Istanbul Court Jails Two Opposition Reporters for Divulging State Secrets

Istanbul court has sentenced two prominent Turkish journalists to over five years in jail for revealing state secrets, in particular, for unveiling confidential documents, local media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Can Dundar and Erdem Gul from the Cumhuriyet opposition newspaper were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention in November 2015 for publishing an incriminating article and footage in the daily on May 29. Their investigation concluded that Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks had carried containers with artillery shells, machine gun rounds and mortar shells to Syrian rebels.

Following the fourth hearing on the case on Friday, Dundar was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and Gul for five years and six months over releasing secret documents, according to the Daily Sabah newspaper.

A separate verdict should be issued on charges of journalists' links to terrorist organizations, the newspaper said.

Earlier in the day, a gunman attempted to assassinate Dundar during a break at the hearing, but the journalist escaped unharmed, while the perpetrator was detained by Turkish police.

Turkey's crackdown on journalists and restrictions on freedom of speech was previously criticized by the international community, including the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Russia and the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization.