ÖZGÜR GÜNDEM CASE

No Plea, No Attorney, No Defendant but Penalty in 22nd Heavy Penal Court

In Özgür Gündem trials, Canpolat, Baysoy and Küçükkeleş have been penalized by İstanbul 22nd Heavy Penal Court while their attorneys were absent and the court didn’t hear their defenses.

Elif Akgül

No Plea, No Attorney, No Defendant but Penalty in 22nd Heavy Penal Court

Click to read the article in Turkish

The court fined and sentenced Cengiz Baysoy, who served as Editor-in-Chief on Watch at closed Özgür Gündem newspaper, while his attorney was absent and the court didn’t hear his defense.

Tried over an article published on the day of serving as Editor-in-Chief on Watch, İmam Canpolat was sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison in the same trial.

Çilem Küçükkeleş, one of the Editors-in-Chief on Watch at Özgür Gündem, was read out the verdict in her face before she could sit in the dock. Küçükkeleş was also fined 6,000 TL over “publications promoting terrorism” and sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison over “propagandizing for a terror group”. Küçükkeleş didn’t have an attorney either. (EA/TK)

freedom of expression right to defense right to plea Özgür Gündem Ozgûr Gûndem ozgur gundem

Elif Akgül

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Gazeteci. Aralık 2012-Haziran 2018 dönemi bianet İfade Özgürlüğü editörü. Öncesinde IMC TV'de muhabirlik yaptı. İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Sinema Televizyon Bölümü mezunu.