As always, a number of journalists, academics and politicians will be on trial this week at various Turkish courts for speaking their minds. Below is a list of this week's trials and their backgrounds:
9 April Monday - Academics for peace
-
Several academics who are accused of terror propaganda for signing a petition calling for an end to the Turkish military's security operations in the country's predominantly Kurdish cities in late 2015 and early will appear before a judge at Istanbul's Çağlayan Courthouse. The hearings start at 13:00 at 32 High Criminal Court. An academics from Yıldız Teknik, İstanbul and Van Yüzüncü Yıl Universities will be tried on Monday. All academics are faced with the more or less the same indictment and they risk 7.5 years in prison. Unfortunately, academics in these trials most of the time don't want their name to be covered in news reports, therefore names of suspects can only be found out when our reporters go to trials on a given day.
-
Editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet's online website Oğuz Güven will appear before the Istanbul 15th Court of First Instance on charges of 'insulting the president' over a news report that was translated from a Washington Post story. Earlier, in another trial, Güven was handed down a prison term of 3 years and 1 month on charges of propaganda for a terrorist organization for an online news report on the death of the Chief Denizli Prosecutor who died in a car crash.
-
Co-chair of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş's next hearing is on Monday. The hearing before this one was heard on 16 February. The Ankara 19th High Criminal Court is hearing the case. Demirtaş is accused of leadership of a terrorist organization, risking up to 142 years in prison. He is accused on the basis of his various speeches. He has been imprisoned since 5 November 2016.
12 April Thursday - Academics
-
Hearings in trials where academics are accused of terrorist propaganda continue. Several academics who signed the "peace petition" of 16 January from Galatasaray University will appear before the Istanbul 35th Hİgh Criminal Court starting at 9 am.
