Next hearing of the “KCK Press” trial where 46 journalists and media workers have been tried for terror-related charges for the past 7 years is scheduled for 22 October
İstanbul - Sixteenth hearing of the “KCK Press” trial where 46 journalists and media workers face terror-related charges was held at İstanbul 3rd High Criminal Court today.
İstanbul 14th High Criminal Court’s request to merge a case where Yüksel Genç appears as a defendant with this one was rejected by the İstanbul 3rd High Criminal Court. Upon rejecting this request, the court ruled to send the concerned case file to İstanbul Regional Court of Justice.
The hearing lasted only 10 minutes. The court decided to wait for the missing documents in the case file to be received and adjourned the trial until 22 October.
Case background
In December 2011, 49 journalists and media workers were taken into custody as part of the “Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) operation” during raids organized at the offices of Özgür Gündem daily, Dicle News Agency (DİHA), Demokratik Modernite journal, Etkin News Agency (ETHA) and Fırat Media Distribution company. Out of these 49 journalists, 36 were arrested. An indictment was submitted in April 2012. The indictment presented journalists’ correspondence with their colleagues and news sources, news reports, and photos they have taken as evidence for “membership in a terrorist organization” or “managing a terrorist organization” charges.
Throughout the “KCK Press” trial, 37 defendants have remained in prison between 9 months and 2.5 years. Once the “Special Courts” were abolished, all defendants were released and the case was transferred from İstanbul 15th High Criminal Court located in Silivri to İstanbul 3rd High Criminal Court located at the Çağlayan Courthouse in July 2014.
