Imprisoned president of the now-shut-down Samanyolu TV Hidayet Karaca said during a hearing on Monday that he had not been given any food or water during his transfer from İstanbul’s Silivri Prison to the courtroom in Ankara, Turkish media reported.
At a hearing in Ankara’s 4th High Criminal Court, Karaca, who has been imprisoned since December 2014, said he had been deprived of food and water when he asked for water during his testimony.
Another imprisoned suspect in the same trial, Alaaddin Kaya — the former owner of the Zaman daily — asked for water from guards while waiting for the jurists in the courtroom. The officer in charge of courtroom security said, “There is no water; you will get it during the lunch break.”
During the hearing the former president of Samanyolu TV said that he stands accused due to TV shows, series and news stories that appeared on the channels he ran and based on stories the pro-government media reported about him.
Karaca said he is also accused of criticizing the Syria policy of the government. “Is this a crime?” he asked, referring to similar criticism from Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş.
Samanyolu TV was first seized by the government and then shut down by decree in August 2016 in the wake of a failed coup attempt.
Karaca had been detained in December 2014 as a result of twin police raids targeting both the Zaman daily and the Samanyolu media group.