Second Hearing of Cumhuriyet Trial to Begin Today
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The second hearing in the Cumhuriyet trial will be held today (September 11) in Silivri Court.
After Cumhuriyet accounting personnel Emre İper's case was combined with the main trial held before İstanbul 27th Heavy Criminal Court, the number of the defendants rose to 20.
18 Cumhuriyet employees and executives as well as a former Cumhuriyet freelancer (İlhan Tanır) and a Twitter user (Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu) are standing trial in Cumhuriyet trial.
In today's hearing, defendants will be heard.
6 defendants in detention on remand
Cumhuriyet Daily Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, Executive Board Chairperson, Attorney Akın Atalay, columnist Kadri Gürsel, correspondent Ahmet Şık, accounting manager Emre İper and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu (charged for this tweets) are standing trial and are in detention on remand.
12 defendants who are not on remand
Cumhuriyet daily readers' representative Güray Öz, cartoonist Musa Kart, Cumhuriyet Bülent Utku, columnist Hakan Kara, Cumhuriyet Foundation Management Board members Önder Çelik, Attorney Bülent Utku and Attorney Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Editor-in-Chief of the Cumhuriyet Book Supplement Turhan Günay and former editor-in-chief and columnist Aydın Engin, columnist Hikmet Çetinkaya, former accounting manager Bülent Yener, accounting manager Günseli Özaltay, and Cumhuriyet Foundation Management Board President Orhan Erinç are the defendant who are not on remand.
An order was issued to take Cumhuriyet daily's former editor-in-chief, columnist Can Dündar and former employee İlhan Tanır forcibly to court to testify.
What had happened?
İstanbul Chief Public Prosecution announced on October 31 that a prosecution was launched against Cumhuriyet Foundation executives on charge of "Making publications that justify July 15 coup attempt and committing crime for PKK/KCK and FETÖ/PDY, if not their members".
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 the same day.
The first hearing in the trial in which 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 was held on July 24, 2017 before İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse 27th High Criminal Court.
An interim judgement was passed on July 28 on the the fifth hearing of the first part in the trial.
The President of the court has ruled that Güray Öz, Musa Kart, Bülent Utku, Hakan Kara, Önder Çelik, Mustafa Kemal Güngör and Turhan Günay be released and Murat Sabuncu, Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Ahmet Şık and Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu remain further in jail.
The court has also decided that criminal charges be pressed against the plea of Ahmet Şık.
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 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".
Emre İper faces from 7.5 to 15 years in prison on charge of "using ByLock", a communication software allegedly used among members of Gülen Community. (EA/DG)