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Defiant Erdogan Says He Will Ignore Court Ruling On Jailed Journalists

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that he will ignore a constitutional court ruling that says his detention of two journalists who were critical of the Turkish leader had violated their rights.  In an act of defiance, Erdogan dismissed the ruling saying that he does not accept it, and announced that he had no intentions of obeying it. Dailystar.com.lb reports: Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were released pending trial Friday after the constitutional court ruling. Their arrest last November, after Cumhuriyet published video footage purporting to show the state intelligence agency helping send weapons to Syria, drew international condemnation and concern about media freedom in Turkey. “I will remain silent to the decision the court has given. But I don’t need to accept it, I want to make that clear. I don’t obey or respect the decision,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul before leaving on an official visit to West Africa. “This has nothing to do with press freedom. This is a case of spying,” he said. The two were charged with intentionally aiding an armed terrorist organisation and publishing material in violation of state security. Cumhuriyet published photos, videos and a report last May that it [...]