Thirteen reporters, editors and executives from opposition Cumhuriyet daily face jail but vow to continue ‘to tell the truth’

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This article is more than 1 year old

A Turkish court has convicted journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet daily for helping outlawed “terrorist” organisations – but editors vowed their “honourable” journalism would not stop.

The paper has been fiercely critical of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and has run front-page stories that have angered the Turkish head of state.

The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, handed out multiple sentences to 13 journalists and executives for “aiding and abetting terror organisations without being a member” but they remain free pending appeal.

The Guardian view on Turkish press freedom: standing up for democracy | Editorial Read more

“No penalty can stop us from doing journalism. If needed, we will go to prison again but we will continue to do honest and honourable journalism,” editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu said after being sentenced to seven years and six months.

Sabuncu said the punishment was not only given to him “but to Turkey and to press freedom in Turkey” as authorities sought to deter others from real journalism.

However, he added: “It is the sword of Damocles. Do not be scared. Keep on doing journalism. Let’s keep on doing journalism together.”

The journalists were all charged with supporting, through their coverage, three organisations that Turkey views as terror groups – the Kurdistan Workers’ party, the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, and the Gulen movement blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

Among others convicted were some of the biggest names in Turkish journalism, including investigative reporter Ahmet Sik who is seen as one of Turkey’s most incisive critics of the Gulen movement.

He was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence while veteran journalist Kadri Gursel was sentenced to two years and six months. The court handed cartoonist Musa Kart a sentence of three years and nine months.

The judge ordered the release of Cumhuriyet chairman Akin Atalay who had been in jail for over 500 days despite his conviction.

Greeted by his wife Adalet and a crowd of supporters shortly after he walked free from prison, Atalay said Cumhuriyet – which means “republic” – would not succumb to pressure or threats.

Revealed: the terror and torment of Turkey's jailed journalists Read more

“As we always say they cannot intimidate Cumhuriyet which will continue to tell the truth to its readers,” he told reporters.

Three defendants, including the paper’s books supplement editor Turhan Gunay, were acquitted.

Supporters of the accused repeatedly said the charges against the journalists were absurd and that the trial was political.

Cumhuriyet headlined its report on the convictions with a warning to the Turkish authorities: “You will be shamed in front of history.”

Amnesty International’s Turkey campaigner Milena Buyum lambasted the trial during which the prosecution “failed to produce a shred of evidence” of any criminal wrongdoing.



According to the P24 press freedom group, there are over 160 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested under the state of emergency imposed after the coup attempt in July 2016.</s>FILE: The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, handed out multiple sentences to 13 journalists and executives for "aiding and abetting terror organisations without being a member" but they remain free pending appeal. Photo: AFP/Stephane de Sakutine

SILIVRI - A Turkish court on Wednesday convicted journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet daily for helping outlawed "terrorist" organisations, an AFP correspondent said, in a trial seen as a test case for press freedom.

The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, handed out multiple sentences to 13 journalists and executives for "aiding and abetting terror organisations without being a member" but they remain free pending appeal.

The judge ordered the release of Cumhuriyet chairman Akin Atalay who had been in jail for over 500 days despite his conviction, the correspondent said.

Accountant Emre Iper was convicted for making terror propaganda and sentenced to three years and one month.

Three others including the paper's books supplement editor Turhan Gunay were acquitted.

They were all charged with supporting, through their coverage, three organisations that Turkey views as terror groups -- the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the ultra-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front, and the Gulen movement blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

Supporters of the accused repeatedly said the charges against the journalists were absurd and that the trial was political.

Cumhuriyet is fiercely critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has run front-page stories that have angered the president.

Among those convicted are some of the biggest names in Turkish journalism including investigative reporter Ahmet Sik.

He was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence while veteran journalist Kadri Gursel was sentenced to two years and six months.

The court handed cartoonist Musa Kart a three year and nine-month sentence while Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu was sentenced to seven years and six months.

"Accusation is not a proof," said defence lawyer Fikret Ilkiz, referring to the indictment, prior to the convictions during Wednesday's hearing.

"Journalists are accused of doing journalism in this case. The presence of Cumhuriyet newspaper is seen as a crime," he said.

On its website, the daily said the rulings were "illegal" in the trial which tried to "silence" the media.

Cumhuriyet headlined its report on the convictions with a warning to the Turkish authorities: "You will be shamed in front of history."</s>In this file photo dated Saturday, March 10, 2018, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper Murat Sabuncu, smiles after being released from the prison complex in Silivri, Turkey. | AP

SILIVRI: A Turkish court today convicted journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet daily for helping outlawed "terrorist" organisations, in a trial seen as a test case for press freedom.

The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, handed out multiple sentences to 13 journalists and executives but they remain free pending appeal.

Three others were acquitted.

The judge ordered the release of Cumhuriyet chairman Akin Atalay who had been in jail for over 500 days despite his conviction, the correspondent said.</s>This statement was originally published on platform24.org on 25 April 2018. 

 

Fourteen columnists and executives of Cumhuriyet daily were convicted of "aiding a terrorist organization without being its member" at the final hearing of the Cumhuriyet trial on April 25, 2018 held at a courtroom inside the Silivri Prison compound. 

 

The 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul handed down prison sentences varying between 2 years and 6 months and 7 years and 6 months to 14 of the newspaper's columnists and executives standing trial in the case, while acquitting three of the suspects and separating the files of two journalists from the case. 

 

The court handed down the newspaper's editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, reporter Ahmet Şık and the 77-year-old veteran columnist Aydın Engin 7 years and 6 months in prison each - the lengthiest prison sentences in the verdict. 

 

Akın Atalay, the chairman of the newspaper's executive board, was sentenced to 7 years, 3 months and 15 days in prison. The court ruled to release Atalay, who spent more than 500 days in pretrial detention as part of the case, awaiting the appeal process. 

 

Orhan Erinç, an 82-year-old veteran journalist, who is the president of the Cumhuriyet Foundation, and columnist Hikmet Çetinkaya were each handed down 6 years and 3 months in prison. 

 

Columnist Kadri Gürsel was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months, while cartoonist Musa Kart, columnist Hakan Kara, reader representative Güray Öz, executive board members Önder Çelik and Mustafa Kemal Güngör were sentenced to 3 years and 9 months. 

 

The newspaper's attorney Bülent Utku was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months while accounting department employee Emre İper was sentenced to 3 years, 1 month and 15 days in prison. 

 

Turhan Günay, the editor of the newspaper's book supplement, was acquitted of both the "abuse of authority" and the "helping a terrorist organization without being its member" charges. Günay had spent 272 days in prison before his release in 2017. Accountants Bülent Yener and Günseli Özaltay were also acquitted. 

 

All of the defendants charged with "abuse of authority" in the indictment were acquitted of that charge. 

 

Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu, a suspect in the case who was purported to be the user of the Twitter account with the handle "JeansBiri" and charged with "leading a terrorist organization," was handed down 10 years in prison. The court ruled for the continuation of his detention. 

 

The court ruled to impose judicial control measures on all of the suspects who were handed down prison sentences. 

 

The 27th High Criminal Court of Istanbul also ruled to separate the files of Can Dündar and İlhan Tanır from the case. 

 

The second day of the hearing began with lawyers' closing remarks. 

 

Duygun Yarsuvat, defense attorney for Cumhuriyet Executive Board Chairperson Akın Atalay, said in his address to the court that the case was politically motivated, adding: "There is nothing in this indictment that can be handled through principles of criminal law. The rule of law has been sacrificed in this case, designed to silence Cumhuriyet." 

 

Also criticising the expert opinion submitted to the case file, Yarsuvat said the experts drafted their reports using information readily available in open sources. Yarsuvat also said that one of the experts had proven in a Tweet he had posted that he was an admirer of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, adding: "This expert does not hold an academic title. His only significance is being a member of the foundation headed by Bilal Erdoğan." 

 

Yarsuvat also touched upon Article 220/7 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), upon which the accusations against Cumhuriyet columnists and executives rest. Yarsuvat said the term "aiding" in the charge of "aiding a terrorist organization without being a member" meant "providing material aid," adding, "We cannot modify articles of the penal code in order to please those in power." 

 

Yarsuvat said the prosecutor attempted to prove his allegation that "the newspaper's editorial policy had been changed" through witness testimonies based on hearsay. 

 

He also said Atalay and editor in chief Murat Sabuncu to have attended the Abant Platform meetings, put together by the Gülen network-affiliated Gazeteci ve Yazarlar Vakfı (Journalists and Writers Association), were held as evidence against both Atalay and Sabuncu. Is it a crime that they attended those meetings? Burhan Kuzu, Cemil Çiçek and Fehmi Koru were among the participants as well. Why haven't these meetings, held since 1997, been banned then? 

 

Speaking after Yarsuvat, defense attorney Abbas Yalçın told the court that despite a confidentiality order to have been issued on the investigation file, the information contained in the file were leaked to pro-government media outlets. 

 

Lawyer Tora Pekin said that Cumhuriyet had been already overwhelmed with countless court decisions ordering the court to publish retractions, decisions to ban access to articles and criminal cases brought against it, but even then no one had thought of a court case where Cumhuriyet journalists would be charged with aiding three different terrorist organizations. 

 

Pekin said the defendants and lawyers were giving statements for the past two days knowing that the court was unlikely to rule for acquittal, but added that it was still important to make these statements as they would be put on record. "You cannot commit an unlawful act through publications that are lawful. You cannot find any word that recommends or praises violence in the news reports and articles published in Cumhuriyet because there isn't any," said Pekin. 

 

Commenting on the news reports and articles included in the case file, Pekin said they consist of those which criticize government actions such as those about interception of Syria-bound trucks carrying arms, and those about the Kurdish issue. "Talking about certain issues disturbs the government, so it is a crime!" he said, adding that the prosecutor was of the view that Cumhuriyet could not publish any critical reports on the Kurdish issue because it was a "nationalist, statist and traditionalist newspaper." 

 

Pekin also recalled that, according to the law, the statute of limitations to file charges in connection with news reports was four months after publication. "This limit was introduced to ensure the journalists will not feel under pressure all the time. Otherwise, anyone can be prosecuted any time for a tweet they posted or an article they wrote any time in the past," he said. 

 

Responding to the accusations stemming from the fact that Cumhuriyet had used the same headlines in a few occasions with the shuttered Zaman daily that was affiliated with the now-banned Gülen network, Pekin said it was now a common occurrence in Turkey that about 10 newspapers use the same headline for the same story, but when Cumhuriyet uses the same headline as Zaman in a couple of instances, it is considered an anomaly. 

 

Speaking after Pekin, defense attorney Fikret İlkiz said in his address to the court that the prosecutor alleged that Cumhuriyet had "actively aided terrorist organizations from 2013 up until the coup attempt of July 15, 2016." "So why did you not press charges back then," İlkiz asked. 

 

"Journalists and lawyers standing trial in this case are being criminalized for being journalists and lawyers. The very existence of this newspaper is considered a crime. The fact that no documents to indict my clients to have come up during searches on their homes is considered a crime," İlkiz said.

Following the defense attorneys, the court asked the defendants to make their closing speeches before a recess ahead of the verdict. Below is what they said. 

 

Akın Atalay: Whatever the verdict, we would like everyone to know that Cumhuriyet newspaper and we Cumhuriyet staff will never give up our fight against malice. We will fight until our last breath to prevent malice from becoming routine in this society. 

 

Kadri Gürsel: We have been jailed because we are journalists. We have been presented with a crumbling, hollow, baseless indictment. Our lengthy pretrial detention turned into the execution of a penalty. Our right to fair trial has been violated. During my defense statement I defended my occupation and answered the allegations which I think are absurd. Now you are facing a tough decision. Because you will render a judgment based on a case file that includes no evidence. Which means, you will be issuing your verdict using your reason and your conscience. And I believe you will do so. I do not want to regret this belief. We will leave this courtroom with dignity and continue doing our jobs. I request our acquittal. 

 

Güray Öz: Journalism is being put on trial in this case - which is a tough task. Accusing Cumhuriyet newspaper of [helping] a terrorist organization and of being FETÖ'ists is beyond all reason. I hope this does not turn out to be the case. 

 

Murat Sabuncu: Being free is such a delightful thing [but] one only comes to appreciate when one loses it. Cumhuriyet journalists have always spoken the truth, no matter the circumstances. Journalism is not a crime. 

 

Turhan Günay: Journalism is not a crime. 

 

Aydın Engin: You had once told me that I had "the spirit of James Bond," which I had taken as a compliment. But on second thought, I figured Bond was at the service of her majesty, whereas I am at the service of the public. The public's right to access to information is being put on trial in this case. And you are obliged to defend the public's right to access to information; it's a tough task, but I cannot be of help, you'll do it on your own. 

 

Hikmet Çetinkaya: I wrote for years in Cumhuriyet about who Fethullah Gülen really was and his purpose. I am now accused of helping Gülen, and I reject all the accusations. Journalism is not a crime. The real crime is attempting to establish sharia rule. 

 

Orhan Erinç: I saved my final speech for our lawyers: I would like to express my gratitude to our defense lawyers. 

 

Mustafa Kemal Güngör: An unfair treatment on one person is an unfair treatment on the entire society. Stop this unfair treatment that has been going on for months. 

 

Ahmet Kemal Aydoğdu: I am mostly affected by the feeling of longing. Put an end to my longing for my daughter. 

 

Ahmet Şık: I'm beginning my words by saying, "This is just the beginning." The purpose of this setup perpetrated by a gang formed by some of the members of political, bureaucratic and media circles, was clear from day one. Then, on behalf of those who have been standing against unlawfulness and violation of rights for their entire lives, let's respond to this gang by repeating what we've been saying all along: It's you who should surrender.</s>ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced 14 staff of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper to prison on terrorism charges and acquitted three, one of their lawyers said, in a case that has sparked global outrage over press freedom under Tayyip Erdogan.

The court handed down sentences ranging from 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years to the Cumhuriyet staff, lawyer Ozden Ozdemir told Reuters. Another defendant in the case, who was not employed by the paper and had been charged for his activities on Twitter, got the stiffest sentence, 10 years, Ozdemir said.

Ahmet Sik, a well-known journalist and author, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years, the harshest penalty among the staff.

The court also ruled the case against the prominent journalist Can Dundar, previously the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, would continue separately, court records showed.

The staff of the newspaper - long seen as a thorn in Erdogan’s side and one of the few remaining voices critical of the government - were charged with supporting the network of Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Ankara holds responsible for a failed 2016 coup attempt. They have denied the charges.

“This was absolutely not a lawful verdict. At the end, it is a political case,” Ozdemir said, adding the charges would be appealed.

All 14 staff were released pending appeal, Ozdemir said. The other defendant was detained.

The case is one of several high-profile trials seen as emblematic of the broader crackdown since Erdogan announced a state of emergency following the attempted coup.

“It has been journalism itself that has been in the dock and today’s verdicts defy logic and offend justice,” said Milena Buyum, Turkey campaigner at rights group Amnesty International.

“These politically motivated sentences are clearly intended to instill fear and silence any form of dissent.”

Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to 43 years in jail for the Cumhuriyet staff, accusing them of targeting Erdogan through “asymmetric war methods”.

They charged the newspaper was effectively taken over by supporters of the cleric Gulen, particularly after 2013 under Dundar’s stewardship.

Social media posts made up much of evidence in the indictment, which charged the newspaper “virtually became a defender and protector” of the Gulenist network as well as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and a far-left group.

The newspaper staff have said they are being targeted as part of a move to silence criticism of Erdogan. Around 150 media outlets have been shut down and 160 journalists have been jailed, the Turkish Journalists Association says.

Turkey’s highest court overruled a five-year jail sentence against Dundar in March, saying he should instead face up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges.

Dundar and a colleague were given five-year sentences in 2016 for publishing a video purporting to show Turkey’s intelligence agency trucking weapons into Syria. They were later released pending appeal.</s>A Turkish court has sentenced 13 journalists to prison on terrorism charges, prompting international condemnation of the country’s deteriorating press freedoms.

The BBC reports that the journalists, who worked for an opposition newspaper called Cumhuriyet, were arrested during a crackdown that followed a failed coup attempt in 2016.

The defendants include journalists, managers and a lawyer for the paper, which has taken a strong stance against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Those convicted face up to seven and a half years behind bars, but will remain free pending their appeals.

Akin Atalay, the paper’s chairman, was sentenced to seven years in prison after already serving 500 days. Editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and prominent cartoonist Musa Kart were among those jailed. Three journalists were also acquitted, according to the BBC.

The Cumhuriyet staff were accused of affiliation with groups labeled as terror organizations by the government, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front.

They have also been accused of supporting the cleric Fetullah Gulen, who has been living in the U.S. in self-imposed exile.

More than 50,000 people were arrested in Turkey and 150,000 removed or suspended from their jobs in the wake of the attempted coup, including public servants, members of the media, police, military personnel and teachers.

“Enough is enough with this cruelty,” read Cumhuriyey’s front page editorial prior to the court hearing, the BBC reports. “You will be shamed in front of history,” said the paper’s website after the ruling.

“We condemn the convictions handed down to Cumhuriyet journalists by a justice system so compromised it should be on trial itself,” Nina Ognianova of the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement. “Conflating journalism with terrorism is a transparently cynical ploy by the Turkish authorities to shut down the press. We call for all of these verdicts to be overturned on appeal.”</s>ISTANBUL, April 25 (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced 15 employees of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet to prison on terrorism charges and acquitted three, the newspaper said, in a case that has sparked global outrage over press freedom under Tayyip Erdogan.

The court also ruled the case against the prominent journalist Can Dundar, previously the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, would continue separately, the Cumhuriyet reported.</s>A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced 14 staff members of the country's main opposition newspaper, Cumhuriyet, to prison on charges of supporting terrorist groups.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, had sharply criticized the case amid broader fears about a crackdown on press freedom in Turkey.
• Prosecutors charged a total 17 Cumhuriyet employees with supporting groups the government has labeled terrorist organizations.Three defendants were acquitted.
• The groups allegedly supported included the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), far-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and the Gulen movement, which the government accused of masterminding a failed coup in 2016.
• The paper's chairman, Akin Atalay, was sentenced to 8 years, one month and 15 days in prison, but would be set free pending an appeal. Atalay was the only defendant who was still in prison at the time of the verdict.
• Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu and prominent investigative journalist Ahmet Sik were both sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
• The case against the former-editor-in-chief Can Dundar, who is living in exile in Germany, would continue separately.

Read more: Turkish police break up press freedom rally after 'Cumhuriyet' arrests

What were the reactions?

Sabuncu told DW after the trial: "These [sentences] will not hold us back from doing the profession with courage ... this is Turkey's and Turkish justice's shame. I hope that this decision will be overturned by the high court. I call on everyone living in Turkey to be courageous."

Caroline Stockford, the Turkey Advocacy Coordinator at International Press Institute (IPI), told DW: "It's a shocking disgrace that with no evidence and many breaches of protocol in the courtroom that such decisions can be reached. They are absolutely baseless and ridiculous."

Opposition lawmaker Sezgin Tanrikulu from the Republican People's Party (CHP) told DW: "Justice did not take place. Journalism and peoples' right to get news were sentenced."

What is Cumhuriyet? The daily newspaper, whose name translates to "Republic," is one of the most prominent media outlets critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is also the country's oldest daily newspaper — it was founded in 1924, one year after the creation of the modern Turkish state.

Free press under threat: The Turkish government under Erdogan has governed the country under an emergency law passed after the failed 2016 coup. Authorities have used the decree to arrest opposition journalists and shut down several media organizations.

Read more: 'State of emergency being used to silence dissident voices'</s>(CNN) A Turkish court has sentenced 14 employees of a newspaper that has been critical of President Tayyip Recep Erdogan's government to prison, convicting them on 'terrorism' charges.

The lengthy sentences have added to increasing fears over press freedom, particularly with national elections taking place in June.

The defendants were among over a dozen journalists and staff from Cumhuriyet to go on trial, accused of supporting terror organizations in the wake of a 2016 botched coup to oust Erdogan.

The staff of the paper, which has long been critical of the president, were found guilty of supporting the network of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in exile in the US. Erdogan claims Gulen has his supporters were behind the coup attempt, something the Pennsylvania-based cleric has denied.

"This is a shocking affront to press freedom and for justice in Turkey and sets a chilling precedent for scores of other journalists facing trials on similar trumped-up terrorism-related charges," she added.

In the aftermath of the failed coup, Turkey has been under a state of emergency, and Erdogan has orchestrated a series of controversial constitutional reforms while overseeing a massive purge within government ranks. Critics have argued that martial law was a pretense Erdogan was using to silence the opposition.

Despite the crackdown Cumhuriyet didn't let up in its scrutiny of Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party. After Thursday's sentencing the newspaper's journalists remained defiant.

"No penalty can stop us from doing journalism. If needed, we will go to the prison again but we will continue to do journalism," Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, who was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison, told AFP after the verdict.

"These verdicts are entirely unlawful," said Sik's wife, Yonca. "We knew that law never existed but now it's certified."

All but one defendant in the case will remain free pending an appeal.

Three Cumhuriyet employees were acquitted. The trial of two other Cumhuriyet journalists will continue separately.

June's polls will be the first since a referendum last year that transformed Turkey's parliamentary democracy into a powerful executive presidency, and will hand the president sweeping new powers after the elections.

Under the new system, the president will be able to prepare the budget and appoint high-level officials, including ministers and judges. In addition, the president will be able to declare a state of emergency, a power currently held by the government. The president could also in some circumstances dissolve parliament.</s>A Turkish court on Wednesday convicted journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet daily for helping outlawed “terrorist” organisations but editors remained defiant vowing their “honourable” journalism would not stop.

Cumhuriyet — which means simply “Republic” — was set up in 1924 after the Turkish republic was founded in 1923.

The daily has been fiercely critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has run front-page stories that have angered the Turkish head of state.

The court in Silivri, outside Istanbul, handed out multiple sentences to 13 journalists and executives for “aiding and abetting terror organisations without being a member” but they remain free pending appeal.

“No penalty can stop us from doing journalism. If needed, we will go to prison again but we will continue to do journalism,” editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu who was among those convicted told AFP after the verdict.

The judge ordered the release of Cumhuriyet chairman Akin Atalay who had been in jail for over 500 days despite his conviction.

Greeted by his wife Adalet and a crowd of supporters shortly after he walked free from prison, Atalay said Cumhuriyet daily would not succumb to pressure or threats.

“As we always say they cannot intimidate Cumhuriyet newspaper which will continue to tell the truth to its readers,” he told reporters.

Atalay said that they were taken “hostages” and the newspaper was demanded as a “ransom” but he added: “This newspaper cannot be bought with money … our colleagues will show how to do journalism.”

Accountant Emre Iper was also convicted on the separate charge of making terror propaganda and sentenced to three years and one month.

They were all charged with supporting, through their coverage, three organisations that Turkey views as terror groups — the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, and the Gulen movement blamed for the 2016 failed coup.

Supporters of the accused repeatedly said the charges against the journalists were absurd and that the trial was political.

Among those convicted are some of the biggest names in Turkish journalism including investigative reporter Ahmet Sik.

Sik is seen as one of Turkey’s most incisive critics of the Gulen movement and in 2011 wrote an explosive book “The Imam’s Army” exposing the grip the group had on key Turkish institutions.

He was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence while veteran journalist Kadri Gursel was sentenced to two years and six months.

The court handed cartoonist Musa Kart a sentence of three years and nine months while Sabuncu was sentenced to seven years and six months.

Sabuncu said the punishment meted out by the court was not only given to him “but to Turkey and to press freedom in Turkey” as authorities sought to deter others from real journalism.

However, he struck a defiant tone, adding that Cumhuriyet would “continue to do honest and honourable” journalism.

“It is the sword of Damocles. Do not be scared. Keep on doing journalism. Let’s keep on doing journalism together.”

Gursel said the verdict was “a serious blow” to press freedom.

“This means an ultimatum and a threat directed against people who announced their determination and insistence to do journalism,” the commentator told AFP.

Cumhuriyet headlined its report on the convictions with a warning to the Turkish authorities: “You will be shamed in front of history.”

“Today’s verdict is a turning point for the history of the press. It is the date of finishing off the journalism by means of the judiciary,” main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Sezgin Tanrikulu told AFP.

Amnesty International’s Turkey campaigner Milena Buyum lambasted the trial during which the prosecution “failed to produce a shred of evidence” of any criminal wrongdoing.

“These politically motivated sentences are clearly intended to instil fear and silence any form of dissent,” she said in a statement.

According to the P24 press freedom group, there are over 160 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested under the state of emergency imposed after the coup attempt in July 2016.

Turkey ranked 157 out of 180 countries listed in the 2018 World Press Freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday, dropping two places.
A Turkish court convicts and sentences thirteen Cumhuriyet journalists accused of supporting terrorist organisations. The newspaper is critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.