Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejects release demand journalists of Alpay and Altan

ISTANBUL

The Constitutional Court on Feb. 2 rejected the release demand of two Turkish journalists, Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, despite earlier ruling that the rights of imprisoned journalists had been violated, daily Cumhuriyet reported on Feb. 4.

Following the ruling on Jan. 11, the two journalists, who have both been in prison for more than a year, demanded via their lawyers to be released. However, overruling its earlier decision that necessitated the release of Altay and Alpan, the Constitutional Court has rejected the demand, stating that such a request can only be approved when there is a serious threat to the right to life or to material and moral integrity.

Altan’s lawyer, Ergin Cinmen, described the court’s refusal to release the journalists as “unlawful.”

The two journalists, who have both been in prison for more than a year, were jailed in the aftermath of Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt. 

Both Altan and Alpay have been accused of “links to terrorist groups” and “attempting to overthrow the government,” charges that both have denied.

Around 145 journalists are currently in jail in Turkey, according to the Turkish Journalists’ Association.