A Turkish court acquitted a prominent government-critical journalist of accusation of secret treason. The verdict of criminal court in Istanbul is anor legal success for head of newspaper Cumhuriyet in Ankara, Erdem Gül. He had been sentenced to five years in prison at 2016. In March, an appellate court raised this verdict. The judiciary n re-rolled case, which led to acquittal.
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Gül, toger with former Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief, can Dündar 2015, was accused of a report on alleged concealed arms supplies from Turkish secret service to Islamist rebels in Syria. The report found worldwide media attention. President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who had filed a complaint against Dündar and Gül, as well as Turkish Secret Service with Trat as a side plaintiff. The indictment judged report as a secret betrayal. In May 2016, verdicts followed. Dündar was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison.
The two journalists appealed against judgment and remained at large during revision process. Gül continues to work as office manager in Ankara, Dündar went into exile in Germany in July 2016. He’s not going to put his head under guillotine, he said. Dündar writes in time a weekly column about autocratic developments in Turkey. Time Online publishes texts in German and Turkish language.
The original judgments were repealed in March of this year. Gül should be acquitted, Dündar, on or hand, for “espionage” to receive a longer prison sentence of up to 20 years, demanded highest Turkish court of Appeal. The processes were n rerolled separately from each or. The trial against Dündar is still underway.
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The trial against Dündar and Gül was first in a long series of proceedings against prominent journalists in Turkey. Especially in post-coup attempt against Erdo?an government in July 2016, charges were piling up against press representatives. An overview of detained Turkish journalists can be found here.
At end of April, 13 Cumhuriyet employees were sentenced to long prison sentences in anor case due to terrorist accusations, including well-known journalist Ahmet ??k. The appeal proceedings are still underway. Erdem Gül continues to be in court in anor matter.
