Turkey: Justice Did Not Prevail For Yasemin Çongar, After Six-year Long Trial Journalist Sentenced To Prison Over Obtaining Classified Information Of The State Charge
Location: Turkey, İstanbul
Date: March 4, 2022Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
After a six-year long trial, the court finalized the case of former shuttered Taraf newspaper executives and reporters. At the 39th hearing of the case, former executive Yasemin Çongar was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for "obtaining information about the security of the state". She was acquitted of the rest of the charges she was accused of.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) denounces the prison sentence of Yasemin and other journalists. We demand Turkish authorities annul the case immediately. Journalism is not a crime.
Taraf newspaper, known for its vociferous critique of the Turkish military’s overreaches in state affairs, was forced shut in 2016. Former executives of the newspaper, Yasemin Çongar and Ahmet Altan, and its reporters, Yıldıray Oğur and Mehmet Baransu, were tried on charges of "obtaining, disclosing and destroying information about the security of the state". The allegations against them were based on a report published regarding a secret document called "Sovereign Operation Plan" which belonged to the General Staff. The 39th hearing of the case was held today at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court. The court announced its verdict after six years of the judicial process.
Yasemin Çongar's lawyer, Figen Albuga Çalıkuşu, and all other defendants' lawyers represented the former executives and reporters at the court. Following Mehmet Baransu’s defense, the court’s judge asked for the last words of the defendants. Yasemin’s lawyer reiterated her defense and said that there was no evidence of publication of the "Sovereign Operation Plan" as alleged. She recalled the Constitutional Court’s decision that also endorsed Figen’s defense of her clients. She requested her clients to be acquitted of all charges.
After a break, the court sentenced Yasemin Çongar and other executives to three years and four months for "obtaining information about the security of the state". On the other hand, the same court acquitted Yasemin from “procuring documents concerning the security of the state with other intentions than damaging, procuring or stealing or using said documents outside their intended purpose” and “disclosing classified information relating to the security and the political interests of the state” charges.
Mehmet Baransu also was sentenced to six years in prison for "procuring documents concerning the security of the state"; to 7 years in prison for "disclosing classified information relating to the security and the political interests of the state." The sentence was not reduced. The reporter’s detention will continue as the court ruled.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the final decision of the court, after a prolonged case against the journalists. We demand an immediate annulment for the bogus charges of the journalists. We urge the Turkish state to quit intimidating journalists through the judiciary solely doing their job.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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