Aydın Engin's defence: Such an indictment shames me on behalf of the law and grieves me on behalf of my country

Our columnist Aydın Engin presented his defence at the Cumhuriyet trial in which Cumhuriyet’s columnists, managers and lawyers stand charged of ‘while not being a member of a terrorist organisation, committing offences on behalf of the organisation and against the constitutional order.’

Yayınlanma: 28.07.2017 - 15:17
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The trial brought against our newspaper’s columnists and managers and in which journalism is on trial is being heard at Serious Crime Court No 27. Our columnist Aydın Engin made his defence at Thursday’s hearing of the trial. Here is the full text of Aydın Engin's defence:
Dear judges,
My cherished lawyers, three of whom are now among the detained and the remainder are counsel in the rows of the defence, my close friends.
My trust in their professional abilities and legal and democratic culture is total. Hence, I have no intention of picking up the indictment, too, and speaking about it, and wearying you.
I find it futile to pass a comment of any kind about the nine articles of mine that have been placed in the indictment as evidence of guilt and over which no investigation was launched by the press prosecution within the statutory period. Those articles in fact reply to the indictment with a clarity that spares me the need make further pronouncement.
I think that the investigating prosecutor looked at the titles of the articles but placed them in the indictment without taking the trouble to read their contents. Otherwise, I would have to say that, ‘The prosecutor read the articles but did not understand them’ and I would not even wish to think that a prosecutor who has received a legal education could end up in this situation. I will not decide on this point. I leave the choice to the investigating prosecutor.
However, I request that I be permitted a single sentence so that it may enter the records.
Dear judges,
For me and my colleagues to be placed in the dock on such an indictment shames me on behalf of the law and grieves me on behalf of my country.
This is the extent of what I have to say.
With my regards,
Aydın Engin


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