News,Etc.

“Strong suspicion” that they have committed the criminal offense they are charged with and further expert opinion were the reasons the court declared not to release eleven journalists, News,Etc. editor, Ahmet Şık among them, on trial at the OdaTV case after a day-long hearing at the end of the week.

The defendants and their lawyers argued that the digital evidence on which the charges are based were fabricated by the police and planted in their computers outside their knowledge. The journalists are accused of functioning as the media arm of the Ergenekon “terror” organization where the defendants are charged with organizing to overthrow the elected government of Turkey.

During the hearing on Friday at the OdaTV case, the journalists pointed out to the absurdity of
the accusation that they came together to set up an organization since some of them did not even know the others or never had contact with them.

Akin Atalay, the lawyer of Ahmet Şık, explained that even if his client is found guilty, he has already spent the maximum jail term that he can get according to the Penal Law since March last year when he was arrested.

Lawyers also drew attention to the fact that the case is increasingly being criticized by human rights and journalists associations in West as well as some politicians.

Tayyip Erdogan speaks

A day before the hearing, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the 25th Anniversary reception of the Zaman newspaper, repeating his allegations that the arrested journalists were not accused because of their journalistic activities. “There are police killers carrying press cards,” he said.

“There is a campaign against Turkey where police killers, sexual harassers, coup supporters are presented as journalists,” said Erdogan.

Richard Ricciardone, the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara criticized the jailing of journalists saying, “I still don’t understand how intellectuals and journalists are put behind bars in a country where democracy has reached this stage.”

Ricciardone’s similar comments last February had angered Erdogan who retorted that the ambassador’s words were the result of his “inexperience.”

Unusual scenes from the courtroom

Similar to previous hearings, Friday’s session at the OdaTV trial had entertaining aspects that made the spectators laugh from time to time.

The judge Mehmet Ekinci\ chief of the tribunal, offered Banu Guven, a well known television presenter who recently lost her job, who was among the followers of the trial “to become the speaker.” She turned down the offer. The judge said, “Oh! I was just joking.” At the beginning of the trial, presenters from TRT, the state radio and television, had read the 134-page indictment at the court.

While one of the lawyers was delivering his defense, Judge Ekinci got up from his chair and started pacing up and down the dais. The lawyer stopped his defense and asked, “I thought only the lawyers have to stand up while making defense. Are you listening to me?” Ekinci replied to him, “I have a back ache, I am listening, go on.”

The usual practice in courts, especially during penal trials, here in Turkey and probably elsewhere in the world where normal juridical principles are applied, is that all the rulings of the court should be read to the faces of the defendants. However, when the court finally reached its decision not to release the imprisoned defendants of the OdaTV case around 11 o’clock p.m. all of them were already in their cells at the Silivri prison complex. The judges read the decisions they made to the lawyers instead.

The tribunal also decided to adjourn the trial until March 12, meaning that the eleven journalists will have to spend another two months behind bars.