A prosecutor has demanded that prison sentences of seven and a half to 15 years be imposed on 13 Cumhyriyet associates on trial for "terrorist" activities, the newspaper reported, quoting the state-run Anatoli news agency.
During a hearing in Silivria, near Istanbul, the prosecutor demanded that the 13 accused be sentenced to between seven and a half to 15 years in prison for "assisting a terrorist organization by a non-member of the organization". The defendants include investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, the newspaper's director Murat Sampuncu, Akin Atalay's chairman, chronographer Kadri Gursel and cartoonist Musa Kart, according to Cumhuriyet.
Four other Cumhuriyet associates are on trial. The newspaper did not specify the penalties requested for them. The trial has raised concerns in the media about the media's crackdown on dissidents under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially after the failed July 2016 coup attempt.
Cuhuriyet associates are accused of helping three organizations described as "terrorist" by Ankara: the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the far-left DHKP-C and the movement of preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom authorities accuse of failed coup attempt in July 2016.
Cumhuriyet, which opposes Erdogan, denies the allegations altogether, saying the government is trying to silence one of the last independent media outlets in Turkey. At the moment only Altai is still in custody. He is already in prison for more than 500 days. The prosecutor requested that he be remanded in custody.