Istanbul prosecutor seeks acquittal for OdaTV case suspects

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul prosecutor has sought the acquittal on all charges for 13 suspects charged with membership in the Ergenekon organization in the OdaTV case. 

The case that began after a probe in 2011 saw the arrest of over 200 suspects in a decade-old legal battle over allegations that they were aiming to overthrow the Turkish government. 

In the eighth hearing of the case, 13 suspects which included writers and journalists Ahmet Şık, Yalçın Küçük, Nedim Şener and Hanefi Avcı, prosecutor Ali Kaya said there was insufficient evidence over the allegations made against the suspects, who were initially accused of being involved in activity that was beyond the remit of journalism.

The prosecutor argued that there was insufficient evidence over the existence of the Ergenekon organization, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeals in April 2016. The court ruled that the “Ergenekon Terrorist Organization,” the source of all the allegations, did not actually exist, and dropped all charges in the case that accused the organization of being Turkey’s deep state.

The OdaTV case began in 2011 after police teams found documents in raids that the suspects’ seized documents resembled those found in Ergenekon operations and that the suspects were making broadcasts and writing articles criticizing the Ergenekon trials.  

The suspects were charged with membership in the Ergenekon organization, creating an environment of chaos, inciting people to hostility and hatred, obtaining and revealing secret documents, attempting to influence a fair trial and illegally recording personal data. 

Meanwhile, Şık objected to the fact that the prosecutor’s demand for an acquittal could be done with such a “simple ruling.” 

“The two lawyers who were tasked with defending me are now currently arrested along with eight other journalists due to another allegation and plot. I want time for these subjects to be clarified,” Şık said. 

Küçük, meanwhile, said he would file a complaint to demand compensation for the “long duration for the identification of the injustices and illegalities that were conducted during this period.”

The court adjourned the trial until Feb. 15, 2017, to provide time for the suspects to prepare their testimonies.