Court rejects merger of Turkish journalists’ case with main intel trucks case

An Istanbul court has rejected a prosecutor’s demand to merge the case of prosecutors and soldiers tried over Turkish intelligence trucks allegedly carrying weapons bound for Syria with the case of daily Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül.

The prosecutor demanded the merger of the Dündar and Gül National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks report case with the main case in which prosecutors and soldiers were being tried. However, the court rejected the demand.

• The hearing was postponed to May 6 to give time to prosecutor to prepare his opinion, daily Cumhuriyet reported on its website.

The third hearing of the case in Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse was closed to the public after an earlier ruling.

Dündar and Gül were arrested on Nov. 26, 2015, over stories published about Turkish intelligence trucks allegedly bound for Syria with hidden weapons in early 2014.

The duo, who were released pending trial on Feb. 26 after a decision by the Constitutional Court, were charged with espionage and threatening state security.
  [ Doğan News Agency/ hurriyetdailynews.com]
22/4/16
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Related:

• Turkish Journalists on Trial for Arms-Smuggling Story 

• Espionage against Turkey: Turkish PM claims case of journalists who reported on Syria trucks not free speech issue.

• Russia FM says Syria-bound humanitarian aid convoys from Turkey deliver arms to militants

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