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Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 4 2012
Journalists to remain under arrest
ISTANBUL
Nedim Å?ener.
An Istanbul court ruled for continued arrests of two famous reporters
on trial for alleged links to Ergenekon group.
The pair said that press freedom and journalism itself ` instead of
journalists ` was on trial. The next hearing will take place on Jan.
23, journalists tweeting from the courthouse published on the
microblogging website Twitter.
`My responses to the accusations doesn't construe acceptance. We are
living in times in which we shall not speak of silence. This is a case
against press freedom,' said Ahmet Å?ık, one of those on trial.
"The situation is obvious. I do not request a discharge. I request
nothing. I am journalist and I have always been after the truth. I
never got any orders from anyone.'
The eighth hearing of the Oda TV case, in which 14 suspects, including
arrested journalists Ahmet Å?ık, Nedim Ã?ener and Soner Yalçın, are
being tried, continued yesterday.
The case has raised numerous concerns over media freedom in Turkey,
which is currently holding more than 100 members of the news media in
jail, one of the highest numbers worldwide.
`I didn't bring my book, God forbid it might explode,' told Å?ık in the
court referring to his book which was declared `illegal' and
confiscated by police before it was published.
Nedim Å?ener and Å?ık, investigative journalists who were arrested in
March and have been held since in a top-security prison outside
Istanbul, were among the 14 defendants in court to open their defense
yesterday. The defendants are accused of having ties to the Ergenekon
gang, which allegedly tried to overthrow the government by first
fomenting chaos in society.
Many journalists, academics and intellectuals attended the trial in
order to give support to the arrested journalists.
Å?ık has written books about how the Fethullah Gülen movement, which is
centered around a Turkish theologian based in Pennsylvania and is
considered to be close to the ruling party, has infiltrated the
police.
Deriding the case, he said: `With this indictment, you could accuse
all journalists of being a member of Ergenekon. It's ridiculous. There
is an organization as you claim. But its name is contra-guerilla, that
is, the deep state, not Ergenekon.'
Å?ık said he had never met Yalçın, the journalist and owner of the Oda
TV, a website known for its criticism of the government.
`I have never met Soner Yalçın, whom I am allegedly taking orders
from. Ideologically, we are on opposite sides,' Å?ık added.
`Eleven people are in their 11th month in jail. We don't even know
what we are accused of. There's no crime in prosecutor's indictment,'
he said.
Å?ener, an award-winning journalist who has written books about
Turkey's clandestine deep-state activities, greeted observers as he
entered a packed courtroom, saying, `Welcome to the theater' and
taking a bow.
`I was tried in almost 100 different cases because of what I have
written in previous years. But for the first time in my life, I have
been arrested and tried for a book which I haven't written,' he said.
Å?ener said there was a structure inside the police and the national
intelligence services that had tried to cover up the truth of the
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
`I don't want my daughter to grow up in a society where Hrant's
murderers are free,' Ã?ener said.
Å?ener said he was awarded with many national and international
journalism awards.
`My name is on the `Press freedom heroes' list at the International
Press Institute with those of [murdered daily Milliyet journalist]
Abdi İpekçi and Hrant Dink. In addition, I was awarded with a PEN
Literary Award which was also given to Hrant Dink and [human rights
defender] Ragıp Zarakolu. Unfortunately Abdi İpekçi and Hrant Dink are
assassinated, I and Ragıp Zarakolu have been arrested,' Å?ener added.
Several hundred suspects, including retired senior military officers,
academics, lawyers and journalists have been detained in cases related
to Ergenekon.
Yalçın Küçük, an author and television debate show presenter, Yalçın
and several colleagues from Oda TV also participated in the hearing
yesterday.
Also in the dock was a former police chief, Hanefi Avcı, who has
written about the alleged infiltration of the police by Gülenists.
January/05/2012
Jan 4 2012
Journalists to remain under arrest
ISTANBUL
Nedim Å?ener.
An Istanbul court ruled for continued arrests of two famous reporters
on trial for alleged links to Ergenekon group.
The pair said that press freedom and journalism itself ` instead of
journalists ` was on trial. The next hearing will take place on Jan.
23, journalists tweeting from the courthouse published on the
microblogging website Twitter.
`My responses to the accusations doesn't construe acceptance. We are
living in times in which we shall not speak of silence. This is a case
against press freedom,' said Ahmet Å?ık, one of those on trial.
"The situation is obvious. I do not request a discharge. I request
nothing. I am journalist and I have always been after the truth. I
never got any orders from anyone.'
The eighth hearing of the Oda TV case, in which 14 suspects, including
arrested journalists Ahmet Å?ık, Nedim Ã?ener and Soner Yalçın, are
being tried, continued yesterday.
The case has raised numerous concerns over media freedom in Turkey,
which is currently holding more than 100 members of the news media in
jail, one of the highest numbers worldwide.
`I didn't bring my book, God forbid it might explode,' told Å?ık in the
court referring to his book which was declared `illegal' and
confiscated by police before it was published.
Nedim Å?ener and Å?ık, investigative journalists who were arrested in
March and have been held since in a top-security prison outside
Istanbul, were among the 14 defendants in court to open their defense
yesterday. The defendants are accused of having ties to the Ergenekon
gang, which allegedly tried to overthrow the government by first
fomenting chaos in society.
Many journalists, academics and intellectuals attended the trial in
order to give support to the arrested journalists.
Å?ık has written books about how the Fethullah Gülen movement, which is
centered around a Turkish theologian based in Pennsylvania and is
considered to be close to the ruling party, has infiltrated the
police.
Deriding the case, he said: `With this indictment, you could accuse
all journalists of being a member of Ergenekon. It's ridiculous. There
is an organization as you claim. But its name is contra-guerilla, that
is, the deep state, not Ergenekon.'
Å?ık said he had never met Yalçın, the journalist and owner of the Oda
TV, a website known for its criticism of the government.
`I have never met Soner Yalçın, whom I am allegedly taking orders
from. Ideologically, we are on opposite sides,' Å?ık added.
`Eleven people are in their 11th month in jail. We don't even know
what we are accused of. There's no crime in prosecutor's indictment,'
he said.
Å?ener, an award-winning journalist who has written books about
Turkey's clandestine deep-state activities, greeted observers as he
entered a packed courtroom, saying, `Welcome to the theater' and
taking a bow.
`I was tried in almost 100 different cases because of what I have
written in previous years. But for the first time in my life, I have
been arrested and tried for a book which I haven't written,' he said.
Å?ener said there was a structure inside the police and the national
intelligence services that had tried to cover up the truth of the
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
`I don't want my daughter to grow up in a society where Hrant's
murderers are free,' Ã?ener said.
Å?ener said he was awarded with many national and international
journalism awards.
`My name is on the `Press freedom heroes' list at the International
Press Institute with those of [murdered daily Milliyet journalist]
Abdi İpekçi and Hrant Dink. In addition, I was awarded with a PEN
Literary Award which was also given to Hrant Dink and [human rights
defender] Ragıp Zarakolu. Unfortunately Abdi İpekçi and Hrant Dink are
assassinated, I and Ragıp Zarakolu have been arrested,' Å?ener added.
Several hundred suspects, including retired senior military officers,
academics, lawyers and journalists have been detained in cases related
to Ergenekon.
Yalçın Küçük, an author and television debate show presenter, Yalçın
and several colleagues from Oda TV also participated in the hearing
yesterday.
Also in the dock was a former police chief, Hanefi Avcı, who has
written about the alleged infiltration of the police by Gülenists.
January/05/2012