Turkish journalists charged with espionage

The history of journalism is full of such examples as Watergate or Wikileaks that show states would like to keep some facts secret.

Outside the courthouse Dundar told reporters that the government wants to cover up their paper’s revelations, stressing, “There is a crime that has been committed by the state that they are trying to cover up”.

The U.S. Department of State discussed the recent arrest of journalists in Turkey, who had reported on the weapons supply to the Islamic State group from Ankara.

The United States has said it is “troubled” by the pre-trial arrest of top editors of Turkey’s critical newspaper Cumhuriyet, calling on Turkish authorities to uphold freedoms to ensure stronger Turkish democracy. Although the journalists were later released, the Iraqi translator was kept in detention.

Yet doing reporting from the border is fraught with danger, as one of Turkey’s most celebrated journalists discovered when a front-page scoop on the issue landed him in jail.

Reporters Without Borders recognized Cumhuriyet in its Reporters Without Borders Prize for Press Freedom on November 17.

Erdogan claimed the trucks were set to deliver humanitarian aid to Bayirbucak Turkmens and that the journalists were complicit in “sabotaging” this aid merely to harm the image of himself and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Accompanying photographs published by the daily showed several vehicles filled with weapons and ammunition, stacked under cardboard boxes containing medication.

Furious over the allegations, Erdogan had said: “This paper has engaged in acts of espionage”. President Erdogan vowed revenge against those behind the story, saying they would “pay a heavy price”. “I will not let this go”.

Cumhuriyet printed an article in May that was accompanied by video revealing local authorities confiscating crates on the rear of a truck.

The arrests are the latest in what is seen as a crackdown on media freedom following this month’s landslide victory by the ruling AK Party.

The Friday rally in support of the editor-in- chief and Ankara editor of the Cumhuriyet newspaper in the Turkish capital was attended by about 1,000 people accusing the government of attempting to cover up the weapons scandal by silencing the critics and the press.

At the time, Turkey was also facing increased criticism for assisting Islamist militants in Syria.