No Release in Özgür Gündem Main Case, International Travel Ban of Erdoğan, Alpay Lifted

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Fourth hearing of Özgür Gündem main case has been held by İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court.

The defendants Eren Keskin, Necmiye Alpay and Aslı Erdoğan pending trial without arrest and imprisoned defendants Kemal Sancılı and İnan Kızılkaya attended the hearing.

Representatives from embassies of Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany, and the Amnesty also watch the trial.

Attorney Kılıç was not allowed to speak

Attempting to speak with his client in the courtroom, attorney Özcan Kılıç was prevented. The Chief Judge Ali Öztürk said that “We used to allow this before the statutory decrees but with the statutory decrees, obligation of security and camera footage has been imposed”.

Kızılkaya: Journalism is not a crime

Speaking at the hearing, Özgür Gündem Managing Editor Kızılkaya, who is the defendants, briefly said:

“I am a journalist. I practice an open and legitimate occupation. I demand my release.

“I received journalism training. What our teachers told us was this: Ask questions, and we’ve done that.

“This is a political trial, not a legal one. It is journalists and experts discuss what is news and what is not.

“Journalism is not a crime. Freedom to all journalists”.

Alpay: Unintelligible charges have been pressed against us

Necmiye Alpay said “This is a suit brought against us following July 15 [coup attempt]. A position [Publishing Advisory Board] which was not considered a crime started to be thought as illegal after the coup attempt, and that unintelligible charges have been pressed against us. I would like to draw your attention to this.

Erdoğan: My absence was talked more than myself in award ceremonies

Stating that her articles published in Özgür Gündem have been collected into a book in French and that she was granted many awards, Aslı Erdoğan said that “Absence of me was talked more than myself in the five award ceremonies due to the international travel ban imposed on me”, and demanded that the international travel ban be revoked.

The court has lifted the international travel ban imposed on Alpay and Erdoğan.

The trial will continue on October 31, 2017.

Özgür Gündem trials

Closed Özgür Gündem newspaper's Editor-in-Chief on Watch campaign was launched on May 3, 2016 and ended on August 7, 2016.
56 people joined the campaign.

50 of the attendees faced prosecution. Of the prosecuted, files of the 38 have been turned into cases.
50 investigations launched

Investigations were launched into:

Faruk Eren, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Ayşe Düzkan, Erol Önderoğlu, Celalettin Can, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, Fehim Işık, Celal Başlangıç, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Ragıp Duran, Nurcan Baysal, Ömer Ağın, Ahmet Abakay, İhsan Çaralan, Işın Eliçin, Murat Çelikkan, Uğur Karataş, Öncü Akgül, Ayşe Batumlu, Sebahat Tuncel, Saruhan Oluç, Nadire Mater, Beyza Üstün, Mehmet Güç, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Faruk Balıkçı, Şeyhmus Diken, Necmiye Alpay, Jülide Kural, Yıldırım Türker, Ahmet Nesin, Kemal Can, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Hasip Kaplan, Nevin Erdemir, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Hakkı Boltan, Cengiz Baysoy, Kumru Başer, Veysi Altay, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, Hasan Cemal, Deniz Türkali, Dicle Anter, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Said Sefaoğlu, Aydın Engin, İhsan Eliaçık and İmam Canpolat.

Verdict for non-prosecution

İhsan Eliaçık, Melda Onur, Sebahat Tuncel, Ahmet Abakay, Eşber Yağmurdereli, Hasip Kaplan, Işın Eliçin, Kemal Can, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, Uğur Karadaş

38 cases

The 38 people who are facing prosecution are as follows:

A. Kumru Başer, Ahmet Nesin, Ayşe Batumlu, Ayşe Düzkan, Beyza Üstün, Can Dündar, Celal Başlangıç, Celalettin Can, Cengiz Baysoy, Çilem Küçükkkeleş, Derya Okatan, Dicle Anter, Erol Önderoğlu, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu, Faruk Balıkçı, Faruk Eren, Fehim Işık, Hüseyin Tahmaz, Hakkı Boltan, Hasan Cemal, Hasan Hayri Şanlı, İbrahim Bodur, İhsan Çaralan, Julide Kural, M. Ali Çelebi, Murat Çelikkan, Murat Uyurkulak, Nadire Mater, Necmiye Alpay, Nevin Erdemir, Öncü Akgül, Ragıp Duran, Said Sefa, Şanar Yurdatapan, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Veysi Altay, Yıldırım Türker.

Cases brought against 3 writers

Legal action was taken against Ömer Ağın for an article published under the editorship of Celal Başlangıç, against İmam Canpolat for an article published under the editorship of Cengiz Baysoy and against İlham Bakır for an article published under the editorship of Jülide Kural.
Of the 36 Editors-in-Chief on Watch, Erol Önderoğlu, Ahmet Nesin and Şebnem Korur Fincancı were arrested in June 2016 and released 10 days after it.

15,750 Euros as well as 220 months and 15 days in prison

Şanar Yurdatapan, İbrahim Bodur, Cengiz Baysoy, İmam Canpolat, Çilem Küçükkeleş, Nadire Mater, Yıldırım Türker, Hasan Cemal, Faruk Balıkçı, Dicle Anter, Derya Okatan, Kumru Başer, Ayşe Batumlu,Jülide Kural, İlham Bakır, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Çelikkan and Beyza Üstün have been convicted.

The above mentioned 18 people have been convicted to 15,750 Euros as well as 220 months and 15 days in prison.

Kızılkaya cases

Özgür Gündem Managing Editor İnan Kızılkaya is a suspect in all 38 cases. Kızılkaya's case is being combined with the main trial.
Özgür Gündem main trial

Özgür Gündem Consultant Board members, executives and writers Necmiye Alpay, Aslı Erdoğan, Ragıp Zarakolu, Filiz Koçali, Eren Keskin, Zana Kaya, İnan Kızılkaya, Kemal Sancılı and Bilge Oykut stand trial as a part of the main trial of Özgür Gündem daily. Kızılkaya and Sancıl are still arrested. (EA/TK)