In the trial of 19 journalists and media workers charged with "membership in an organization," the court ruled that the existing judicial control measures would remain in place. The case file was sent to the prosecutor's office for the preparation of its final opinion on the merits, and the hearing was adjourned until Nov. 10.
Medine Mamedoğlu
Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey — The 11th hearing in the trial of 19 journalists and media workers, including Serdar Altan, Mehmet Ali Ertaş, Aziz Oruç, Zeynel Abidin Bulut, Ömer Çelik, Mazlum Doğan Güler, İbrahim Koyuncu, Neşe Toprak, Elif Üngür, Abdurrahman Öncü, Mehmet Şahin, Lezgin Akdeniz, Suat Doğuhan, Ramazan Geciken, Esmer Tunç, Mehmet Yalçın, Kadir Bayram, Remziye Temel, Berivan Karatorak and Servet Yiğen, who are charged with "membership in an organization," began at the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court.
At the previous hearing, the trial had been adjourned to allow the defense to prepare its defense statements on the merits of the case.
Defense lawyer Resul Temur and defendant journalist Elif Üngür attended the hearing. Representatives of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) were also present in the courtroom.
Temur began his defense statement by drawing attention to the defendants' ongoing travel bans. He said the journalists had been unable to see their families or practice their profession because of the restrictions and requested that the bans, which have been in place for three years, be lifted.
Following the defense statement, the court ruled that the existing judicial control measures would remain in place and sent the case file to the prosecutor's office for the preparation of its final opinion on the merits. The hearing was adjourned until Nov. 10 at 10:05 a.m.
