ANKARA: The editor-in-chief of Turkey’s opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper said on Thursday he was unbowed by a government crackdown and would not abandon journalism, a day after a court sentenced him and more than a dozen colleagues to prison on terrorism charges.

Murat Sabuncu was one of 14 Cumhuriyet staff given sentences ranging from 2-1/2 to 7-1/2 years on charges for supporting the network of a cleric Ankara blames for a 2016 attempted coup. Three other staff members were acquitted.

Prosecutors said the journalists, who denied the charges and were released on bail pending appeal, had used “asymmetric war methods” against President Tayyip Erdogan.

The case has sparked global outrage and is one of several high-profile trials seen as emblematic of the sweeping crackdown since Erdogan announced a state of emergency following the attempted coup.

“As journalists, we will continue to do our tasks, to put up a fight, we will continue to write the truth,” Sabuncu told supporters at a rally outside the Istanbul courthouse where the early parts of his trial took place.

Sabuncu and Ahmet Sik, a prominent journalist and author, received the stiffest sentences. “The 7-1/2 year sentence has no meaning for me,” Sabuncu said.

The Cumhuriyet, long seen as a thorn in Erdogan’s side, is one of the few remaining outlets critical of the government. Free spe­ech advocacy group Reporters Without Borders on Wed­nesday ranked Turkey 157 out of 180 countries in its annual ranking of global press freedom, down two spots from last year.

“Unfortunately, there is no justice or judicial system in Turkey right now,” Akin Atalay, the Cumhuriyet’s chairman who was sentenced to seven years and three months, told the rally hours after his release.

Unlike the others, Atalay had been detained for the entire duration of the trial — some 543 days.

“Even breathing outside is a very beautiful thing, I tasted that last night,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2018