ISTANBUL – Before the first hearing of the three journalists jailed for 304 days for publishing news stories on the hacker collective’s leak of Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak’s emails, their colleagues said, “As journalists, writers, representatives of professional organizations, administrators of political parties and the journalists’ families, we demand our journalist friends to be released immediately.”

 

Closed Dicle News Agency (DİHA) News Director Ömer Çelik, diken.com.tr former news editor Tunca Öğreten, BirGün Accounting Supervisor Mahir Kanaat, who have been held in Silivri Prison for 10 months for publishing news stories on the hacker collective’s leak of Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak’s emails, will appear before the judge for the first time. Before the first hearing to be held by 29th High Criminal Court in Çağlayan, Istanbul, their colleagues made a statement for jailed journalists. Journalists, writers, representatives, representatives of professional organizations, administrators of political parties and the journalists’ families were outside of the courthouse for the statement.

 

Birgün Daily employee Demet Sargın read the statement and she said that the journalists get different information on internet, “Journalists examine this information in detail and they don’t publish them if they are unfounded information and they publish them if they are for public interest. Journalists cannot be arrested for this reason. As journalists, writers, representatives of professional organizations, administrators of political parties and the journalists’ families, we demand our journalist friends to be released immediately.”