Dr. Barry White:

When I was in Turkey on 21 and 22 October, I attended a number of trials and spoke, mainly through interpreters because my Turkish is non-existent, to bring solidarity and greetings from the International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, and European Federation of Journalists, EFJ. I sought to find out what was going on. I have observed the odatv.comtrial since 2012 and it is still ongoing. When I was in the court I noticed there was a new judge and prosecution counsel and the judge said the previous two had either fled or were in prison. That is the state of things now. They are tumultuous. I have been to the courts and spoken to journalists, as well as some of the defence counsels. I have offered solidarity and support and taken back messages. My union adopted a journalist involved with the odatv.comtrial all those years ago and we are still awaiting justice.

The important work is done on the ground with our affiliates in Turkey who visit their members and other journalists who are in prison, or else they raise awareness with the authorities about people in isolation. The real work is done by journalists supporting other journalists.