* Photograph: Cumhuriyet
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After the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that the execution of the prison sentences of former daily Cumhuriyet workers Musa Kart, Güray Öz, M. Kemal Güngör, Hakan Kara and Önder Çelik shall be suspended and they shall be released from prison, the journalists were released from Kandıra Prison in İzmit yesterday (September 12).
There is now only one arrested defendant of Cumhuriyet case, namely the former financial affairs officer of the daily Emre İper.
Abbas Yalçın, one of the lawyers of the case, has indicated that İper will be released on probation on December 5, 2019.
But, why wasn't he released yesterday?
Not released despite two expert reports
Emre İper, the then financial affairs officer of the newspaper, was taken into custody on April 7, 2017. He was arrested 11 days later on the allegation that he was a user of ByLock, an encrypted communication system allegedly used by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which is held responsible for the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
In his first hearing on July 24, his file was combined with that of the main Cumhuriyet case. In the indictment filed against him, he was charged with "membership of a terrorist organization" on the allegation that "he was a user of ByLock". Accordingly, he faced 7 years, six months to 15 years in prison.
Two expert reports regarding the allegation of ByLock were presented to the court. Both reports documented that "there were no traces suggesting that İper downloaded and uninstalled the software called ByLock".
Despite these two reports, İper served 267 days in prison. After the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that 11 thousand 480 people were directed to the IPs of ByLock outside their knowledge and intention, İper was released on December 29, 2017.
Not ByLock, but Twitter posts
In the hearing held after İper was released from prison, the prosecutor charged him with "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" due to his Twitter posts, not because of ByLock.
The verdict was announced in Cumhuriyet newspaper case on April 25, 2018. The court sentenced 15 people to 81 years, 45 days in prison in total and ruled for the acquittal of three people. As for Emre İper, he was sentenced to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison.
The verdict of conviction given by the İstanbul 27th Heavy Penal Court was upheld by the 3rd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice, namely the court of appeal on February 19, 2019.
According to the verdict, as the prison terms of Hikmet Çetinkaya, Orhan Erinç, Akın Atalay, Murat Sabuncu, Aydın Engin, Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu and Ahmet Şık were over five years, an appeal could be lodged against the verdicts at the Supreme Court of Appeals.
However, Güray Öz, Musa Kart, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Önder Çelik, Hakan Kara and Emre İper were imprisoned again on April 26.
Verdict of Emre İper upheld
With its verdict dated September 12, the 16th Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that the verdicts of conviction shall be reversed and they shall be acquitted.
While the Supreme Court has ruled that the verdict in question shall also be applicable to the ones whose prison terms are under five years and, therefore, who cannot appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals, the verdict of Emre İper has been upheld. That being the case, five people have been released, but İper has remained in prison. (HA/SD)
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