Cumhuriyet Newspaper Case: 'More Power to Us Inside Jail, More Power to You Outside!'

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"You ask us 'Do you have hope' all the time. We don't have hope. This is a project case, the case to silence the Cumhuriyet. There were always similar lawsuits filed to silence those who have opposing views."

Lawyer Duygun Yarsuvat summed up the current situation in the Cumhuriyet newspaper case with these words.

The defendants and their lawyers held a press conference yesterday (April 22) at the İstanbul Bar Association in Taksim, İstanbul.

In the last hearing of the case in February, the 3rd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice (court of appeals) upheld the prison sentences that were given on April 25, 2018. Accordingly, the cases of those who were sentenced more than five years in prison will be examined at the Supreme Court of Appeals (court of cassation) while the execution of the sentences of those who get a less than five-year prison term will begin (Güray Öz, Musa Kart, Hakan Kara, Önder Çelik, Kadri Gürsel, Bülent Utku, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Emre İper).

In other words, eight defendants out of 14 will go to prison once the verdict is issued.

After the court of appeals' verdict to uphold the sentences, the intervening lawyers will appeal at the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court for the execution of the sentences to be suspended. Yet they say they are not much hopeful about this appeal.

Journalists and lawyers Orhan Erinç, Aydın Engin, Emre İper, Hakan Kara, Önder Çelik, Musa Kart, Güray Öz, Mustafa Kemal Güngöre, Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu were present at yesterday's press conference.

Cartoonist Kart: "What is this if it is not humor?"

Cartoonist Musa Kar spoke at the event, saying, "I have only been drawing cartoons for 40 years. Despite everything that happened, I have never regretted my choice."

Asserting that this is not a legal but a political lawsuit and it was filed to create a climate of fear in the country, Kart said he expects an apology from the politicians: "Even if not now, they will apologize from our children in the future."

Kart said, "This is the period of trials without defense and hearing," and asked, "What is this if it is not humor?"

"We will go to prison again holding our heads high," Kart concluded his speech.

When asked about some of the current executives of the newspaper being also witnesses in the case, Kart responded, "The current management of the newspaper has a responsibility for what we lived through. This is a secret that everyone knows. So, there is not a picture of solidarity."

Two other defendants in the case, attorney Akın Atalay and journalist Orhan Erinç agreed with Kart.

"It is not only politicians who opened this lawsuit"

"I had to get to know some of my colleagues again, whom I thought I knew," Erinç said, while Atalay remarked, "It is not only politicians who opened this lawsuit, there was a coalition to take over the management [of the newspaper] and a key was needed. A couple of people, by cooperating, functioned as key. They have a responsibility for what happened to us."

"Two-paragraph rejection for a 180-page appeal"

Lawyer Mehmet Kemal Güngör, speaking after Kart, said, "Despite our 180-page petition of appeal, the court rejected our appeal with a two-paragraph verdict and ruled for our conviction. More power to us inside, more power to you outside, goodbye."

"The prosecutor became a defendant himself for FETÖ"

Lawyer Tora Pekin read the press statement:

"Once the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court completes its paperwork and submits its written verdict to the office of the execution prosecutor, it will be only a matter of time before implementation of the prison sentences starts.

"First of all, let's quickly remember what we have been through so far. Cumhuriyet staff were taken from their homes on 31 October 2016, while their houses were searched high and low crimes After a 4-day detention period, they were formally arrested on charges of members of these committing on behalf of both FETÖ and the PKK, although not being actual organizations.

"In the indictment that came six months later, the accusation was revised as -assisting terrorist organizations" and the DHKP-C was added to the list of terror organizations. Twelve members of the Cumhuriyet newspaper remained under arrest for up to 1.5 years under the extreme circumstances of the State of Emergency that was then in place.

"When we look back, we see that the prosecutor who led the initial investigation in the Cumhuriyet court case has since become a defendant himself as he was charged with membership of FETÖ and now faces life in prison. We immediately filed a complaint about this to the Senior Board of Judges and Prosecutors and just recently received a reply, saying there was nothing unlawful about it.

"Lastly, we would like to say that although we're here today to remind you of the facts of the Cumhuriyet court case, what we are actually talking about is the story of Turkey's press freedom. In February, IPI quoted the number of jailed journalists in Turkey as 155. On a daily basis, we hear about journalists being detained, their homes being searched, of being accused of membership in or assisting a terror organization."

Click for the full text of the press statement.