ISTANBUL: Seven staff from the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet were provisionally freed on Saturday after nine months in jail, as calls intensified for the release of four journalists still behind bars.
An Istanbul court Friday ordered that the seven be released under judicial control, meaning they remain charged and will have to report to the authorities, although it is rare in Turkey for defendants in such cases to be sent back to jail.
A total of 17 staff from the newspaper — one of the few voices in the media in Turkey to oppose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — had been on trial for aiding “terror” groups, accusations denounced as absurd by supporters.
But despite growing pressure from abroad but also within Turkey for the release of all the defendants, the most prominent journalists from the newspaper were ordered by the court Friday to remain in jail.
The seven freed — including respected cartoonist Musa Kart, books supplement editor Turhan Gunay and the paper’s legal executives — left Silviri jail on the outskirts of Istanbul to cheers and embraces from supporters.
They had been held for 271 days.
“We were taken away from the people we love, our relatives, our work,” said Kart after his release.
But he added: “Believe me, during this period in jail we have felt no hatred, no rancour, we could not live with such thoughts.”
The staff are charged with supporting in their coverage three entities that Turkey considers terror groups — the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), and the movement of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based preacher who Ankara accuses of ordering last year’s coup attempt.
The four remaining in custody include some of the biggest names in Turkish journalism: the commentator Kadri Gursel, investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, the paper’s editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and chief executive Akin Atalay.
Eight other suspects are also charged but not in jail.
Kart said: “The image of journalists in jail is not flattering for our country and I hope our four friends will come out as soon as possible.”
The Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), which has pushed for Kart’s release, said the news was “better than could have been expected” but added there was “little comfort” for the families of those returning to jail.
“Deficient justice,” headlined Cumhuriyet, saying the trial had proved to the world that the accusations were “baseless.”
There has been intense international alarm over the case, seen as a test for press freedom under Erdogan’s rule amid the crackdown that followed the failed coup.
The US State Department on Thursday called for the release of all the suspects, saying they were being held “arbitrarily.”
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described the release of the seven as a “small step in the right direction” but said they should never have been jailed.
“Authorities should put an end to this farcical trial by immediately dropping the transparently retaliatory charges,” said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova.
There have also been signs of growing unease even among supporters of Erdogan’s ruling party over the lengthy detention of the journalists, who have yet to be convicted of any crime.
In a rare public intervention, former president Abdullah Gul, who Erdogan succeeded as head of state in 2014, said Friday that the journalists should be set free.
Meanwhile influential conservative journalist Abdulkadir Selvi — a staunch supporter of Erdogan — said all those on trial should be released “as these are people who are doing journalism.”
He told CNN-Turk there was “no need to invent” ties between Cumhuriyet and Gulen, calling on the authorities to focus on trying genuine members of the movement.
The next hearing is set for September 11. If convicted, they face varying terms of up to 43 years in jail.
Prosecutors meanwhile said they would file new accusations against Sik over an incendiary defense statement he made on Wednesday where he slammed the ruling party’s past cooperation with Gulen.
Turkey newspaper staff provisionally freed as pressure grows for journalists
Turkey newspaper staff provisionally freed as pressure grows for journalists
Al-Azhar Al-Sharif condemns terrorist crimes against civilians in Gaza
- Al-Azhar Al-Sharif reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities and put a stop to the “frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza”
- Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis
CAIRO: Al-Azhar Al-Sharif — Sunni Islam’s oldest and foremost seat of learning — has strongly condemned “the terrorist crimes being committed against civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
In a statement, Al-Azhar censured the attacks, “the hideousness of which was revealed through the widespread reports about mass graves of hundreds of bodies of children, women, the elderly, and medical personnel in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Shifa Medical Complexes.
“Also, dozens of bodies were found “scattered” in shelter and displacement centers and tents, and residential neighborhoods throughout the Strip.”
Al-Azhar said that it affirmed to the world that “these mass graves are the definitive proof that these hideous atrocities and horrors have become normal daily behavior for Israel.”
It said that the people of the world must unite to protest in a way that deterred the regimes supporting these crimes.
Al-Azhar demanded an urgent international trial against “the terrorist occupation government, which no longer knows the meaning of humanity or the right to life and is committing genocides every day.”
It reiterated the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities, stop the “frenzied aggression against the people of Gaza and the consequent suffering and unprecedented humanitarian disasters, and ensure the protection of civilians and the delivery of sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip.”
Al-Azhar expressed its “sincere condolences and sympathy to the Palestinian people and the families of the martyrs, calling on the Lord Almighty to shower them with His vast mercy and forgiveness, to reassure the hearts of their families and loved ones, and to speed up the recovery of the sick.”
Citing media reports, Al-Azhar said that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, including patients, had been uncovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis since Saturday.
New UK sanctions target Iranian drone industry
- The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies
LONDON: Britain on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s military drone industry, in response to Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel earlier this month.
The measures, taken in co-ordination with the US and Canada, target four businesses and two directors at a network of drone companies with the aim of limiting Iran’s ability to launch drones.
“The Iranian regime’s dangerous attack on Israel risked thousands of civilian casualties and wider escalation in the region,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.
“Today the UK and our partners have sent a clear message – we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilising behavior to account.”
Britain also said it would introduce new bans on the export of drone and missile components to Iran, seeking to limit its military capabilities.
Last week, Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian military figures and organizations, in another coordinated move with the United States, following Iran’s action against Israel.
Iran launched drones and fired missiles at Israel on April 13 as a retaliatory strike for the attack on its embassy compound in Damascus two weeks prior, raising the risk of further escalation in conflict in the Middle East.
Egypt, Dutch leaders discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts
- Rafah assault ‘will have catastrophic consequences on regional peace and security,’ El-Sisi warns
- Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire
CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands.
During a phone call from Rutte on Thursday, the Egyptian leader warned that any Israeli assault on Rafah will have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
The leaders discussed bilateral relations, and ways to enhance cooperation across various political and economic levels consistent with the current momentum in Egyptian-European relations.
Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said the call also focused on the situation in Gaza, and Egypt’s efforts to restore regional stability by reaching a ceasefire and providing access to humanitarian aid.
El-Sisi reiterated the crucial importance of ending the war, warning against any military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which will have catastrophic consequences on the humanitarian situation in the strip and on regional peace and security.
The Egyptian leader underscored the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to implement the relevant UN resolutions.
Egypt’s president and the Dutch prime minister agreed on the urgency of working toward reaching a ceasefire, and ensuring the flow of adequate humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip in order to protect it from a humanitarian catastrophe.
They also emphasized the need to move toward implementing the two-state solution, which would restore regional stability, and establish security and peace in the region.
In March, El-Sisi received Rutte to discuss bilateral relations, regional developments, and Egypt’s efforts to reach a ceasefire and offer humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Lebanon postpones local elections again as violence rocks south
- Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years
- Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday delayed municipal elections for a third time in two years, state media reported, as militants in the country’s south exchanged near-daily fire with Israel for over six months.
The powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group has been trading fire with Israeli forces across the border since the day after its Palestinian ally Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
Parliament approved “extending the existing municipal and elective councils’ mandate until a date no later than May 31, 2025,” despite objections from lawmakers opposed to Hezbollah, said the official National News Agency.
The bill cited “complex security, military and political circumstances following the Israeli aggression on Lebanon” and especially its south, near the border, as reasons for the delay.
Lawmakers did not set a new date for the elections, initially scheduled for 2022.
Local councils help provide basic services to residents, but their role has declined as state coffers ran dry after Lebanon’s economy collapsed in late 2019.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had previously said southern Lebanon could not be excluded from any upcoming ballot, after the Christian Lebanese Forces, the main party opposing Hezbollah, insisted on holding the polls on time.
More than 92,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon due to the violence, as have tens of thousands of residents of Israeli communities across the border.
Since violence began along the Israeli border on October 8, at least 380 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 72 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel says 11 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side of the border.
In April 2023, the Lebanese parliament had already postponed municipal elections as the deputy speaker warned holding them was “almost impossible” for the cash-strapped country after years of economic meltdown.
Lebanon has faced the prolonged financial crisis and months of border clashes essentially leaderless, without a president and headed by a caretaker government with limited powers amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.
Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill teen in West Bank
- Israeli police said “hits were identified” when forces responded to stone-throwing with gunfire
- The Palestinian health ministry said Khaled Raed Arouq was shot in the chest and “martyred by the occupation’s live bullets“
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old boy during a raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah early on Thursday.
Israeli police said “hits were identified” when forces responded to stone-throwing with gunfire but did not directly address the allegation.
The Palestinian health ministry said Khaled Raed Arouq was shot in the chest and “martyred by the occupation’s live bullets.”
Palestinian official news agency Wafa said Arouq died after being “shot by Israeli gunfire” early on Thursday morning.
Israeli forces carry out regular raids on towns and cities in the occupied West Bank and violence has soared in the Palestinian territory since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7.
Wafa said Israeli military vehicles stormed the city and “confrontations broke out between citizens and the occupation forces, who fired live bullets and stun grenades.”
It said Israeli forces were stationed in several neighborhoods and raided a house in Al-Bireh to the northeast.
Israeli police said: “Terrorists threw stones at the forces operating in the area, the forces responded with gunfire, and hits were identified.”
The police said they made several arrests and that Israeli forces did not suffer any casualties.
The army did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Later on, Thursday, mourners carried Arouq’s body wrapped in the flag of Fatah, the political party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, in his hometown of Jenin where he was buried.
“He was hit by a bullet in his back, which exited through his chest...They assassinated him in cold blood,” Majed Arqawi, cousin of Arouq, told AFP.
Wafa said Arouq’s father was an officer in the Palestinian military intelligence service.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and at least 488 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers there since October 7, according to Palestinian officials.
At least 19 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in the same period, according to official Israeli figures.
