10 suspects face four years in jail over Hürriyet print house attack

Mesut Hasan Benli - ANKARA

Ten suspects face up to four years in prison each over the attack on daily Hürriyet’s printing house in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The indictment prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office carries the penalty of up to four years in prison for each of the 10 defendants. 

The case was initially filed against a total of 11 suspects, including one under the age 18, on charges of “damaging private property,” after the printing house building was attacked on Sept. 8.
 
The indictment says a group physically attacked the Doğan Printing Center on the evening of Sept. 8. 

“Nine of the street lights along the road that leads to the security box of the printing center were broken and roadblocks at the entrance and exit of the building were broken, according to the crime scene investigation report,” the indictment stated. 

The 11 suspects were identified based on CCTV footage and research in the case file, it added.

One suspect under the age 18, identified only by the initials R.K.A., is being tried on charges of “damaging private property” and “taking part in [violent] demonstrations and marches.”

The attacks on the printing house came amid a series of attacks against daily Hürriyet’s office buildings in Istanbul and Ankara in early September.

Hürriyet’s Istanbul headquarters and Ankara offices were pelted with stones by club-wielding protesters on Sept. 8, less than 48 hours after a similar attack by a group led by Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Abdurrahim Boynukalın, who delivered a fiery speech at the site.

Shortly before the attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had renewed his tough public criticism of Hürriyet, accusing it of “distorting” his words.