Trying to silence tweets, as well as journalists

The 26th Istanbul Criminal Court on Sept. 19 rejected demands to release a group of journalists and writers who have been in jail for more than a year, in a case into the "media leg" of the Gülen network.

The names included renowned novelist Ahmet Altan and columnists Mehmet Altan, Nazlı Ilıcak, Şahin Alpay, Ali Bulaç, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Mümtazer Türköne and Mustafa Ünal. All of them used to write for newspapers such as Zaman, Taraf and Bugün, which are all now closed but used to be close to the line of Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based Islamist preacher accused of masterminding the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt. 

The defendants in the case are accused of being aware of the coup attempt and writing in favor of it, therefore engaging in cooperation with the coup plotters. Prosecutors demand up to three life sentences for each of them.

Most of them - including Ali Bulaç, who comes from an Islamist background, and Şahin Alpay, who comes from a liberal-left background - said in their defenses that they did not know the true nature of Gülen's "Hizmet" (Service) movement until after the coup attempt, and expressed regret that they had not left it earlier. 

Ilıcak, a seasoned writer with a center-right background, said she never had any relationship with Gülenists other than as a writer for the Bugün newspaper. She also said the "real" Gülenists had either fled Turkey before or after the coup attempt or were now pretending that they support President Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government against Gülenists.

Meanwhile, another court hearing is due to take place in four days on Sept. 25 in Istanbul for three journalists from center-left daily Cumhuriyet. Kadri Gürsel, Ahmet Sabuncu and Ahmet Şık,...