The second hearing in the 'Cumhuriyet' trial against members of the oldest opposition newspaper in Turkey was held yesterday in a small courtroom at Silivri prison outside Istanbul, Turkey. A good excuse for the guards: no electronic devices were allowed inside the room this time, which made it much more difficult to get information out to the public. However, the distance to the city did not prevent people from showing their solidarity on the spot.
The second interim court ruling came late at night, only close to midnight: disappointingly, the detention of five 'Cumhuriyet' journalists, executives and staff were extended for another two weeks. The arrests have been widely condemned as an attack on free speech. Some of the workers have been in prison for ten months.
First defence after 158 days in prison
After the first hearing week in July, seven defendants were released pending trial. Akın Atalay, Kadri Gürsel, Murat Sabuncu and Ahmet Şık, who also made their testimonies in the first hearing, had to remain behind bars. In yesterday’s hearing, defendant Emre İper, an accountant at 'Cumhuriyet', gave his first defense after 158 days in prison. Former 'Cumhuriyet' Foundation Manager İnan Kıraç, columnist Şükran Soner, correspondent Miyase İlknur, former public accountant Aydınlı Mustafa Pamukoğlu, news coordinator Aykut Küçükkaya and former editor-in-chief Ibrahim Yildiz gave testimonies as witnesses.
Emre İper has been held since April on allegations that his phone contained a secretive communications app. The usage and technical details of this app, “ByLock”, a communication software allegedly used among members of Gülen Community, had a ridiculously huge part in this hearing. The trial also heard from forensic expert witness, Koray Peksayar, who was asked by the judge about ByLock specifications.