Turkish journalists go on trial in landmark press freedom case

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/2016/03/turkish-reporters-go-on-trial-in-landmark-press-freedom-case/

Turkish journalists go on trial in landmark press freedom case
By AT Editor on March 25, 2016
(From AFP)

Two top Turkish journalists go on trial Friday accused of espionage and other serious crimes and facing possible life in prison over a story about Turkey’s role in the Syrian conflict that infuriated strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and Erdem Gul, his Ankara bureau chief, are due in court in Istanbul on charges of revealing state secrets “for espionage purposes”, seeking to “violently” overthrow the government and aiding an “armed terrorist organisation”.

The pair have already spent three months in pre-trial detention over the story in the leading opposition newspaper in May, which accused the government of seeking to illicitly deliver arms to rebels in Syria.

The report sparked a furore, fueling speculation about the government’s role in the Syrian conflict and its alleged ties to Islamist groups in the country.

[Eugene]

1. Turkish court takes journalists' espionage trial behind closed doors

Source: Reuters

World | Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:35am EDT

Turkish court takes journalists' espionage trial behind closed doors

ISTANBUL | BY AYLA JEAN YACKLEY AND HUMEYRA PAMUK

A Turkish court took the trial of two prominent journalists charged with espionage behind closed doors on Friday and accepted President Tayyip Erdogan as a complainant, in a case which has drawn international condemnation.

Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, 49, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, stand accused of trying to topple the government with the publication last May of video purporting to show Turkey's state intelligence agency helping to truck weapons to Syria in 2014.

Erdogan, who has cast the newspaper's coverage as part of an attempt to undermine Turkey's global standing, has vowed Dundar will "pay a heavy price". The two journalists could face life in prison if convicted.

Anti-government chants rang out as the decision to take their trial behind closed doors was announced in the Istanbul courtroom, packed with journalists, opposition politicians, rights groups, relatives and a handful of European diplomats.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-media-idUSKCN0WR0IT