ISTANBUL — Three journalists convicted of
violating Turkey’s state secrets law returned to prison on Tuesday after losing
an appeal against their jail sentences.
اضافة اعلان
The 2020 trial concerned a news report alleging that
a
Turkish intelligence officer was killed in Libya after Ankara provided
support to the UN-recognized government in Tripoli.
In September
that year, the Istanbul court sentenced Aydin Keser, Ferhat Celik, and Murat
Agirel — who works for the Yenicag daily — to four years and eight months in
jail each on charges of violating the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) law.
It sentenced then OdaTV editor-in-chief Baris
Pehlivan and reporter Hulya Kilinc to three years and nine months each on the
same charges.
Agirel and Pehlivan tweeted on Tuesday that they
were returning to prison. Turkish media said Kilinc was jailed in the western
province of Manisa after undergoing a health check.
“A third time... We’re here, we’re going... Goodbye
for now,” Pehlivan tweeted, with a selfie in front of what appeared to be
Istanbul’s main Caglayan courthouse.
Turkey comes under frequent criticism from rights
defenders, who say Ankara undermines media freedom by jailing journalists and
shutting down critical media outlets.
Reporters Without
Borders placed Turkey 153rd out of 180 nations on its Press Freedom Index for
2021.
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