Cuma Ulus, Millet
Medium:Print
Charge:Anti-State
Imprisoned:July 26, 2016

Police in Istanbul detained Cuma Ulus, a former editor for the shuttered daily newspaper Millet, on July 26, 2016, as part of a sweeping purge of journalists and others suspected of following exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen, according to press reports. The government accuses Gülen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (or FETÖ/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey that it blames for orchestrating a failed military coup on July 15, 2016.

Istanbul's Fifth Court of Penal Peace on June 30, 2016, arraigned Ulus and 16 other journalists, ordering them jailed pending trial on charges of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," according to the media monitoring group P24. The daily newspaper Hürriyet reported that the 17 journalists were questioned by prosecutors on accusations of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," "founding or leading an armed terrorist organization," "knowingly and willingly helping [a terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization's hierarchical structure," and "committing crimes in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member."

The daily newspaper Millet was one of several media outlets owned by the Koza Ipek Group, which the government took over in October 2015, alleging it had links to FETÖ/PDY. Trustees appointed by the government hollowed out media outlets the company owned and shut them down in March 2016, saying they were not financially viable.

The government-appointed management fired Ulus from Millet immediately after taking control of the newspaper, according to media reports.

News reports did not specify where the journalists were being held, and CPJ was unable to reach the journalists' lawyers. Dozens of other journalists jailed pending trial on similar accusations are being held in Istanbul's Silivri Prison.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.