İstanbul - Third hearing of the trial where Cumhuriyet’s former web editor Atakan Sönmez faces “terrorist propaganda” charges was held at İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court today. Articles published during Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria were presented as evidence against Sönmez.
It was revealed during today’s hearing that the prosecutor submitted a final opinion as to the accusations to the court yesterday and demanded Sönmez’s punishment for “successively making terrorist propaganda.” Sönmez and his lawyer Buket Yazıcı requested extra time for their final defense statements, noting that they received the prosecutor’s opinion only today.
The court accepted Yazıcı’s request for extra time and adjourned the trial until 19 July, 2:10 PM.
Case background
The indictment claimed that Cumhuriyet newspaper’s website had allegedly published articles that support the operations of YPG/YPJ in Syria. The indictment specifically listed two articles as evidence for the alleged crime: “YPG’s statement on the loss endured during the Olive Branch Operation” and “13 academics call for peace in Afrin, including David Harvey and Noam Chomsky.”
