ŞIRNAK - Ziya Ataman, who has not been released despite being sick for more than 3 years, was not released at the 7th hearing of the case against him. Ugur Eyinç, who was a witness for the case and who have been investigated 22 times for slander, said that he was illiterate and he had just signed statements without reading them.
The 7th hearing of Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reporter Ziya Ataman, who was detained since 11 April 2016 was held at Şırnak 1st High Criminal Court today.
The detainees attended the hearing with the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBIS) from the prisons. Following the identification of the detainees, the defendants made their first defense.
Many of the detainees have once again denied the allegations against them, recalling their previous statements. Journalist Ataman ended his hunger strike action against the leader of PKK PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on the previous day and made his defense accompanied by Kurdish interpreter. Ataman, who was seen to have weakened from the strikes, answered the questions directed to him by the court and denied the allegations against him.
After the detainees, the testimonies of some witnesses were heard. Some of the witnesses stated that their statements were taken under pressure and said they want to withdraw them.
Uğur Eyinç, who has been investigated for slander 22 times until today, stated that he had not read the manuscripts, he did not know how to read and write and that he just signed the statements. Eyinç also responded the questions about other people he made allegations about saying 'I don't remember'.
Following the defense of the lawyer, the court adjourned the court for a while.
After the recess, the delegation decided that all the detainees should be in detained pending trial.
The next hearing was postponed to 4 July.