Turkish court frees leading journalist as press trial drags on
Prominent Turkish journalist Kadri Gursel has walked out of prison after 330 days, though the often ludicrous proceedings against him and 17 other Cumhuriyet journalists are far from over.
A Turkish court has freed veteran journalist Kadri Gursel, who spent almost a year in prison accused of terrorism links but five others remain behind bars in the latest hearing of a trial that human rights observers describe as a threat to journalism in the country.
Gursel, a Cumhuriyet columnist who also writes for Al-Monitor, said he was held for 330 days merely because he was a writer for the Turkish newspaper, one of the last domestic outlets critical of the government.
“There’s not much to celebrate or be happy about, because there are Cumhuriyet employees who are still being held unjustly, facing baseless accusations,” he told friends and family.
Gursel’s trial will continue with 17 journalists and employees of Cumhuriyet, one of Turkey’s oldest dailies, on charges they aided and abetted Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric said to be the mastermind behind the bungled coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016, and other illegal groups. They face up to 43 years in prison if convicted.
