News / Turkey

Turkey journalists march in support of detained colleagues

Sunday, 27 December 2015 6:46 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 27 December 2015 6:46 AM ]

Journalists hold a banner reading, “Freedom for jailed journalist,” during a demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, December 26, 2015. ©AFP

Turkish journalists have held a rally to express their solidarity with jailed colleagues from the center-left Turkish daily, Cumhuriyet, calling for the freedom of all correspondents held behind bars.

Chanting “Free media cannot be silenced,” the journalists took 30 symbolic steps in downtown Istanbul on Saturday to voice their support for Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, and the paper’s Ankara representative, Erdem Gul, marking the 30th day of their imprisonment.

“We demand that not only Dundar and Gul, but all jailed journalists be released,” said journalist Ceyda Karan, adding that the imprisonment of 34 journalists was a “black stain” on Turkish democracy.

“We are not traitors or spies or heroes. We are journalists,” she went on to say.

Dundar and Gul were arrested for exposing Ankara’s arms delivery to the militants active in Syria in their reports. The two are accused of spying and divulging state secrets.

A banner reading, “Not writer but maker is guilty,” is held (center) as journalists take part in a demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, December 26, 2015. ©AFP

In a letter addressing those attending Saturday’s event, Dundar censured efforts by the Turkish government to intimidate journalists, vowing, however, that he will remain committed to fearless journalism.

“The issue is not that we are imprisoned. It is that the public is deprived of information, news and the truth. That the public is served lies,” Dundar said in the letter.

In late May, Cumhuriyet posted on its website a footage showing trucks belonging to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) carrying weapons to the Takfiri terror groups operating in neighboring Syria. The Cumhuriyet video also showed trucks of the MIT being inspected by security officers.

A still image grabbed from a video published on the website of the Turkish daily *Cumhuriyet* on May 29, 2015 shows mortar shells in boxes intercepted on a truck destined for Syria.

The daily reported the trucks were carrying around 1,000 mortar shells, hundreds of grenade launchers and more than 80,000 rounds of ammunition for light and heavy weapons.

The incident triggered a huge controversy in Turkey with many bashing the government for explicitly supporting terrorism in neighboring Syria.

Ankara has been accused of being one of the main supporters of terrorist groups operating in Syria as part of a broader Western plot for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey has also been criticized for clamping down on journalists and sentencing them to long prison terms.

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