Friday 25 March was a bleak day for journalism, the rule of law and the public’s right to know, when an Istanbul court ruled that the entire trial of Can Dündar and Erdem Gül should be held behind closed doors. Earlier scores of their supporters turn up to the court to show their solidarity with the two journalists who face charges of espionage, aiding a terrorist organisation and disclosing classified documents and reporting the supply of weapons to rebels in Syria by the Turkish security services. They could face life imprisonment if found guilty. The case resumes on 1 April.

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At last better news from Turkey with the Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruling on 25 February that the rights ofCumhuriyet newspaper journalistsCan Dündar and Erdem Gül had been violated. The ruling highlighted violations of Article 19 (right to personal liberty and security), Article 26 (freedom of expression) and Article 28 (press freedom) in Turkey’s Constitution. The Court voted for their release by 12 votes to 3. It could mark a return to the rule of law in Turkey and sets a promising example for other similar cases.

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Just in case you thought it was all over, Rebekah Brooks is facing a legal tussle over over new allegations that phone hacking was “endemic” when she was editor of The Sun, according to an article in The Independent (14 January). According to The Independent's James Cusick, lawyers for News Group Newspapers told a High Court hearing on 13 January that a “new flank” of hacking claims had been opened against the newspaper.

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Published just weeks before the Turkish general election on 1 November, a scathing report commissioned by one of President Erdogan’s exiled opponents states that the Turkish government is inflicting “systematic human rights violations” on its judiciary, police and media. The 95 page report alleges that the AK party (Justice and Development Party) government has interfered to produce “supine” courts, censored websites, restricted freedom of expression, stifled corruption investigations and subjected detainees to degrading treatment.

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