İstanbul Court ruled for the continuation of detention of former Zaman correspondent Şirin Kabakçı.
Court hearing of former Konya correspondent of the now shuttered Zaman newspaper Şirin Kabakçı was held today at İstanbul 35. High Criminal Court. Representatives from Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) were present in the courtroom to observe the hearing in which Kabakçı is charged with ''membership of a terrorist organization''.
Kabakçı was not present in the courtroom in person, but he submitted his defence via the judicial conferencing system, known as SEGBİS. In his defence he stated that he worked for Zaman newspaper for many years, and working as a journalist he had never acted against the law. His lawyer Cumali Atalay said that his client kept working for Zaman after the state appointed a trustee as the head of the newspaper.
Atalay: Considering the precedents, my client should be released
Atalay highlighted the fact that there is no solid evidence linking Kabakçı to a terrorist organization and that many journalists working for Zaman were charged with similar accusations and were acquitted. After remarking the precedent court decisions, Atalay requested the release of Kabakçı who has been imprisoned for almost 16 months.
The court ruled for the continuation of Kabakçı's detention and adjourned the hearing until 9 October 2018.
