An Istanbul court ruled for the release of Sedat Senoglu, the executive coordinator of the Atilim newspaper, who was jailed for six years on terrorism-related charges.
(BIANET/IFEX) – On 6 August 2012, a court in Istanbul’s Caglayan district ruled for the release of Sedat Senoglu, the executive coordinator of the Atilim newspaper, who was jailed for six years in connection with terrorism-related charges. The court decided, however, to keep journalists Fusun Erdogan and Bayram Namaz in prison.
A total of 26 suspects, 11 of them arrested pending trial, including Erdogan, the former chief coordinator of Ozgur Radio, and Bayram Namaz, an Atilim columnist, are standing trial in the case. The chief justice decided to release Senoglu taking into consideration the characteristics of the “crimes” attributed to him, the probability of a change in the classification of the offence and the number of years he has already spent behind bars.
The court delegation also issued an arrest warrant for Ibrahim Cicek, who failed to comply with probation orders. In addition, they ruled to keep the remaining 10 suspects, who have already served six years in jail, in detention.
The suspects are on trial in connection with operation “Gaye”, which was conducted in a number of provinces across Turkey in September 2006, and are facing charges of being members of the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP).
The next hearing is scheduled for 13 December 2012.
