6 People Including Journalist Tolu Released

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18 defendants including Etkin News Agency (ETHA) staff Meşale Tolu have appeared before judge at İstanbul 29th Heavy Penal Court.

Birol Kurt, Deniz Havuç, Emre Altunkaya, Fırat Çağla, Meşale Tolu Çorlu and Serkan Okatan were released in the hearing. The next hearing is on April 28, 2018 at 11 a.m.

According to a report by Evrensel daily newspaper, officials from Turkey including Ambassador of Germany Martin Erdmann, journalist Günter Wallraff and Left Party MP Heike Hänsel watched the trial of Tolu who is a citizen of Germany.

Prosecutor Hakan Ören demanded release of all 16 defendants, six of whom are in prison pending trial, on the ground that the feature of the crime changed.

Asked of her opinion concerning the indictment, Tolu said, “I was arrested for the media to be taken under pressure as I am a journalist. I believe that the jurisdiction will ease public conscience by being fair”.

What happened?

German citizen Meşale Tolu was taken into custody in a house raid conducted on April 30, 2017.

Referred to court on May 5, Tolu was arrested by İstanbul 9th Criminal Judgeship of Peace on charge of “being a member of an illegal organization”. She is in Bakırköy Women’s Prison.

Tolu’s husband Suat Çorlu is detained on remand as well. The couple who have a child aged 3 are in prison with them by turns.

Authorities from Germany: Release them

Germany’s Ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann visited Tolu on August 23. Tolu was behind bars in İstanbul.

On July 22, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Sigmar Gabriel in his statement said that “Innocent citizens of Germany are arrested in Turkey”. Gabriel demanded release of rights defenders including citizen of Germany Peter Steudtner, journalist Deniz Yücel and translator Meşale Tolu and said that “Turkey is going to change its policies”.

Following the decision of release today (December 18), there are now eight people left in prisons in Turkey over political reasons, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany. One of them is Die Welt reporter Deniz Yücel.

Right defender Peter Steudtner, who was kept in custody as part of the Büyükada trial, was released on October 25. (EA/TK)

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