PARIS
The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday found Turkey guilty of violating human rights during an alleged organization called "Ergenekon" case in which two Turkish journalists – Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener – spent more than a year in prison on remand.
The court ruled that Turkey must pay 20,000 euros (US$9,400) in compensation to Sener and 10,000 euros to Sik.
Journalists and lawyers were not allowed to see the documents which formed the basis charges, which was also a violation of human rights, the court said.
Long periods of detention are unacceptable without sufficient evidence, and long detention of investigative journalists who research and comment about state organs will lead to self-censorship, the court added.
Sik, a freelance journalist, photographer and writer reported for the newspapers, Cumhuriyet, Evrensel, Yeni Yuzyil and Radikal. In 2011, he was arrested and detained on charges of being linked to Ergenekon, just months before the planned publication of his latest book ‘The Imam's Army’.
The book investigates the controversial Gulen movement led by the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.
Sik was released from detention in March 2012 while awaiting trial and resumed his professional activities.
Sener was arrested alongside Sik in the case, which probed a purported network of hardline nationalists accused of plotting to overthrow the Turkish government. He spent just over a year in prison before being released in March 2012.
www.aa.com.tr/en
