December 29, 2011

Ahmet Şık’s book and Ergenekon’s media campaign

Emre Uslu

The Odatv trial has finally begun after months of waiting. The time between the first arrest and the beginning of the trial was a very long time and reason for widespread complaint. This time is not only problematic for the suspects who may have spent excessive time in prison -- and may not even be found guilty at the end of their trial -- it is also a problem for prosecutors who have arrested well-known suspects.

During this period, suspects have used media outlets to spread their message to the public and create the image that they are not guilty but are imprisoned because of their political stance. There are many people in Turkey who spent years behind bars because they did not have media influence.