ECHR prioritizes arrested Turkish journalist's case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) recently reached a very important decision concerning arrested journalists in Turkey. The court has decided to "prioritize" journalist/writer Şahin Alpay's appeal for release following almost seven-and-a-half months under arrest. Thus, the ECHR is giving priority to an application regarding individuals arrested since the July 15, 2016, coup attempt for the first time. It is also significant that this "first" step has been taken for a journalist. 

To better understand what this means and what developments it may prompt in the coming months, let's go back to the beginning. 

After working as an editor and writer for many years at daily Cumhuriyet and later at daily Milliyet, Şahin Alpay, 73, worked as a columnist at daily Zaman after 2002. Alpay is a leading liberal writer in Turkey; he strongly supported the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government; because of this, he was the target of anti-government circles, but in recent years, he started to criticize the government.

Immediately after the July 15 coup attempt, the staff of the most important publication of the Gülen Community, Zaman, became the target of arrests. In this wave of arrests, Alpay was also detained at his home on July 23, 2016, on charges that he was a member of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). He was arrested on July 31 and sent to Silivri Prison, near Istanbul. Meanwhile, his assets, mostly inherited from his family, were seized as part of the state of emergency. 

His lawyers filed a series of objections against his arrest. In these objections, Alpay's state of health was highlighted on the grounds that he has to take nine different medications.  

The Constitutional Court (AYM), in a...