Turkey's closed-doors trial of journalists condemned as 'a travesty of justice' (video)

Turkey's government has decided that the media in opposition to its policies must be intimidated and pressured into compliance. Dissent is unacceptable so the government has closed down or taken control of television stations and newspapers the government views as dangerous to the state. Anywhere else they would simply be viewed as being critical of government.


The trial of two prominent Turkish newspaper journalists accused of espionage will take place behind closed doors after a court decision described by critics as “a travesty of justice”.

Can Dundar, editor of Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, the newspaper’s Ankara bureau chief, face life in prison for a front-page story claiming that Turkish intelligence services were helping to send weapons to Syria.

Their trial, which began on Friday, is being held up as a test case on the health of the country’s democracy amid warnings that accountability, freedom of expression and the rule of law are all under attack.