Istanbul: Several journalists accused of involvement in an alleged plot to topple Turkey`s Islamic-rooted government went on trial Tuesday after spending about nine months in jail.
However, the trial was adjourned just four hours later to wait for a ruling by a higher court on whether to replace the presiding judge, whom defense lawyers say cannot be impartial because of a separate case that pits him against one of the journalists.
The court said it would decide whether to release the suspects from jail when it returns on Dec. 26.
Cakir was a plaintiff in a case against one of the defendants, Baris Terkoglu of the anti-government news website Oda TV, over the publishing of a photograph that showed Cakir and some other judges joining senior police officials at a fast-breaking dinner at a police headquarters in 2009, which the site said suggested cozy relations between them.
Thirteen defendants, including investigative journalists Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik and writer Yalcin Kucuk — a staunch government critic, went on trial Tuesday. Among them also was Soner Yalcin, the owner of Oda TV. A key suspect, an intelligence official, recently died of a heart attack in jail.
International media rights groups who traveled to Turkey to attend the trial warned the government that the level of press freedoms serves as a barometer for democracy in a country.
"We want to express our solidarity with our detained colleagues but in the meantime express our concern for press freedom in Turkey," Philippe Leruth, vice president of the European Federation of Journalists, told AP television outside the court house in Istanbul. "Because press freedom is essential for democracy."
Journalists unfurled a banner in support of their colleagues calling for their release.
"Jailing journalists for their opinion is really not acceptable in democratic countries," Pavol Mudry, a member of the executive board of the International Press Institute said. "Therefore we are here to support these journalists."
The suspects are among some 400 people on trial in an investigation — now in its fourth year — into an alleged hardline secularist group which allegedly plotted in 2003 to bring down the government through attacks that prosecutors say would have created chaos and sparked a military coup.
Prosecutors accuse the journalists of being members of the media wing of the alleged Ergenekon group, which authorities described as an armed terrorist organization, and working to manipulate public opinion.
Other suspects in the case include politicians, academics and retired military officers.
Critics say the trial is based on flimsy or fabricated evidence and aims to intimidate and muzzle government opponents. The government insists the journalists are not jailed for their writings but for alleged criminal activity.
Bureau Report
