The Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court has ruled that Mehmet Kamış, former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the now-closed Zaman newspaper, will continue to be held in detention. The court has also requested a report on the conditions of his imprisonment.
During the 21st hearing of the trial, where Kamış is accused of "attempting to abolish or prevent the Turkish Grand National Assembly from performing its duties," "attempting to abolish or prevent the Government of the Republic of Turkey from performing its duties," "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order," and "membership in an organization," key testimonies were heard. The trial was conducted at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court.
Kamış, who was brought from the Marmara Closed Prison escorted by three gendarmes, was present in the courtroom along with his lawyer Osman Yedekçi and a lawyer representing the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Two witnesses were called during the session.
Witness Asıf Parıldar stated that he has known Kamış since high school and only knows him as a journalist. The other witness, Yusuf Ahmet Kaymak, also testified that he knew Kamış solely through his journalistic work.
In his defense, Kamış said, "I left the newspaper in October 2015. During my time there, I was never contacted by the prosecution or judiciary regarding any criminal organization. My role at the newspaper was to oversee its operation, and we used to send copies daily to the press prosecutor. The case against me was opened 10 months after I left journalism, following a coup attempt, and frankly, I was afraid. When I learned that there was an arrest warrant for me, I did not surrender due to my fears of not receiving a fair trial and potentially facing ill-treatment."
Kamış's lawyer argued that the report concerning Bank Asya added to the case file was erroneous and inconsistent, requesting his client's release under judicial control. However, the prosecutor argued for the continuation of detention due to the risk of flight.
While deciding to maintain Kamış's detention, the court requested a report on the conditions of his imprisonment from the administration of the Marmara Closed Prison. The court instructed that Kamış should be transferred to the nearest fully-equipped state hospital for evaluation and postponed the trial.
