JINHA

ISTANBUL – Canan Coşkun, a reporter for the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet, is facing 23 years in prison for her reporting on corruption in the Turkish judiciary.

Canan published a story on February 19th of this year in the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, exposing the advantageous sales of luxury apartments to judges and prosecutors. All the prosecutors involved were affiliated with a group of legal professionals called the Unity in Jurisdiction Platform and all received significant discounts on luxury apartments in a specific apartment complex in the Ataşehir district of Istanbul.

State prosecutor Umut Tepe has filed charges against Canan, alleging that the piece in question was designed to produce a negative impression of Turkey's judiciary. The charges list eight prosecutors and judges as "victims" of the story. Canan will face charges of "insulting a public servant on the basis of his or her duties" in a trial on November 12. Canan faces 23 years and four years in prison.

Among those listed as plaintiffs are prosecutors and judges with a history of filing dubious charges. One plaintiff, Chief Prosecutor Ali Doğan, filed charges of "spying" against soldiers who pulled over a truck in Adana that turned out to be carrying weapons to Daesh and belonged to Turkish intelligence.

(gc/cm)