Skip to main content

Turkish courtroom already circus as 'Cumhuriyet 17' trial opens

As outraged observers look on, the trial of 17 journalists and managers of opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet began today, the anniversary of the end of Turkish press censorship in 1908.
Journalists and press freedom activists release balloons during a demonstration in solidarity with the members of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet who were accused of supporting a terrorist group outside a courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 24, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX3CNRK

July 24 is the anniversary of the supposed lifting of press censorship in Turkey, an occasion that is marked by Turkish journalists as a day of celebration. It was therefore sadly ironic that the long awaited trial of 17 journalists and managers of Cumhuriyet, Turkey’s most respected opposition daily newspaper, started today. They face an outlandish range of thinly supported terror charges and each faces up to 43 years if convicted.

The “Cumhuriyet 17” include veteran columnist Kadri Gursel, who also writes for Al-Monitor; award-winning investigative reporter Ahmet Sik and cartoonist Musa Kart. Their plight is being watched closely by press watchdogs, lawmakers and fellow journalists from Turkey and beyond. The globally acclaimed French cartoonist Plantu was among those to lend support, sharing a biting image depicting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s suppression of the press via Twitter.

Many were at hand to witness the day’s proceedings, injecting an air of festivity and defiance with multicolored plastic balloons that they popped outside the Cagalayan courtroom in Istanbul.

“There were hundreds of people trying to get in to watch the case this morning and it turned into a shouting and pushing match that delayed the start,” said Al-Monitor contributor Ayla Jean Yackley. There were dramatic scenes as defendants’ loved ones strained to touch them. Howls of protest erupted when gendarmerie guards intervened to prevent Gursel’s 10-year-old only child, Erdem, from hugging him.

“Why this cruelty, why?” tweeted Umit Nazli Boyner, a prominent Turkish businesswoman. Impunity served up with dollops of cruelty has become something of a hallmark of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party after last year’s failed coup.

Since then, the Turkish authorities have cracked down on suspected coup plotters, most accused of links to Fethullah Gulen, the manipulative Pennsylvania-based Sunni cleric who the government insists masterminded it all. The Cumhuriyet journalists are among tens of thousands of Turkish citizens who have been caught up in the government’s dragnet.

At the last count at least 150,000 people had been sacked from government jobs and academia and 50,000 or more jailed over their alleged collusion. With over 150 journalists currently behind bars, Turkey remains the world’s biggest jailer of journalists. Yet in a recent interview with the BBC, Erdogan claimed only two of them were real journalists. The rest, he insisted in a recent public address, consist of murderers, fraudsters, thieves and child molesters.

The bulk of jailed media workers were employed by now shuttered Gulen-affiliated titles, a crime in and of itself regardless of what they reported or the opinions they aired. Victims who fall under this category include Sahin Alpay, a septuagenarian intellectual who is in ailing health, as well as the respected liberal economist Mehmet Altan. Their plight has attracted far less sympathy among Turkey’s urban secularists, partly because many believe that not only was Gulen mired in the coup but that he helped propel Erdogan to power in the first place. Many others have been imprisoned over their affiliation with pro-Kurdish outlets.

Gursel was the first to take the stand today and Erdogan might have had second thoughts, had he listened to his trenchant defense. “I am here before you today not because I knowingly and willingly assisted a terrorist organization but because I am an independent, probing and critical journalist,” Gursel said as he set about methodically deconstructing prosecutors’ claims that he was connected to Gulen.

Anyone familiar with Gursel’s work knows that he was as fiercely critical of the preacher and his octopus-like network as he is of Erdogan. Sik’s case seems doubly Orwellian because he was jailed in 2011 at the instigation of a Gulen-linked prosecutor over an unpublished book he had written called “The Imam’s Army,” which chronicled Gulenist penetration of the state.

The absurdity of the prosecution's case was further highlighted by the chairman of the newspaper's executive board. Akin Atalay, who is also being remanded in custody, noted that evidence proving his "culpability" included records of a 2011 bank transfer to a worker in payment of a floor polishing job. The worker's son had apparently dined at a restaurant whose owner was under investigation for financial crimes, hence Atalay is apparently guilty by association.

As of this writing, the hearing of the Cumhuriyet 17 was continuing as the defendants took turns offering their testimony. Meanwhile, the government’s apparent lack of self-awareness was embarrassingly on display today when Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu congratulated “all those journalists who work night and day to arrive at the truth” in a tweet.

His words prompted a sarcastic response from Cumhuriyet columnist Ozgur Mumcu, who tweeted back, “Support from the foreign minister to the Cumhuriyet managers and writers. Thank you, Mr. Minister.”

Join hundreds of Middle East professionals with Al-Monitor PRO.

Business and policy professionals use PRO to monitor the regional economy and improve their reports, memos and presentations. Try it for free and cancel anytime.

Already a Member? Sign in

Free

The Middle East's Best Newsletters

Join over 50,000 readers who access our journalists dedicated newsletters, covering the top political, security, business and tech issues across the region each week.
Delivered straight to your inbox.

Free

What's included:
Our Expertise

Free newsletters available:

  • The Takeaway & Week in Review
  • Middle East Minute (AM)
  • Daily Briefing (PM)
  • Business & Tech Briefing
  • Security Briefing
  • Gulf Briefing
  • Israel Briefing
  • Palestine Briefing
  • Turkey Briefing
  • Iraq Briefing
Expert

Premium Membership

Join the Middle East's most notable experts for premium memos, trend reports, live video Q&A, and intimate in-person events, each detailing exclusive insights on business and geopolitical trends shaping the region.

$25.00 / month
billed annually

Become Member Start with 1-week free trial
What's included:
Our Expertise AI-driven

Memos - premium analytical writing: actionable insights on markets and geopolitics.

Live Video Q&A - Hear from our top journalists and regional experts.

Special Events - Intimate in-person events with business & political VIPs.

Trend Reports - Deep dive analysis on market updates.

All premium Industry Newsletters - Monitor the Middle East's most important industries. Prioritize your target industries for weekly review:

  • Capital Markets & Private Equity
  • Venture Capital & Startups
  • Green Energy
  • Supply Chain
  • Sustainable Development
  • Leading Edge Technology
  • Oil & Gas
  • Real Estate & Construction
  • Banking

We also offer team plans. Please send an email to pro.support@al-monitor.com and we'll onboard your team.

Already a Member? Sign in

Turkey Briefing Turkey Briefing

Turkey Briefing

Top Turkey stories in your inbox each week

Trend Reports

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (4th R) attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on February 22, 2019. (Photo by HOW HWEE YOUNG / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images)
Premium

From roads to routers: The future of China-Middle East connectivity

A general view shows the solar plant in Uyayna, north of Riyadh, on March 29, 2018. - On March 27, Saudi announced a deal with Japan's SoftBank to build the world's biggest solar plant. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)
Premium

Regulations on Middle East renewable energy industry starting to take shape

Start your PRO membership today.

Join the Middle East's top business and policy professionals to access exclusive PRO insights today.

Join Al-Monitor PRO Start with 1-week free trial