Journalist facing possible jail sentence for criticising judge in Hrant Dink trial

Reporters Without Borders is outraged that a leading journalist, columnist Cengiz Çandar of the daily Referans, is facing a possible sentence of one to three years in prison for criticising the handling of the trial of the alleged killers of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. He has been charged with “insulting a public servant in the performance of his duties.” The charge was brought in response to 9 February column about the previous day’s hearing, entitled “They are making a mockery of Hrant and justice,” in which Çandar wrote that presiding judge Erkan Çanak “does not give the impression of working on behalf of justice.” The column focused on a “misunderstanding” between the judge and police, as a result of which the court was unable to hear testimony from a witness whose identity was being kept secret. The police said they had expected the witness to make his own way to the court but the witness had expected that the police would fetch him from his home. The fact that the judge reacted by publicly asking “What should I do?” in the courtroom showed that he was incompetent and incapable of ensuring a fair trial, Çandar wrote. The trial was being conducted in a “totally informal” manner that suggested that “no justice is capable of being rendered in this court.” The columnist, who is to be tried before a criminal court in the Istanbul district of Bakirköy on 13 December, also accused the judge of being “partial” and of having “a hidden link with the defence lawyers.”