Cumhuriyet trial
The Cumhuriyet Trial is a criminal case before the 14th Grand Chamber in Istanbul against the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper , Can Dündar , and the head of the newspaper's capital office, Erdem Gül . You are charged with the following criminal offenses by the public prosecutor:
- knowingly and willingly supporting an armed terrorist organization without being involved in the hierarchical structures of the organization (Artt. 220 para. 7, 314 para. 2 tStGB )
- For the purpose of political or military espionage (Art. 328 Paragraph 1 tStGB) and disclosure (Art. 330 Para. 1 tStGB) of information, the confidentiality of which is necessary with regard to security or the domestic or foreign policy interests of the state
- Attempted overthrow using violence or interference with the government's exercise of office (Art. 312 (1) tStGB)
The Turkish intelligence service Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were joint plaintiffs.
Dündar and Gül were found guilty of disclosing state secrets on May 6, 2016. Dündar was sentenced to five years and ten months' imprisonment, Gül to five years. The judgment is not yet final. The execution of the sentence is postponed until the judgment becomes final.
background
The background is a secret ammunition transport by the intelligence service to Syria with the help of three trucks, which was stopped and searched by the Jandarma in Ceyhan on January 19, 2014 . The Turkish media reported this incident on the same day. War equipment was found in two trucks. The Turkish government said it was an aid delivery from İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı (İHH) for the Turkmen in Syria . Cumhuriyet reported on the incident in May 2015, over a year later, and released images and footage of the search. The headline read: These are the weapons that Erdoğan claims do not exist! The Cumhuriyet listed the following items of war: 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 artillery shells, 50,000 pieces of assault rifle and 30,000 pieces of machine gun ammunition. The report also indicated that the shipment was intended for the Islamic State (IS) militia . Shortly after the publication, Erdoğan announced on camera that the newspaper was guilty of espionage and threatened that the journalists would pay a high price.
process
According to the indictment, the public prosecutor's office demanded life sentences with more stringent prison sentences and up to 30 years in prison for Dündar and Gül. The two journalists were interrogated at the end of November 2015 and taken into custody at Silivri Detention Center . On February 25, 2016, the Constitutional Court declared that the detention was a violation of the law and that there was no sufficient suspicion of a crime. The 14th Large Criminal Chamber then ordered Güls and Dündar to be released from custody.
After Dündar and Gül were released pending their trial following a decision by the Turkish Constitutional Court, Erdoğan was indignant: "I say it openly and clearly, I do not accept that and do not submit to the decision, I do not respect it either."
The trial began on March 25, 2016 in Istanbul. In addition to colleagues from journalists, opposition politicians and ordinary citizens, foreign diplomats (including Martin Erdmann from Germany and Leigh Turner from Great Britain) came to the start of the process. On the first day of the trial, the court decided that the trial should continue in camera.
The verdict was announced on May 6, 2016. Before the verdict was announced, an assassin shot at Dündar outside the court, missed him and injured a journalist who was present with a grazing shot. Dündar and Gül were found guilty of disclosing state secrets. The charge of supporting a terrorist organization was severed in a separate procedure at the request of the public prosecutor's office for decision. Dündar was sentenced to five years and ten months' imprisonment, Gül to five years. The judgment is not yet final. The execution of the sentence is postponed until the judgment becomes final. Dündar's defense attorney had already announced an appeal in the event of a guilty verdict before the verdict was pronounced.
International reactions
Reporting arms shipments is a "public concern," said Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch , criticizing the process.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Can Dündar ve Erdem Gül ağırlaştırılmış müebbet talebiyle yargılanacak BBC report of November 27, 2015 about the indictment (Turkish)
- ↑ Adana'da durdurulan 3 TIR'da silah araması yapıldı, yine MİT krizi yaşandı report from www.t24.com.tr about the incident. (Turkish)
- ↑ İşte Erdoğan'ın yok dediği silahlar ( Memento of May 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Cumhuriyet report of May 28, 2015 (Turkish)
- ↑ Erdoğan'dan canlı yayında Can Dündar'a tehdit Cumhuriyet report of March 31, 2015 (Turkish)
- ↑ Can Dündar tutuklandı report of the Sabah of November 27, 2015 (Turkish)
- ↑ Can Dündar ve Erdem Gül 92 gün sonra serbest report by Hürriyet from February 26, 2016 (Turkish)
- ^ A b Second German Television (ZDF): Freedom of the press in Turkey: “Cumhuriyet” boss Dündar is being tried - today news. (No longer available online.) In: www.heute.de. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016 ; accessed on March 26, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Freedom of the press in Turkey: Trial against journalists critical of the government. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved March 26, 2016 .
- ↑ Turkey: Erdogan gets upset about diplomats in the journalist trial. In: Spiegel Online . March 26, 2016, accessed March 26, 2016 .
- ^ Shots at journalists Dündar at trial in Istanbul . Spiegel Online, May 6, 2016.
- ^ Trial in Turkey: journalists sentenced to several years in prison . Spiegel Online, May 6, 2016.
