Metalworker At 'Wait For Hope' Vigil: Democracy Or Nothing

Journalist Atill Özsever and members of Birleşik Metal-İş (United Metalworkers Union) were present during Wednesday's vigil in front of Silivri Prison, a protest that was launched at the beginning of December in support of Cumhuriyet daily's Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and Ankara bureau head Erdem Gül, who are both under arrest.
Metalworkers held signs that read “Democracy or nothing,” and “Metal workers stand with Can Dündar and Erdem Gül.” Another sign read “Don't touch freedom of the press.”
“The ruling political powers are systematically trying to control the press. They are trying to create an all pro-government press,” Birleşik Metal-İş head Adnan Serdaroğlu told members of the press who were present.
“We took on this shift in the ‘Wait for Hope' vigil to protest the ongoing shameful situation in the Turkish Republic and to give support to our journalist friends who were put in jail for unjust reasons,” Serdaroğlu continued.
Özsever also spoke with the press, saying that Dündar and Gül acted in support of the struggle for democracy and that they are paying a heavy price for that.
Several days after the imprisonment of the Cumhuriyet editors, the Bütün Dünya magazine's editor-in-chief, Mete Akyol, launched a sit-in protest in front of Silivri on Dec. 2 to show his support for the two journalists. The vigil has continued without stop since then.
Dündar and Gül were arrested on Nov. 26, 2015 after having being charged in May of last year with espionage, revealing confidential documents and membership in a terrorist organization. The charges are related to a report published by Cumhuriyet claiming that trucks loaded with weapons that were discovered in January 2014 en route to Syria actually belonged to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and had allegedly been sent to provide support to rebel groups.