Site icon Turkish Minute

Turkish court challenges top court reversal of Cumhuriyet journalists’ conviction

Cumhuriyet chairman Akin Atalay hugs his friends after being released from Silivri prison in front of the Cumhuriyet daily newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul on April 26, 2018. A Turkish court on April 25 convicted journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet daily newspaper 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. / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC

A Turkish court on Thursday decided to challenge a Supreme Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the court’s previous conviction of 12 former Cumhuriyet daily journalists, while at the same time acquitting Kadri Gürsel, a veteran journalist, of terrorism charges.

The court’s dissention will be heard by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The former Cumhuriyet journalists were convicted of aiding a terrorist organization and sentenced to prison.

The Constitutional Court in May ruled that the rights of Gürsel were violated during the prosecution.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) arrested scores of journalists critical of the government in the aftermath of a failed coup on July 15, 2016 on terrorism or coup charges under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.

Liked it? Take a second to support Turkish Minute on Patreon!
Exit mobile version