İstanbul - Fifth hearing of the trial where since shut-down Zaman daily’s Konya correspondent Şirin Kabakçı faces “membership in a terrorist organization” charges was held at the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court. Kabakçı and her lawyers were present in the courtroom.
The hearing was delayed for over an hour. Instead of its scheduled time at 9:15 AM, the hearing commenced at 10:52 AM due to the judges’ tardiness. Witness Halil Doğanay was called to the stand. In his statement, Doğanay stated: “I know Şirin Kabakçı from the days when we used to attend talks with the traitors. She used to lead such talks, encouraged people to subscribe to the newspaper, and collected charity. This was between 2010-2013. I haven’t seen her since because I stopped attending such events. These talks were held in either private homes or at the newspaper’s headquarters. Since Şirin Kabakçı was a correspondent with Zaman, she was well-respected in Konya and was a powerful figure within the organization’s hierarchy.”
Kabakçı’s lawyer Cumali Aydemir stated that the witness’ statement is not truthful and rejected such claims against his client.
The court ruled to send the file over to the prosecutor for the final opinion to be prepared. The trial is adjourned until 2 July.
What had happened?
Şirin Kabakçı was arrested in May 2017 while she was still working as a journalist. Kabakçı was taken into custody on “membership in Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ)” charges. Kabakçı is currently accused of disclosing confidential information, defamation, and membership in an armed terrorist organization charges. A dismissed case of Kabakçı from 2015 was reopened and merged with this one. The previous case was opened against Şirin Kabakçı and Mehmet Hasip Şenalp, one of Kon TV’s owners, for “slander through press” charges and was dismissed, the court had ruled that there was no need for prosecution.
