Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Hüseyin Aydın
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Hüseyin Aydın, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c93c4a.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Cihan News Agency | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 26, 2016
| Job: | Internet Reporter |
| Medium: | Internet |
| Beats Covered: | Politics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | No |
| Charge: | Anti-state |
| Length of Sentence: | Not Sentenced |
| Reported Health Problems: | No |
Police in Istanbul detained Hüseyin Aydın, a former military affairs reporter for the shuttered Cihan News Agency, on July 26, 2016, as part of a sweeping purge of journalists and others suspected of following exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen, according to press reports. The government accuses Gülen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (or FETÖ/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey that it blames for orchestrating a failed military coup on July 15, 2016.
Istanbul's Fifth Court of Penal Peace on June 30, 2016, arraigned Aydın and 16 other journalists, ordering them jailed pending trial on charges of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," according to the media monitoring group P24. The daily newspaper Hürriyet reported that the 17 journalists were questioned by prosecutors on accusations of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," "founding or leading an armed terrorist organization," "knowingly and willingly helping [a terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization's hierarchical structure," and "committing crimes in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member."
A court in March 2016 ordered the Cihan News Agency's parent company, the Feza Media Group, put under government trustees, saying it had ties to the Gülenist network. CPJ research shows that authorities have targeted dozens of journalists formerly employed by the Feza Media Group with arrest and prosecution on terrorism charges since the failed July 2016 coup. The government used emergency powers it assumed after the coup attempt to close Feza's news outlets by decree.
All but one of the journalists with whom Aydın is on trial were charged with "being a member of an armed [terrorist] organization," which carries up to 10 years in prison, according to the indictment.
CPJ found the indictment to be similar to those presented at trials of other journalists in Turkey. Prosecutors cited as evidence in these cases journalistic activity or acts of free speech and communication, or cited circumstantial evidence such as being employed by a certain media outlet or having an account at a bank allegedly linked to Gulenists.
The indictment accused the defendants of manipulating the public perception of FETÖ to turn citizens against the government, which prosecutors argued made them members of the group that Turkey alleges is behind the failed attempted coup.
Prosecutors presented as evidence against Aydın his employment by Cihan News Agency, his social media activity, and his reporting that the press is censored in Turkey.
When the trial started in March 2017, an Istanbul court ordered Aydın and four of his co-accused to be detained for the duration of the trial, according to news reports.
Aydın was being detained in Silviri prison in Istanbul.
