Ruling expected in Cumhuriyet journalists’ trial

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court is expected to announce its ruling in the controversial trial of Turkish journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül during a fourth hearing on May 6. 

Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Dündar and the daily’s Ankara bureau chief, Gül, are on trial for “leaking state secrets” due to stories published about Turkish intelligence trucks bound for Syria with hidden weapons in early 2014. They were arrested on Nov. 26, 2015, and released on Feb. 26 following a Constitutional Court decision. 

“We’ve come a long way in this case. I think this is the end. They’ve tried everything since the beginning,” Dündar told reporters in front of Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse on May 6, while representatives from opposition parties and workers’ unions also attended the hearing in support of the journalists.

“Journalism is on trial here,” Dündar added. 

The prosecutor has demanded up to 31 years and six months in prison for Dündar and up to 10 years for Gül, Doğan News Agency reported.

The hearing is closed to the public.

An Istanbul court recently rejected a prosecutor’s demand to merge Dündar and Gül’s case with another in which prosecutors and soldiers are being tried for searching the trucks belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency that are at the heart of the larger controversy.

The rejection came as Dündar and Gül appeared in court for the third hearing of the case last month.