Turkey's Assault on Journalism Puts More Reporters on Trial

Seven Turkish journalists are on trial on charges of revealing state secrets, for reporting on the deaths of intelligence agents in Libya.

The defendants, six of whom have been in jail since early March pending trial, are accused of revealing the identities of two members of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT).

But critics of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allege the trial to be only a continuation of his purge of reporters following a failed 2016 coup.

Among them is the noted Ankara News Editor for the Oda TV online news portal, Muyesser Yildiz, who was arrested over "political and military espionage,” her station critical of the government, said Al Jazeera in a report.

Erdogan emptied the military, judiciary, and civil service ranks following the attempted coup and has doubled down since winning a referendum giving him almost absolute power.

While Erdogan has had a chilling effect on dissidents, some people still speak out. Dozens gathered outside a court in Istanbul to show support for the journalists.

Meanwhile, EU leaders remain reluctant to take him on, imposing only soft sanctions over Turkish drilling off Cyprus.

Turkey, stepping up provocations with Greece and Cyprus, has backed a United Nations-recognized government in Libya while a number of other countries – including Greece – support a rebel force.

The charges against the journalists are focused on articles and social media posts published shortly after Erdogan said in February that Turkey had "several martyrs" in Libya, the news site said.

The indictment said that Murat Agirel, a reporter for Yeni Cag newspaper, was the first to reveal the identities of the intelligence officers, sharing names and photos on Twitter and referencing Erdogan's comments.

The indictment accuses the defendants of revealing information related to state security, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years, by revealing the missions as well as the identities of MIT members.

The defendants deny the accusations and said they were doing their jobs as journalists, a defense that Erdogan's government rejects.

US-based Committee to Protect Journalists called for the charges to be dropped.

"Turkey should stop attempting to control independent journalism with intimidation, immediately free the arrested journalists, and drop this case," the group's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, Gulnoza Said, said in a statement last month.

Currently, Erdogan’s efforts targeting critical media sees some 85 journalists and media workers in jail.