Bülent Utku

The sixth hearing of the trial of 17 executives and journalists from the daily Cumhuriyet, including the newspaper's Editor-in-Chief Murat Sabuncu, Ahmet Şık, Kadri Gürsel and cartoonist Musa Kart, will take place today in a hearing room across Istanbul's Silivri Prison. 

There are currently 171 Turkish journalists in jail in the country, according a report prepared by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) following a workshop last week.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has accused the prosecutors in the daily Cumhuriyet case of being members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

An Istanbul court on July 28 ordered the release of seven daily Cumhuriyet journalists, executives but ruled for the continuation of arrest for another five who are being accused on charges of "supporting terror." 

The released journalists and executives were cartoonist Musa Kart, Bülent Utku, Turan Günay, Önder Çelik, Kemal Güngör, Hakan Karasinir and Güray Öz.

Our colleague Utku Çakırözer, one of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentarians who used to be a journalist, has visited some journalists currently jailed in Silivri prison during Eid el-Fitr.

Police on April 6 intervened in a sit-in staged by a group of lawyers demanding the release of arrested colleagues in the daily Cumhuriyet case at Istanbul's Çağlayan courthouse, detaining eight of them.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has nominated prominent Turkish journalist Kadri Gürsel, who has been in jail for 116 days, for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

His wife, Nazire Kalkan Gürsel, announced the nomination via her official Twitter account.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Barış Yarkadaş read out a message from daily Cumhuriyet's imprisoned editor-in-chief, Murat Sabuncu, in parliament's general assembly on Dec. 6. 

The arrested staff of daily Cumhuriyet have demanded that their indictment be prepared as soon as possible in the hopes that they can be tried without arrest, said opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Utku Çakırözer, who visited the journalists in Istanbul's Silivri jail, the daily reported Nov. 25. 

Can Dündar, the former editor-in-chief of daily Cumhuriyet, was awarded honorary citizenship of Paris on Nov. 8.

Dündar, who moved to Germany as an appeal against his conviction for revealing state charges is pending, was awarded the honor at City Hall for "distinguished services" by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.