‘Biased media’ gets preference in Turkey as the Court keeps opposition newspaper staff in custody

Ankara, September 12: Though Turkey is doing a great favor by pushing the ISIS infiltrants back into Syria, the country is also known for its elevating ‘biased media’ presence. A Turkish court remanded 5 prominent staff from the Opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper in custody on Monday in a trial which President Tayyip Erdogan’s critics have condemned as an attack on free speech.

 

The case, which opened in Istanbul in July, involves 17 current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from Cumhuriyet, including editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and chief executive Akin Atalay. The court justified its decision to keep the staff members in custody by saying it had been unable to question three witnesses called to the stand yesterday.

 

Prosecutors say Cumhuriyet was effectively taken over by supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric blamed by the government for last year’s failed coup attempt, and that the paper was used to target Erdogan and “veil the actions of terrorist groups.”

 

The newspaper has denied all the charges and the defense attorney on Monday said that the court has been ignoring all the valid evidences presented. Atalay’s wife Adalet Dinamit said the charges against her husband were politically motivated: “This is not a trial held within bounds of law,” she told reporters outside the court. 

Previous hearings in the case had taken place in Istanbul but Monday’s session was moved to Silivri, the site of a large prison about 60 km west of the city.