An İstanbul court has rejected an objection filed by the lawyer for journalist Ahmet Şık to his client’s arrest, ruling that Şık’s imprisonment was a correct decision.
The journalist was arrested by a court last Friday on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and “FETÖ,” a derogatory term coined by the government to refer to the faith-based Gülen movement.
Şık’s lawyer objected to his arrest on Monday, saying he was sure the objection would be rejected.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Şık was detained for his interview with a terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader, Cemil Bayık, and his columns questioning controversial National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks that were allegedly carrying weapons to illegal groups in Syria.
It subsequently emerged that a remark by Şık at a European Parliament event in September 2014 was included in the investigation.
Şık had reportedly said that those who work for the PKK are also journalists.
Şık has been openly critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as well as the Gülen movement.