ANKARA: Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that jailed journalists Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay be released, saying their rights have been violated, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.
There was no immediate confirmation from the court. Ahead of the court session, lawyers had said its decision could set a precedent for dozens of other journalists being tried in Turkey.
The two journalists, who have both been in prison for more than a year, were jailed in the aftermath of a failed 2016 coup, when president Tayyip Erdogan launched a widespread crackdown that critics say is being used to stifle dissent.
Both Altan and Alpay have been accused of links to terrorist groups and attempting to overthrow the government, charges they have denied.
Since the July 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people and closed more than 130 media outlets. Around 160 journalists have been jailed, according to the Turkish Journalists’ Association. International journalism groups say that Turkey is now the world’s largest jailer of journalists.
Many of the jailed reporters have been charged with spreading propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the abortive putsch.
Erdogan has said that some journalists helped nurture terrorists through their writing. “Terror doesn’t form by itself,” he said. “Terror and terrorists have gardeners. These gardeners are those people viewed as thinkers,” he told a joint news conference with France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
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Turkey’s top court rules that two jailed journalists be released
Turkey’s top court rules that two jailed journalists be released
Mistrial declared in the case of Stanford students charged after pro-Palestinian protests in 2024
SAN FRANCISCO, US: A judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case of five current and former Stanford University students charged after pro-Palestinian protests in 2024, when they barricaded themselves inside the university president and provost executive offices.
The trial in Santa Clara County was a rare instance of demonstrators facing felony charges from protests over the Israel-Hamas war that roiled campuses across the country. The two sides argued over free speech, lawful dissent and crime during the three-week proceedings.
The jury voted 9 to 3 to convict on a felony charge of vandalism and 8 to 4 to convict on a felony charge of conspiracy to trespass. After deliberating for five days, jurors said they could not reach a verdict.
Judge Hanley Chew asked each one if more time deliberating would help break the impasse, and all answered, “No.”
“It appears that this jury is hopelessly deadlocked, and I’m now declaring a mistrial in counts one and two,” Chen said. He then dismissed the jurors.
Demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the offices for several hours on June 5, 2024, the last day of spring classes at the university.
Prosecutors said the defendants spray-painted the building, broke windows and furniture, disabled security cameras and splattered a red liquid described as fake blood on items throughout the offices.
Defense attorneys said the protest was protected speech and there was insufficient evidence of an intent to damage the property. They also said the students wore protective gear and barricaded the offices out of fear of being injured by police and campus security.
If convicted, the defendants would have faced up to three years in prison and been obligated to pay restitution of over $300,000.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he would pursue a new trial.
“This case is about a group of people who destroyed someone else’s property and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage,” Rosen said in a statement. “That is against the law and that is why we will retry the case.”
As the mistrial was announced, the students, some wearing kaffiyehs, sat on a bench in the courtroom and did not show a visible reaction.
“The District Attorney’s Office had Stanford University supporting them and other multibillion-dollar institutions behind them, and even then the district attorney was unable to convict us,” Germán González, who was a sophomore at Stanford when he was arrested, told The Associated Press by phone later. “No matter what happens, we will continue to fight tooth and nail for as long as possible, because at the end of the day, this is for Palestine.”
Authorities initially arrested and charged 12 people in the case, but one pleaded no contest under an agreement that allows some young people to have their cases dismissed and records sealed if they successfully complete probation.
He testified for the prosecution, leading to a grand jury indictment of the others in October of the others. Six of those accepted pretrial plea deals or diversion programs, and the remaining five pleaded not guilty and sought a jury trial.
Protests sprung up on campuses across the country over the Israel-Hamas conflict, with students setting up camps and demanding their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that support its war efforts against Hamas.
About 3,200 people were arrested in 2024 nationwide. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with students or simply waited them out, others called in police. Most criminal charges were ultimately dismissed.
The trial in Santa Clara County was a rare instance of demonstrators facing felony charges from protests over the Israel-Hamas war that roiled campuses across the country. The two sides argued over free speech, lawful dissent and crime during the three-week proceedings.
The jury voted 9 to 3 to convict on a felony charge of vandalism and 8 to 4 to convict on a felony charge of conspiracy to trespass. After deliberating for five days, jurors said they could not reach a verdict.
Judge Hanley Chew asked each one if more time deliberating would help break the impasse, and all answered, “No.”
“It appears that this jury is hopelessly deadlocked, and I’m now declaring a mistrial in counts one and two,” Chen said. He then dismissed the jurors.
Demonstrators barricaded themselves inside the offices for several hours on June 5, 2024, the last day of spring classes at the university.
Prosecutors said the defendants spray-painted the building, broke windows and furniture, disabled security cameras and splattered a red liquid described as fake blood on items throughout the offices.
Defense attorneys said the protest was protected speech and there was insufficient evidence of an intent to damage the property. They also said the students wore protective gear and barricaded the offices out of fear of being injured by police and campus security.
If convicted, the defendants would have faced up to three years in prison and been obligated to pay restitution of over $300,000.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he would pursue a new trial.
“This case is about a group of people who destroyed someone else’s property and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage,” Rosen said in a statement. “That is against the law and that is why we will retry the case.”
As the mistrial was announced, the students, some wearing kaffiyehs, sat on a bench in the courtroom and did not show a visible reaction.
“The District Attorney’s Office had Stanford University supporting them and other multibillion-dollar institutions behind them, and even then the district attorney was unable to convict us,” Germán González, who was a sophomore at Stanford when he was arrested, told The Associated Press by phone later. “No matter what happens, we will continue to fight tooth and nail for as long as possible, because at the end of the day, this is for Palestine.”
Authorities initially arrested and charged 12 people in the case, but one pleaded no contest under an agreement that allows some young people to have their cases dismissed and records sealed if they successfully complete probation.
He testified for the prosecution, leading to a grand jury indictment of the others in October of the others. Six of those accepted pretrial plea deals or diversion programs, and the remaining five pleaded not guilty and sought a jury trial.
Protests sprung up on campuses across the country over the Israel-Hamas conflict, with students setting up camps and demanding their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that support its war efforts against Hamas.
About 3,200 people were arrested in 2024 nationwide. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with students or simply waited them out, others called in police. Most criminal charges were ultimately dismissed.
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