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ISTANBUL: A court on Friday sentenced six journalists and media employees accused of involvement in Turkey’s 2016 failed coup attempt to life prison terms, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
Anadolu Agency said the court in Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, convicted prominent journalists Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak and three other media sector employees of crimes against the state. One other defendant was acquitted.
They are the first journalists to be convicted over the July 15, 2016, coup, which Turkey says was orchestrated by a network led by US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen. The cleric denies involvement. Their conviction came as another court in the same courthouse ordered German journalist Deniz Yucel — detained in Turkey for a year — released from jail pending trial.
The defendants, who are expected to appeal the ruling, were charged with attempts against Turkey’s constitution and membership in a terror organization. The group were employed by Gulen-linked media organizations but have rejected the charges, denying any involvement in the coup attempt.
More than 38,000 people, including journalists, are in jail as part of an ongoing large-scale government crackdown on Gulen’s network of followers, launched in the aftermath of the coup. More than 110,000 have been sacked from government jobs.
Ahmet Altan, a former newspaper chief editor, and his brother, Mehmet Altan — a columnist and academic — were accused of appearing together with veteran journalist Ilicak in a political debate show on a Gulen-linked television channel. Prosecutors deemed that their comments indicated they had prior knowledge of the coup attempt.
In January, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay — another journalist being tried separately — should be released pending the outcome of their trials. But a lower court refused to implement the decision, raising concerns about rule of law in the country.