GÖP Urged for Fair Trial and Release of Journalists

Representatives of the Freedom for Journalists Platform (GÖP), comprising 94 professional press organizations, released a statement before the 8^th hearing of the Oda TV trial on Thursday (5 January). "Turkey is currently going through a process that requires an overall review of the Criminal Law", they stated.

The Oda TV trial is being continued today (5 January) before the 16^th High Criminal Court at the Çağlayan (Istanbul) Courthouse. The announcement of GÖP was read out by Orhan Erinç, President of the Turkey Journalists Association (TGC) and current spokesman of GÖP.

"The occasional ignorance of the general rules of the criminal law results in weakening the confidence in the power of the judiciary", Erinç criticized.

He continued:

* The court in Silivri that handles the main trial decided to use the term 'alleged Ergenekon Terrorist Organization', emphasizing that the existence of the Ergenekon Terrorist Organization has not become definite yet. Nevertheless, our colleagues tried at the Çağlayan Courthouse are definitely alleged and detained related to the 'Media Structure of the Ergenekon Terrorist Organization'.

* Conversations regarding private life and talks with news sources as a given part of journalism are included in the indictment and presented in the context of the allegations.

* It is ever more difficult to understand allegations such as 'concealing evidence' as a valid reason for detention while the homes and computers of our colleagues were searched.

* GÖP expects the journalists to be tried in accordance with the procedures and criminal provisions and to be released pending trial. We demand to end applications that yield results like banning our colleagues from their profession.

At the 7^th hearing on Wednesday (4 January), the presentation of the indictment was finished and the court began to listen to the defence speeches. The hearing was attended by detained defendants Prof Yalçın Küçük, former Chief of Police Hanefi Avcı, author Müyesser Yıldız, journalists Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık, Soner Yalçın, Şükrü Doğan Yurdakul, Barış Terkoğlu, Barış Pehlivan, Muhammet Sait Çakır, Coşkun Musluk and un-detained defendant İklim Ayfer Kaleli.

Un-detained defendant Ahmet Mümtaz İdil failed to appear at court due to health reasons. Detained defendant Kaşif Kozinoğlu fell ill in prison and passed away on 12 November 2011.

Serkan Günel, joint attorney of journalist Terkoğlu, said to his client's defence that the allegations were not organizational but journalistic activities. "The existence of the organization is not even definite. A person cannot be detained pending trial on charges of membership of an organization while it is not definite if the organization exists", he claimed.

An expert report by a university member determined that the digital data was the product of piracy, Günel stated and requested his client's acquittal.

Furthermore, the lawyer mentioned that the indictment drew attention to the violation of privacy whereas attachments of the indictment included everything about private life.

Defendants Yurdakul and Yıldız presented their defence at the Wednesday hearing too. Journalists Musluk, Çakır, Şık and Şener are going to make their defence speeches at today's hearing. (AS/VK)