FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—The decision by the 26th High Criminal Court in Istanbul to convict Ahmet and Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order through the use of force and violence​ is​ a horrific assault on freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Turkey, and on the rights and liberties of these individuals, PEN America said​​ ​in a statement ​today. ​​The trio—along with three other journalists—w​ere sentenced​​ ​to life in prison.

“​These sentences are an egregious violation of the rights of Ahmet, Mehmet, and Nazli,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of Free Expression at Risk Programs at PEN America. “Today’s verdict serves as incontrovertible evidence of the severe erosion of Turkey’s democracy, demonstrates that the courts too have ​utterly ​abandoned their responsibility to uphold the rule of law and safeguard freedom of speech, and sets a horrible precedent for the other trials to come.”

In September 2016, Ahmet and Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak were detained as part of a wave of arrests of thinkers and writers following the failed July 2016 coup attempt. Arrested for allegedly giving “subliminal messages” to announce the coup on a television roundtable discussion show hosted by Ilicak, the Altan brothers and Ilicak were charged with attempting to overthrow the “constitutional order,” “interfering with the work of the national assembly,” and “interfering with the work of the government” through violence or force. The three have been serving time in pre-trial detention since their 2016 arrests.

Following the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, and the imposition of a state of emergency, over 180 news outlets have been shut down under laws passed by presidential decree. There are now at least 148 writers, journalists, and media workers in prison, making Turkey the country with the highest number of imprisoned journalists in the world. PEN America has campaigned on behalf of a number of those writers incarcerated or otherwise facing restrictions on their freedom of expression or movement, including the Altan brothers, Ahmet Sik, and Zehra Doğan.

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. pen.org

CONTACT: Summer Lopez, Senior Director of Free Expression Programs: [email protected]​</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Friday sentenced six journalists, including two prominent brothers, to life in jail for aiding plotters of a 2016 failed coup, state media said, a sharp turnaround after the country’s highest court ordered one of the men released.

Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his brother Ahmet, also a journalist, were accused of giving coded messages on a television talk show a day before the abortive military putsch. Nazli Ilicak, another well known journalist, was also among the sentenced. All six have denied the charges.

The case has underscored both the deep concern about press freedom in Turkey as well as worries about the independence of the judiciary under President Tayyip Erdogan. Since the coup more than 50,000 people have been jailed and more than 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs.

The verdict drew fierce criticism from rights groups and international bodies, including from the U.N. and OSCE experts on media freedom, who said Turkey should reverse the decision.

“These harsh sentences are an unacceptable and unprecedented assault on freedom of expression and on the media in Turkey,” David Kaye and Harlem Desir said in a joint statement issued by the U.N. human rights office.

The court imposed aggravated life sentences on the six defendants who were found guilty of “seeking to overthrow the constitutional order by force”, the state-run Anadolu news agency. At least three of the men have already been in prison for about 17 months.

The constitutional court, Turkey’s highest, had previously ruled for Mehmet Altan’s release, saying that his detention amounted to the violation of his rights. However, the penal court rejected the request and decided to keep him in jail as his trial continued.

The sentencing came on the same day that another Turkish court ordered the release of Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist who spent just over a year in pre-trial detention without an indictment, in a case that tested relations between Ankara and Berlin.

CODED MESSAGES

Ahmet Altan was charged after he said on a TV show: “Whatever the developments were that lead to military coups in Turkey, by making the same decisions, Erdogan is paving the same path”.

On the same program, Mehmet Altan referred to “another structure” within the government that was closely watching the developments to “take its hand out of the bag”.

Prosecutors said that the comments were coded messages to followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup.

“This sets a devastating precedent for scores of other journalists charged with similarly groundless charges,” said Sarah Clarke, of writers organization PEN International.

The lawyer for the Altan brothers said they would appeal against the verdict.

“This is a trial that wiped out freedom of thought,” Ergin Cinmen, the lawyer, told Reuters. “This verdict will be definitely reversed. Turkey cannot go on with this verdict.”</s>A Turkish court has sentenced six journalists to life in prison in relation to a failed coup attempt in 2016, state media reported.

The six journalists received aggravated life sentences for "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order", an unnamed judicial source told Anadolu news agency on Friday.

Turkey has accused the journalists of having links to a movement headed by exiled Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara alleges was behind a deadly failed putsch in July 2016. Gulen, who is based in the United States, denies the accusation.

The individuals sentenced on Friday in the Istanbul court include Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of Taraf newspaper, his brother, journalist and academic Mehmet Altan, and prominent Turkish journalist Nazli Ilicak.

The journalists, who had been detained for about a year, can appeal the ruling all the way up to the Turkish Supreme Court, Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu reported from Istanbul.

"Aggravated life sentence means if prisoners are granted immunity by any other future government or any other judiciary, these people cannot benefit from that," Koseoglu said.

In a post-coup purge, Turkey detained and summarily fired tens of thousands of people, including journalists, academics, teachers, civil servants and police officers, for allegedly having links to the Gulenist movement.

About 150 Turkish journalists are believed to be imprisoned in Turkey, according to the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECMPF) said.

The ruling on Friday was condemned by press freedom and human rights groups.

Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, said that "the Turkish judiciary and the regime that controls the judges ridicule themselves in front of the world" with the ruling.

"This sets a devastating precedent for scores of other journalists charged with similarly groundless charges," said Sarah Clarke, policy and advocacy manager at PEN International, a freedom of expression advocacy group.

The sentences came a few hours after Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel was released after more than a year in prison.

"We are relieved and happy about the news," Lutz Kinkel, ECMPF managing director, said in a statement.

Yucel still faces a charge of "supporting terrorism", which comes with a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison, the ECMPF said.

"This is a good day for all of us," he said in a statement.

“I am very pleased with this decision by the Turkish judiciary. And I am even happier for Deniz Yucel and his family," he added.

Gabriel thanked the Turkish government for expediting the case and said it "has always emphasised that it will not exert any political influence on the court's decision-making".</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Friday sentenced six journalists, including two prominent brothers, to life in jail for aiding plotters of a 2016 failed coup, state media said, a sharp turnaround after the country’s highest court ordered one of the men released.

Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his brother Ahmet, also a journalist, were accused of giving coded messages on a television talk show a day before the abortive military putsch. Nazli Ilicak, another well known journalist, was also among the sentenced. All six have denied the charges.

The case has underscored both the deep concern about press freedom in Turkey as well as worries about the independence of the judiciary under President Tayyip Erdogan. Since the coup more than 50,000 people have been jailed and more than 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Court officials were not immediately available to confirm the report from TRT Haber, a state-owned broadcaster. At least three of the men have already been in prison for about 17 months.

The constitutional court, Turkey’s highest, had previously ruled for Mehmet Altan’s release, saying that his detention amounted to the violation of his rights. However, the penal court rejected the request and decided to keep him in jail as his trial continued.

The sentencing came on the same day that another Turkish court ordered the release of Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist who spent just over a year in pre-trial detention without an indictment, in a case that tested relations between Ankara and Berlin.

Ahmet Altan was charged after he said on a TV show: “Whatever the developments were that lead to military coups in Turkey, by making the same decisions, Erdogan is paving the same path”.

On the same programme, Mehmet Altan referred to “another structure” within the government that was closely watching the developments to “take its hand out of the bag”.

Prosecutors said that the comments were coded messages to followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup.

“This sets a devastating precedent for scores of other journalists charged with similarly groundless charges,” said Sarah Clarke, of writers organisation PEN International.

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion, David Kaye, described it as a “snapshot of Turkey’s repression of fundamental rights”.

“The court decision,” he said in a statement, “critically threatens journalism and with it the remnants of freedom of expression and media freedom in Turkey.”

The lawyer for the Altan brothers said they would appeal against the verdict.

“This is a trial that wiped out freedom of thought,” Ergin Cinmen, the lawyer, told Reuters. “This verdict will be definitely reversed. Turkey cannot go on with this verdict.”</s>A TURKISH COURT has jailed three prominent journalists for life over links to the group blamed for the 2016 failed coup, a verdict that raised new alarm over freedom of expression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Veteran journalists and writers Nazli Ilicak and the brothers Mehmet and Ahmet Altan were handed the life sentences at a trial in Istanbul over alleged connections to the outlawed group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Similar sentences were given to three other suspects.

They were all convicted of seeking to usurp the constitutional order in Turkey.

Gulen, who built up substantial influence in Turkey through media, education and banking interests before falling out with the authorities in 2013, denies having links to the coup bid.

The ruling came as Turkey freed German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, the correspondent of the Die Welt daily, who had been held for more than a year without charge in a separate case.

According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 156 jailed journalists in Turkey, most of whom were held in the mass crackdown after the failed coup aimed at ousting Erdogan.

‘Disregard for the rule of law’

The International Press Institute (IPI) said it was “appalled” at the verdict, describing it as in “utter disregard for the rule of law”.

“This is a dark day for press freedom and for justice in Turkey,” said Gauri van Gulik, Europe Director for Amnesty International, adding the move had “drained the joy” from the Yucel release.

In a joint statement, David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, and Harlem Desir, the OSCE representative on media freedom, said the terms “represent an unparalleled level of suppression of dissenting voices in Turkey”.

Speaking in Ankara hours before the verdict was delivered, the head of a top European rights watchdog expressed concern over the arrests of journalists, MPs, mayors and activists since the coup.

Activists release balloons as they gather outside the court in Istanbul, Monday, July 24, 2017, protesting against the trial of journalists. Source: Can Erok via PA

“The result of casting the net too widely is to spread a chilling effect across society as a whole,” said Council of Europe chief Thorbjorn Jagland.

Ilicak, 73, was one of the very first journalists arrested in July after the coup bid. Briefly an MP from 1999, she wrote for several dailies including Hurriyet.

Ahmet Altan, 67, is a novelist and journalist who has written for some of Turkey’s leading dailies including Hurriyet and Milliyet. He founded the now-closed opposition daily Taraf.

Mehmet Altan, 65, has written books on Turkish politics. Both were detained in early September although Ahmet Altan was released in mid-September before rapidly being re-arrested.

In the same case, the court gave life sentences to former Zaman newspaper marketing manager Yakup Simsek, police academy instructor Sukru Tugrul Ozsengul and Zaman layout designer Fevzi Yazici.

The Altan brothers and Ilicak are also accused of appearing together on a TV show on a pro-Gulen channel just before the coup bid and issuing a message that the attempted overthrow was in the offing.

Mehmet Altan was in January ordered to be freed by the Constitutional Court on the grounds his rights had been violated. But the ruling was not implemented by the criminal courts in a move that outraged supporters.

The failure to release Mehmet Altan and fellow writer Sahin Alpay — who is being tried in a separate case — raised new alarm over the rule of law in Turkey.

Jagland praised the Constitutional Court’s ruling and warned: “These decisions are binding. This is guaranteed by the Turkish Constitution. Other courts must abide by them.

After the jail sentences were announced, the CoE’s spokesperson asked in a statement: “Why is evidence that is judged insufficient by the highest Turkish court to justify pre-trial detention now deemed sufficient for a life sentence?”

In another prominent process seen as a test case for press freedoms, 17 current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from the opposition Cumhuriyet (“Republic”) daily remain on trial on charges of supporting terror groups.

Three of the suspects are still behind bars, including investigative reporter Ahmet Sik. The next hearing in that case is on 9 March.

Read: ‘It was maybe 30 minutes, but it felt like 3 hours’: Irish family caught up in Florida attack></s>A Turkish court on Friday sentenced six journalists and media employees accused of involvement in Turkey's 2016 failed coup attempt to life in prison without parole, the state-run news agency reported.

The Anadolu Agency said the court in Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, convicted prominent journalists Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak and three other media employees of crimes against the state. One defendant was acquitted.

"This is a dark day for press freedom and for justice in Turkey and sets a chilling precedent for scores of other journalists facing trials on similar trumped-up terrorism charges," said Gauri van Gulik, Europe Director for Amnesty International.

They are the first journalists to be convicted over the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, which Turkey says was orchestrated by a network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement.

Their conviction came as another court in the same courthouse ordered German journalist Deniz Yucel — who has been detained in Turkey for a year — released from jail pending trial.

The defendants were charged with attempts against Turkey's constitution and membership in a terror organization. They were employed by Gulen-linked media organizations but have rejected the charges, denying any involvement in the coup attempt.

They were given "aggravated" life sentences without the possibility of parole and other rights.

"Of course we are going to appeal the verdict," Mehmet Altan's lawyer, Ergin Cinmen, told The Associated Press. "It's a decision of the century and will need to be taught in law schools."

"It's a decision where freedoms of expression and thought have been destroyed," he said.

More than 38,000 people, including journalists, are in jail as part of an ongoing large-scale Turkish government crackdown on Gulen's followers launched after the coup. More than 110,000 others have been sacked from government jobs. Many proclaim their innocence.

"These verdicts, the first against journalists accused of being connected to the July 2016 failed coup, set a devastating precedent for the many other journalists and writers in Turkey who are being tried on similarly spurious charges,"?said Jennifer Clement, president of PEN International.

Ahmet Altan, a former newspaper chief editor, and his brother, Mehmet Altan — a columnist and academic — were accused of appearing together with veteran journalist Ilicak in a political debate show on a Gulen-linked television channel. Prosecutors deemed that their comments indicated they had prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

In January, Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay — another journalist being tried separately — should be released pending the outcome of their trials. But a lower court refused to implement the decision, raising concerns about rule of law in the country.</s>A Turkish court on Friday sentenced six journalists, including two prominent brothers, to life in jail for aiding plotters of a 2016 failed coup, state media said, a sharp turnaround after the country’s highest court ordered one of the men released.

Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his brother Ahmet, also a journalist, were charged with giving coded messages on a television talk show a day before the abortive military putsch. Nazli Ilicak, another well known journalist, was also among the sentenced.

The case has underscored both the deep concern about press freedom in Turkey as well as worries about the independence of the judiciary under president Tayyip Erdogan. Since the coup more than 50,000 people have been jailed and more than 150,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs.

Court officials were not immediately available to confirm the report from TRT Haber, a state-owned broadcaster. All six have denied the charges. At least three of the men have already been in prison for some 17 months.

The constitutional court, Turkey’s highest, had previously ruled for Mehmet Altan’s release, saying that his detention amounted to the violation of his rights. However, the penal court rejected that request and decided to keep him in jail as his trial continued.

Ahmet Altan was charged after he said on a programme: “Whatever the developments were that lead to military coups in Turkey, by making the same decisions, Erdogan is paving the same path”.

On the same programme, Mehmet Altan referred to “another structure” within the government that was closely watching the developments to “take its hand out of the bag”.

Prosecutors charged that the comments were coded messages to followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup. –Reuters</s>A Turkish court has sentenced six prominent journalists to life in jail over the country’s failed coup in 2016.

Three were sentenced on charges of aiding the network blamed for the failed coup, TRT Haber TV reported, even after Turkey’s highest court had ordered the release of one of them.

Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his journalist brother Ahmet, were charged with giving coded messages in a television talk show a day before the abortive 15 July military coup. Nazlı Ilıcak, another veteran journalist, was also handed life imprisonment.

Three other defendants were also sentenced to life for trying to abolish the constitution and overthrow the government.</s>ANKARA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Friday sentenced three prominent journalists to life in jail on charges of aiding the network blamed for a failed coup in 2016, TRT Haber television said, even after Turkey’s highest court had ordered the release of one of them. Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his journalist brother Ahmet, were charged with giving coded messages in a television talk show a day before the abortive July 15 military coup. Nazli Ilicak, another veteran journalist, was also handed life imprisonment.

Three other defendants were also sentenced to life for trying to abolish the constitution and overthrow the government. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan)</s>ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Friday jailed three prominent journalists for life on charges of links to the group blamed for the 2016 failed coup, state media said.

Veteran journalists and writers Nazli Ilicak and the brothers Mehmet and Ahmet Altan were handed the life sentences at a trial in Istanbul over links to the outlawed group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, the Anadolu news agency said.

A similar punishment was handed to three other suspects. Gulen denies links to the coup bid.

Ilicak, 73, was one of the very first journalists arrested in July after the coup bid. Briefly an MP from 1999, she wrote for several dailies including Hurriyet.

Ahmet Altan, 67, is a novelist and journalist who has written for some of Turkey’s leading dailies including Hurriyet and Milliyet as well as founding the now closed opposition daily Taraf.

Mehmet Altan, 65, has written books on Turkish politics. Both were detained in early September although Ahmet Altan was released in mid-September before rapidly being re-arrested.

In the same case, the court gave life sentences for former Zaman newspaper marketing manager Yakup Simsek, police academy instructor Sukru Tugrul Ozsengul and Zaman layout designer Fevzi Yazici.

The Altan brothers and Ilicak are also accused of appearing together on a TV show on a pro-Gulen channel just before the coup bid and issuing a message that the attempted overthrow was in the offing.

Mehmet Altan was in January ordered to be freed by the Constitutional Court but its ruling was not implemented by the criminal court in a move that outraged supporters.

The failure to release Mehmet Altan and fellow writer Sahin Alpay — who is being tried in a separate case — raised new alarm over the rule of law in Turkey.

The Ankara-based Constitutional Court had ruled that Mehmet Altan and Alpay should be freed on the grounds that their rights had been violated.

But the Istanbul criminal court refused to implement the order, saying it had not been properly communicated in a move that raised fears of political interference.—AFP
A court in Turkey hands life sentences to six journalists, including Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak.