Nine writers and employees of the daily Özgür Gündem were tried on the charge of “propagandizing for a terrorist organisation [PKK]” for the articles published in the Özgür Gündem, which was closed with the Decree Law.
The final hearing of the case was held at the İstanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court on May 21.
The court ruled Ayşe Batumlu and Reyhan Hacıoğlu to be sentenced to 1 year, 3 months each; Eren Keskin and Reyhan Çapan to 3 years, 9 months; Hüseyin Aykol to 2 years, 1 month; Hüseyin Güçlü and Tahir Temel to 1 year, 6 months imprisonment for “terror propaganda.”
The prison sentences of Reyhan Hacıoğlu and Ayşe Batumlu have been deferred pursuant to Article 51/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
The court has also ruled that the case files of Filiz Koçali, Enver Baysal, Hasan Başak, İhsan Yorulmaz, Muzaffer Ayata, Serbest Zan and Züleyha Yılmaz to be separated on the ground that the warrants against them cannot be executed and their testimonies have not been taken.
As for the defendants Ayşe Berktay, Celalettin Can, Cemal Bozkurt, Çetin Ulu, Nuray Özdoğan, Emrullah Kurcan, Ergin Atabey and Özlem Söyler, they have been acquitted of “propagandizing for a terrorist organization.” The charges brought against Bülent Alp were dropped as the statute of limitations has been violated as per the Press Law.
