilşah Kocakaya, Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş. Dilşah Kocakaya, İmam Canpolat and İlham Bakır have been sentenced to 15 months in prison each. While the prison term of Bakır has been deferred, those of Canpolat and Kocakaya have not been. Mehmet Ali Çelebi and Hüseyin Bektaş have been each sentenced to 1 year, 6 months in prison. The prison sentences have not been deferred. Özgür Gündem main trialIn the main trial, Özgür Gündem Consultant Board members Necmiye Alpay, Aslı Erdoğan, Ragıp Zarakolu, Filiz Koçali, Eren Keskin, Editors-in-Chief Zana Kaya, İnan Kızılkaya, Kemal Sancılı and Bilge Oykut are standing trial. In the hearing of the main trial held on April 10, 2019, the board of the İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court ruled that Kemal Sancılı, the Grant Holder of the newspaper, should be released as he was convicted and sentenced to prison in another trial heard by the İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court. Sancılı is still behind bars. Moreover, while Eren Keskin is standing trial in 47 cases as the former permanent Editor-in Chief of Özgür Gündem, Hüseyin Aykol is standing trial in 38 cases as the former permanent Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper. |
(TP/SD)