Published time: 29 Dec,
2015 04:48Edited time: 29 Dec, 2015 04:50
Journalists and Turkish
intellectuals holds a banner that reads, "Freedom for jailed
journalist" on December 26, 2015 in Istanbul, during a demonstration
following the arrest of Cumhuriyet newspaper's Editor in Chief last month.
© Ozan Kose / AFP
Turkish President
Erdogan’s regime used ‘state security’ as an excuse to cover up its smuggling
of arms into Syria and persecute the journalists who revealed it, imprisoned
Cumhuriyet newspaper editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, penned for The Guardian.
Dundar has been in prison
on charges of treason, espionage, and terrorist propaganda since the paper
released footage proving Turkey’s involvement in smuggling weapons into Syria
in 2014 over a month ago.
“Turkey’s regime not
only smuggled guns into Syria, it used ‘state security’ as an excuse to
imprison the journalists who reported it,” Dundar wrote.
Can Dundar and Erdem Gul,
Cumhuriyet’s senior editor in Ankara, were arrested in late November. The case
against them was launched after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed a
criminal complaint accusing the journalists of revealing state secrets and
aiding terrorists.
BREAKING: Turkish newspaper editor in court for 'espionage' after revealing weapon convoy to Syrian militants on.rt.com/6xnp
In May, Cumhuriyet
published several articles containing photos of what was claimed to be weapons
smuggling by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) into Syria in 2014. The trucks carrying the weapons
were reportedly searched by police, according to photos and videos obtained by
Cumhuriyet.
“The truck was
searched. Beneath the camouflage composed of medicines boxes, weapons and
ammunition were found. The truck was held for a while, but following the
intervention of government officials a safe passage into Syria was granted,”Dundar wrote.
“The government
immediately discharged the prosecutor and gendarmerie who stopped the convoy
and had them arrested. It was declared that the trucks contained humanitarian
aid. This incident, which fueled allegations that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s
government was intervening in the Syrian civil war, was rapidly covered up.”
The paper reported back
in May that the trucks were carrying six steel containers, holding 1,000
artillery shells, 50,000 machine gun rounds, 30,000 heavy machine gun rounds
and 1,000 mortar shells for anti-Assad extremists in Syria.
Turkish weapons ‘heading to end in #ISIS hands’: RT speaks to Cumhuriyet journalists on.rt.com/6xvs
Turkish authorities
denied all of the allegations, claiming that the trucks had been carrying
humanitarian aid for Syrian Turkmen. President Erdogan vowed revenge against
those behind the story, saying they would “pay a heavy price.”
In the opinion piece,
Dundar said that Erdogan “was in a fix” after Cumhuriyet’s
report was published.
“He couldn’t refute
the story, so instead chose to censor the publication and threaten the
journalist responsible, who was me,”Dundar wrote.
The journalist recalled
what Erdogan said after the publication of the story: “The person who
wrote this story will pay a heavy price for it; I won’t let him go unpunished.” Erdogan
added that the footage was a “state secret,” and that
publishing it was an act of “espionage”.
The editor-in-chief
stressed that this kind of rhetoric only confirmed “that this was not
the state’s secret but his [Erdogan’s] secret, he filed a personal complaint to
the prosecutor’s office.”
Dundar concluded that “no
label of ‘state secret’ and no rationale for ‘state security’ permits a state
crime.”
“I defend myself
with Winston Churchill’s words: ‘The Official Secrets Act was devised to
protect the national defence … and ought not to be used to shield ministers who
have a strong personal interest in concealing the truth.’”
Following Dundar’s
arrest, around 1,000 people came out to blame the government of attempting to
cover up the weapons scandal by silencing the critics and the press.
During a court
appearance, Dundar said that, given the same circumstances, he would publish
the report again.
“I am happy that the
public learned of this [arms shipment]. The president came to a point of
acknowledging the claims when he said the other day, ‘So what if the trucks
were filled with weapons?’ His words openly contradict the allegations that the
photos we published were fabricated. He admitted this. I believe this, by
itself, is enough for the charges directed at us to be dropped. If Erdogan
says, ‘So what if the trucks were filled with weapons?’ then I say, so what if
we published it?” Dundar
said during his defense statement. “As a journalist, it was my duty to
show this reality to people.”
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