In a ruling running counter to a precedent set by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in an application concerning the imprisonment of journalist Nazlı Ilıcak, the Turkish Constitutional Court found no rights violations in the case of journalist Cemal Azmi Kalyoncu, who was jailed in a mass crackdown following a failed coup in Turkey in 2016 and was jailed for almost four years on bogus terrorism charges.
According to Turkish Minute, Kalyoncu, who used to work for the now-closed Aksiyon weekly magazine, was among the dozens of journalists who were jailed in the aftermath of the failed coup. The magazine was closed down by the government along with dozens of others media outlets due to its affiliation with the Gülen movement following the coup attempt.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup on July 15, 2016, labeling it as a terrorist organization. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the abortive coup and any terrorist act.
Along with fellow journalists, Kalyoncu was convicted of membership in the Gülen movement and sentenced to prison. He was released along with five other journalists in June 2020 after the country’s Supreme Court of Appeals overturned their sentences, saying the defendants’ actions did not constitute sufficient evidence to prove their affiliation with the group.
Kalyoncu took his case to the Constitutional Court, claiming that his rights to personal liberty and security as well as his right to freedom of expression were violated due to his imprisonment.
The court rejected the journalist’s petition in a ruling that was published in the Official Gazette on Friday, saying the journalist’s imprisonment was based on plausible grounds.
Kalyoncu’s tweets and news reports were presented as evidence in the indictment.
The top court’s decision came in contrast to the recent ruling by the ECtHR, which faulted Turkey in the imprisonment of journalist Ilıcak.
