Turkish journalists sentenced for links to US-based cleric
A court in Istanbul convicted six journalists of terror-related charges Friday in a case that heightened concerns over the freedom of expression and media rights in Turkey, The Associated Press reported.
The staff members of a now-defunct newspaper received lengthy prison sentences.
According to the source, columnist Mumtazer Turkone and Zaman's Ankara bureau chief, Mustafa Onal, were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Journalist Ibrahim Karayegen received nine years, while columnists Ali Bulac, Sahin Alpay and Ahmet Turan Alkan each received over eight years.
"Unfortunately, the judiciary in Turkey is maybe having its worst days in its history. It's under heavy political pressure," lawyer Faruk Zorba, who represented Alkan, told the AP outside the courthouse.
"The (Gulen) organization is a religious structure in its basis, but the defendants on trial here are mostly people who've espoused a secular lifestyle," he said.
Since the coup attempt, some 50,000 people, including dozens of journalists, were arrested in a massive crackdown on alleged Gulen supporters. Some 110,000 people have been fired from public sector jobs. At least 140 media organizations were shut down.