MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Turkish court has accepted an indictment seeking life jail terms for two journalists from Turkey's opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, local media said Friday.
The court has agreed to trial Cumhuriyet's Editor-in-Chief Can Dundar and the newspaper's Ankara representative Erdem Gulwere, with prosecutors demanding life sentences based on charges of espionage, Cumhuriyet reported.
The two journalists were arrested after publishing a report implicating Turkey's national intelligence service (MIT) in sending weapons and ammunition into Syria's terrorist-held territory.
The article and footage released by Cumhuriyet on May 29 claimed that the trucks were carrying containers with artillery shells, machine gun rounds, and mortar shells to Syrian rebels fighting against the government forces. Dundar and Gulwere were arrested on November 26.
The first hearing on the case is scheduled for March 25, according to the newspaper.
Turkey's prosecution of journalists and freedom of speech restrictions have been criticized by the international community, including the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Russia and the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organization.
