A prominent Turkish journalist has been sentenced in absentia to more than 27 years in jail on terrorism-related charges that his legal team have described as politically motivated.
Can Dündar, who edited Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper before fleeing to Germany in 2016, was previously found guilty by an Istanbul court of espionage and aiding an armed terrorist organisation.
His lawyers refused to attend the final hearing on Wednesday, saying in a written statement beforehand that “we do not want to be part of a practice to legitimise a previously decided, political verdict”. They will appeal the verdict.
“It is sad and strange that we knew what the verdict in my case would be before the case even ended. There are no means to defend yourself in Turkey anymore because the judges and judiciary cannot be trusted,” Dündar told the Guardian. » | Bethan McKernan, Turkey and Middle East correspondent | Wednesday, December 23, 2020
