Prominent Journalists Testifies, Says "we Will Continue Writing"

- Prominent Turkish journalist Can Dündar was present at the Istanbul Courthouse in the district of Çağlayan Feb. 26 to testify on a charge of “insulting” President Tayyip Erdoğan.

Before entering the courthouse, Dündar dismissed the use of lawsuits as a deterrent against journalists, who he said would not be intimidated and would continue to write.

Dündar stated Erdoğan takes every criticism and word said against him as an insult and files a lawsuit. “I think this is some kind of a deterrence policy. However, you will see there will be nothing to gain from that because we will continue to tell and write. In the meantime, we may be tried or threatened but we will continue,” he said.

In response to questions about previous cases that were opened against journalists, Dündar said whenever media blackouts and censorship are not enough to intimidate journalists, filing a lawsuit is another option. “I came here to testify because of the interview that I recently conducted regarding the massive corruption case launched in December 2013. We are doing our jobs, so we will not turn a blind eye to one of the biggest corruption cases in our history. As journalists, we will continue to write about it on behalf of the public,” he said.

Later, Dündar entered the courthouse to testify.

Before he was appointed editor-in-chief of daily Cumhuriyet earlier this month, Dündar conducted had an interview with Celal Kara, a Turkish prosecutor who was in charge of the massive corruption investigation which targeted several government figures.

A criminal case has been launched into Dündar over remarks in the interview that allegedly “insulted” Erdoğan.

Meanwhile, a former Miss Turkey and the editor of a daily newspaper have become the latest targets of a code that calls for judicial action against those who “insult the president.”

Umut Tepe, an Istanbul prosecutor, demanded four years and eight months in jail for Barış İnce, a chief editor of Birgün, for insulting Erdoğan in a reportedly acrostic article, the first words of which read “thief Erdoğan.”

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