The arrested journalists

The arrest of journalists is quite a big problem in democratic societies since it is a violation against society's right to demand news. Therefore, our country is viewed by the international community as quite troubled.

So, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepted applications from journalists and asked for a defense from the Justice Ministry.

The Constitutional Court of Turkey accepted the application of Ahmet and Mehmet Altan as a "pilot case." So, let's see what decision will be made.

On Sept. 18, Şahin Alpay, Ali Bulaç, Mümtazer Türköne and Ahmet Turan Alkan, who were our colleagues, joined the court case and if their turn comes, they will make their first defense.

On Sept. 19, Nazlı Ilıcak and Ahmet and Mehmet Altan have trials.

The opinion of the government

"They were not arrested for journalism," says the government in its statements. But there is no single evidence aside from the "articles, news and speeches" in the case files.

Weren't Can Dündar and Erdem Gül arrested twice with the demand for a life sentence, for the crimes, "espionage, and attempt to destroy the government or prevent them from doing their duties and helping an armed terror organization?"

"There is no evidence in the file related to these crimes; there are only newspaper cuttings," said the Constitutional Court and decided that the arrest was against human rights (B. No: 2015/18567).

There was also no other evidence than the newspaper cuttings and TV recordings on the file of the professional journalists. Therefore, in the words of the Constitutional Court, "the arrest is a violation against the freedom of expression."

'Subliminal Evidence'