The sixth hearing of the trial against 46 journalists (22 of whom are still in prison) resumed at Istanbul 15th Criminal Court on Friday.

The court board ruled the release of two journalists alone, İrfan Bilgiç and Fatma Koçak, and the continuation of the imprisonment of 20 others.

The court also ordered the application of all jailed defendants to the public prosecutor to demand their transfer to Silivri prison.

The 46 media workers have been arrested on 20 December 2011 following the so called "KCK" (Kurdistan Communities Union) operation. In essence, the journalists are accused of being part of the so called "urban organisation" set up by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

The General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Ricardo Gutiérrez, was in Istanbul observing the hearing. "All the prosecuted journalists, many of whom remain in pre-trial detention, worked for pro-Kurdish and left-wing news organisations," said Gutiérrez. "They are charged under Turkey's anti-terror legislation, but it seems clear that many are being penalised for their coverage of the Kurdish issue. EFJ calls for the release of all journalists held in the KCK case. We also call the Turkish authorities to reform the Anti-Terror Law, often misused to prosecute journalists".