The trials of journalists, who participated in the “visiting editor-in-chief” campaign that was started as an act of solidarity with the closed-down Özgür Gündem newspaper, will start tomorrow. Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran will be the first ones to be heard.
According
to the report of Arzu Demir from Etkin News Agency (ETHA),
journalists Ayşe Düzkan and Ragıp Duran will stand trial in
Istanbul 13th High Penal Court tomorrow.
İnan Kızılkaya is the common suspect of all lawsuits that have been launched since September 20. Zana Bilir Kaya, the last editor-in-chief of Özgür Gündem, has been under arrest and it is not known whether Kızılkaya and Kaya will be brought to all hearings.
Chair of the press union (Basın-İş) of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) Faruk Eren will stand trial on September 22 and journalist Ertuğrul Mavioğlu will stand trial on September 29.
On October, Celal Başlangıç, Fehim Işık, Yıldırım Türker, Ayşe Batumlu, İhsan Çaralan, Murat Çelikkan and Beyza Üstün will stand trial.
On November, the hearing of 4 "visiting editors-in-chief" will be held. Celalettin Can will be heard on November 1; and Human Rights Foundation of Turkey Chair Şebnem Korur Fincancı, RSF Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu and publisher Ahmet Nesin, who had been arrested for some time, will be heard on November 8. Moreover, a lawsuit is launched against Cengiz Baysoy.
The charge of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" is the main issue of the cases.
As part of solidarity campaign that was started on May 3, the World Press Freedom Day, a total of 100 journalists, writers, human rights defenders, artists and politicians worked as “visiting editor-in-chief” in order to point out the oppression against Özgür Gündem.
Other journalist having investigations against them
Here is the list of other journalists who have investigations against them:
Hasan Cemal, Free Journalists' Association co-chairs Nevin Erdemir and Hakkı Boltan; journalists Aydın Engin, Şeyhmus Diken, Derya Okatan, Murat Uyurkulak, Said Sefaoğlu, Faruk Balıkçı, Tuğrul Eryılmaz, Mehmet Güç, Nadire Mater, Kumru Başer and Kemal Can; linguist Necmiye Alpay; artists Jülide Kural and Deniz Türkali; HDP Central Execuitve Board members Çilem Küçükkeleş, H. Hayri Şanlı and Veysi Altay.
Charges against 9 people have been dismissed
Charges against 9 people have been dismissed for now: Eşber Yağmurdereli, Ahmet Abakay, Saruhan Oluç, Işın Eliçin, Mustafa Sönmez, Melda Onur, İhsan Eliaçık, Hasip Kaplan and Sabahat Tuncel.
