Seventeen executives and journalists from daily Cumhuriyet, including Ahmet Şık, Kadri Gürsel and Musa Kart, went on trial July 24 with terror-related offences in the 27th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul.
Two of the suspects are on the run, while 11 of them are imprisoned and the other six free but still charged.
During the hearing, Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Sabuncu demanded his plea to be adjourned to July 25, stating that some of his documents and newspaper reports had been confiscated. The court later accepted his request.
Meanwhile, Gürsel said claims on his connection with FETÖ were baseless, adding that he did not reply to any calls or messages from the organization. He also said he had no signing authority at the daily’s management.
Earlier, lawmakers, journalists, rights activists, Cumhuriyet readers and many citizens gathered in front of the Çağlayan courthouse. Another group gathered in front of the Cumhuriyet building in the Şişli district and started to march towards the courthouse at around 9 a.m.
The former editor-in-chief of the daily, Can Dündar, was named as the prime suspect in the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The charges directed at the suspects include “membership of an armed terrorist organization” and “helping an armed terrorist organization while not bein a member of it.”
Prosecutors are seeking between 7.5 and 15 years in prison sentence for Dündar, editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, IPI Board Member Kadri Gürsel, Aydın Engin, Bülent Yener and Günseli Özaltay for “helping an armed terrorist organization while not being a member.”
CEO of the daily Akın Atalay, Mehmet Orhan Erinç and Önder Çelik are charged with “helping an armed terrorist organization while not being a member” and “abusing trust,” with the prosecutor demanding between 11.5 and 43 years in jail for them.
Between 9.5 and 29 years in jail is demanded for Bülent Utku, caricaturist Musa Kart, Hakan Karasinir, Mustafa Kemal Güngör and Hikmet Aslan Çetinkaya on the same charges as those directed at Atalay, Erinç and Çelik.
In addition, the prosecutor sought between 7.5 and 15 years in prison for journalist Ahmet Şık for “helping and being a member of the PKK and the DHKP/C.”