Journalist Fatih Gönül acquitted

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The court has handed down its ruling in the trial of journalist Fatih Gönül, who was facing charges of "membership of a [terrorist / illegal] organization" and "propagandizing for a terrorist organization".

At his final hearing at the Ankara 25th High Criminal Court, Fatih Gönül, the court reporter of the Dicle News Agency (DİHA), which was closed by a Statutory Decree, was acquitted of all offenses charges.

Making defense in response to the prosecutor's final opinion as to the accusations, Fatih Gönül said, "During the football match, which the prosecutor's office cited as criminal evidence, I was in Ağrı and I proved this with pictures. Also, in the tapped conversations cited as evidence, there were my daily talks with my flatmate and girlfriend. The names that I took down as part of a project were also declared criminals; however, no conclusions can be drawn. This is profiling. In other words, even though no concrete evidence that would prove the crime has been found, I have been on trial for years. I demand my acquittal for this reason."

After journalist Gönül's statement, his lawyer Atiye Arıkan took the floor and dismissed the allegations of the prosecutor's office. Arıkan also presented a ruling of acquittal previously given for Gönül by the Muş 2nd High Criminal Court on charge of "organization membership".

Arıkan said, "The only concrete evidence put forward by the prosecutor's office is that my client worked at the DİHA; but there has been no examination carried out about this issue as part of the file."

Noting that the trial was based on an unfounded tip-off, lawyer Arıkan indicated that Gönül did not have an active social media account and, therefore, he did not have a platform to propagandize for the organization. The lawyer requested the acquittal of Fatih Gönül.

The court board handed down its ruling after the defense statements and ruled that Gönül should be acquitted of all offenses charged.

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(HA/SD)