Baransu: Let The Prisons Be Ours And The Tyranny Theirs

In a message from Metris Prison on Friday, journalist Mehmet Baransu, who was arrested on Monday in a government-orchestrated operation to suppress anti-government journalists, said, “Let the prisons be ours and the tyranny theirs.”

Baransu's lawyer Sercan Sakallı, in a written statement on Friday, said his client expressed his gratitude to everyone who supported him via tweets, columns and news stories since his arrest, suggesting that they listen to the Metris Prison song by the late Kurdish protest singer Ahmet Kaya.

Attributing Baransu's arrest to his being an anti-government journalist, Sakallı reiterated the fact that Baransu was acquitted by an İstanbul court in June 2011 for publishing confidential state documents, which was again the reason given for his re-arrest on Monday.

After a request by İstanbul Public Prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü, Baransu was arrested by the İstanbul 5th Penal Court of Peace on Monday afternoon on accusations of establishing an organization with the aim of committing crimes and of destroying documents related to state security.

According to Sakallı, it is illegal to investigate someone who has earlier been acquitted by a court on the same accusations. “The İstanbul 5th Penal Court of Peace and İstanbul Public Prosecutor Gökalp Kökçü are involved in a crime, which restricts the freedom of Baransu, and they will be tried for this crime,” Sakallı said.

Recalling the news that appeared in the pro-government media about Baransu's possible arrest, Sakallı said he has to be released pending trial, as he did not flee after he was informed of the news stories. Baransu was handcuffed by police on Monday despite showing no signs of resisting arrest, added Sakallı.

Sakallı also noted that police damaged his client's belongings and could not find any evidence of any crime during the 12-hour police search of Baransu's home on Sunday.

Baransu's lawyer: Prosecutor trying to fabricate evidence with search of ex-wife's home

Another of Baransu's lawyers, Ahmet Emre Bayrak, has also accused the prosecutor of trying to create false evidence against his client after police searched the house of Baransu's ex-wife without informing defense lawyers.

Lawyer Bayrak said the search is “scandalous” as laws require the presence of defense lawyers during the search of a suspect's address. It is believed that Baransu may have given the address to the authorities during his previous arrest.

Bayrak said Baransu's lawyers learned on Thursday that the house of Baransu's ex-wife, Esra Konur, was searched by police as part of the investigation after they were summoned to the İstanbul Police Department to be present while a bag of evidence collected from Konur's house was examined. Lawyers refused to oversee the examination of the evidence gathered without their presence.

“This is certainly against the Code on Criminal Procedure [CMK]. We had to be there [at Konur's house] during the search. Apart from this, there is already animosity between Baransu and his ex-wife. We do not approve of such a search,” Bayrak said.

Noting that police could say a document that does not belong to Baransu was found in the house of his ex-wife, the lawyer said any document obtained from the search would be inadmissible as evidence in the case. “What has been tried here is very clear. The prosecutor is trying to plant false evidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, Konur testified at the İstanbul Police Department as part of the investigation on Thursday. Her lawyer spoke to reporters after his client's five-hour testimony, saying she was asked about the document seized from the coalbunker of her house. She reportedly said Baransu left the documents there during their marriage. The couple divorced in August 2012.

Baransu -- an outspoken journalist who exposed the infamous Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot in 2010 -- had written in the Taraf daily that the military was trying to systematically foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. Baransu later submitted the original documents he acquired from an anonymous source to then-İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı, which became the chief evidence in the Balyoz trials.

The suspects in the Balyoz case, including top military officers, were sentenced to lengthy jail sentences of up to 20 years in 2012 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government. But due to a law that reduced the maximum period of detention to five years, all suspects, including politicians, retired and working army officials, journalists and businessmen in the Balyoz and Ergenekon coup plot cases were released pending trial. That law had been proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and was passed by Parliament in March 2014.

According to information received by Today's Zaman, the investigation against Baransu is based on an ongoing investigation regarding claims that the military coup trials were a “conspiracy” against the accused military officers. Many retired military officers, including the prime suspect in the Sledgehammer case, retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, have so far testified as “plaintiffs” in the investigation. The search of Baransu's house is thought to be connected to the complaints made by the accused members of the military.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)